The Idiot Box

Ever thought of your life without Man’s greatest and most important invention?No no, not the wheel, but your life and soul…. your Television!!! We never tire calling it the idiot box, but can you really imagine one day without your own telly? Without the unending saga of Kyunki Saas for Mom, serious Aaj Tak Newsfor Dad, Bugs Bunny and Popeye for kids, evening aarti for Dada/Dadi, Friendsfor Didi/Bhaiya, our world does seem so lost and boring, doesn’t it? We can’teven start imagining what would happen if we were made to live without any television to bring happiness and sunshine in our mundane lives! Just the other day, I encountered a similar situation. The cable-walla had some problems in his connection, and thus, the television was out for the day! And what a day that was!


Mummy, who sits down to get her daily dose of the soaps after doing her household chores, had become really frustrated out of boredom. “How do I pass my day without seeing which Saas is troubling her Bahu, which woman is having an extra marital affair, which scheme the vamp is cooking in her mind?” Littlebrother was outraged: “the TV had to go out today, of all the days, when theGrand Prix is on?????” Surely God is mean, to inflict such cruelty upon Schumacher-fearing/loving/worshipping fans!” But nothing to beat what Dad had to go through…. “Ok, so we cannot watch Des Mein Nikla Hoga Chand, but Pardes mein nikla hai chand, or not, how do we know without the news? What is this world coming to?”

And I sit back and observe, the way this little idiot box has taken over the lives of millions of people! Gone are the days, when the husbands used to come back from work, and TALK to their wives, instead of propping up their legs on the coffee table and watching Sachin bat, or Saddam being hounded. Gone are the days when the kids ACTUALLY went out and played! When was the last time your child, having taken out precious time from tuitions, classes, computer and television, went out to play/cycle/walk etc.? Can’t remember? Nor can I! There just does not seem to be enough interaction with the outside world, since the television has entered our lives. We never seem to have enough time with our spouses, kids, parents, friends…

But can we put the blame squarely on this box? Are we ourselves not to blame?Its us who should chalk out our priorities, decide what’s good and bad for us,what we should do, how often, how long, with whom we should spend time.I am just waiting for the day when the kids really engage in recreation outside the four walls of the house; the teens actually take out time to build upon their fragile relationship with their parents, siblings, grandparents; a family actually sits together and eats and talks; a husband actually spends time with his wife after a long day’s work, and we understand more about the people with whom we live and interact, rather than Jennifer Lopez or Tulsi Virani! And I do hope that day comes soon! Ok, I have to go now; I have missed the first 2 seconds of Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki already!