Good Old days

Chatting with a friend yesterday we went into a flash back mode. To the days when Doordarshan was the only mode of entertainment. The umpteen shows on weekends, Wah Janab, Quiz time, Spiderman, the series of cartoons in the morning, Whats the good word?, Lucy Show, and not to mention the movie. That was the only mode of spending your time after regular affairs of the weekend. Homeworks, washing ur uniform, shoes blah blah stuff.

Come June, it was the Tennis season, French Open followed by Wimbeldon. The "Quite Please" followed by "thank You", would make the viewers also quite at their homes. The sadness when your fav player lost. The delight of watching your star win, the glee at having scored over ur neighbour at the bet, these were just some of the small pleasures in life. those few hours of television was enough to keep you entertained for hours.

Since that was the only platform, i presume that generation was witness to luminaries of the Art world. I remember watching Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Ustad Allah Rakha, Pandit Jasraj, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Shiv Sharma, Ms Subbalakshmi perform. The performance would make me sit up amazed, that they can perform so well. Am still amazed at the way the flutist performs, i for one cannot control my breath movement. A total dud when it comes to performing arts.

I was reminded of all this stuff also by reading about Ustad Bismillah Khan and the news related to him. Strange is the way the media reacts. Every paper and magazine worth its salt has a news item on this great artist. I am personally a great fan of his and try my best to watch or listen to all his concerts. For me the best piece is the one in the movie "Gunj uthi Sehnai"...amazing, out of the world is what i would call it.

One such article about this maestro is in Outlook Which shows the other side of him. He to this day is taking care of more than 100 members of his family single handedly, apart from that funds for upcoming artist, the musicians when they are out of work, dependents of the deceased team mates. for a person of his caliber it is very easy to fall for the lure and settle abroad, but this simpleton prefers to live in his haveli with the entire khandan.. Wah Janab Wah!

Reading about these celebrities, makes you think about a lot of stuff. Their success stories, their hardships, their failures. Its their pure conviction that they can make a difference is what has got them to this stage. Each of these exemplary artist have carved a niche in the hearts of their admirers. Their fan following shall always remain strong, Unlike the stars of today, who vanish even before they are clear on the horizon.