postcard from the 80's

somebody once said "souvenirs are perishable,fortunately memories are not" , so true!
its amazing how little things from your childhood ,that's long forgotten and etched in some safe corner of ur brain can bring back a flood of memories and emotions.. i'm typing this while humming the ever popular song of yesteryears "mile sur mera tumhara".Wish i was in possession of a Time Machine, damn!

remember those pre-satellite TV days?Doordarshan with its rotating logo? colorful concentric circles wit a tin-tin-tinna tune dissevering amul, nirma washing powder, lifebuoy,hamara bajaj Ads? if you are saying Doordarshan wht, then u must ve spent the first 15 years of your life on a remote island off Hona-lulu.!
those images were dusted today afternoon during lunch at our FoodCourt, the characters that emerged were surreal yet life-like and eons ago they managed to capture our tender imagination and for me they still do.
*wiping that single tear from the corner of my eye*

Sensational Songs ::
the one song that lifts me up,"mile sur mera tumhara",National Integration at its best. highlighting the different linguistic communities, it features people from all walks of life singing in their native language..Oh boy, words evade me.! "when ur tune meets my tune it becomes our tune" , ok that wasn't a ripe translation. I don't remember much of the video but i do remember Prakash Padukone running with the National Games torch , the Calcutta Metro,Dr.Balamuralikrishnan singing by the beach and Kamal Hassan. The song fades with the final hymm of our National Anthem.Thanks to cable TV ,the song melted into oblivion.!
another song that captured our national pride was "bajesargam".. this song also had multi-linguial hymms but don't quiet remember the video or much of the song.!

TeleSerials ::
top spot would go to "malgudi days" ,do i hear u guys sing "tanana tana na" .Rural charm,ordinary and eccentric characters, small town ,village library and postoffice,normal people living a middle class life, Swami and his antics. India calling!
another equally captivating serial was "vikram aur beetal"..back then it was the most scariest thing after PT teachers,but if we were to watch the same thing now it would be one big hilarious viewing.
in the 90's we got our share of household drama in "shanti" and "swabhiman".. Good lord sometimes i wonder wht happened to that sari-clad ,hair tied up in a bun,bedecked in black jewellery and big-bindi Shanti.! phew.!
during vacations Doordarshan used to air a science program called "UGEC Science Program", i don't remeber much of it but i do remeber the "News for the hearing impaired" that was aired inbetween that show. Rings a bell??
come sundays and we would ve our dose of "ek aur anake" ,"mowgli", "potli baba ki", "ek do theen char" and "ramayana and mahabharat".. be it the jungle boy raised by wolves with the help of Babloo the bear and Bhagheera the panther or the colored carboard animation of a girl and her brother learning numbers by looking at jumping squirrels and birds or the old baba in ragged clothes or the valorousness of mythical characters with bow and arrow trotting away on chariots , they evoke some long cherished memories.!

Amazing Ad's ::
ok picture this, a quintessential indian family, father riding a two-wheeler and sari-clad mother sitting behind him sideways , the elder one sandwitched between the two and the younger one sittin in front wit his hair ruffling with the wind, get the Ad im talking about.? No ? ok one more shot.. a young man(proud of his two-wheeler) blows on the emblem and rubs it sparkling clean with a towel ,background musical score "bhulanda bharat ki bhulanda thasveer".. one of my favourite Ads - Bajaj Ad.! i even like the "nirma" one, with that cute little kid in a swirling white frock. also on that list is the "i'm a rasna girl" and the "utterly-butterly delicious Amul " one!

sigh! bygone wonderful days.
its all a memory now,tempered by time and life goes on with these memories......