Gajra Marathi Serial
Can you imagine Television programs for about 4 hours a day, with only one channel to choose from? Well that was a reality not that long back. I am talking about the late 1970s and early 1980s. This blogpost is an attempt to simply list the programs, serials, characters and advertisements from those Black & White TV days.
Hoping that readers will contribute further to this list, as well as share their thoughts around these programs.Television made its debut in Mumbai in the early 1970s. The production and broadcasting organization was known as ‘Mumbai Doordarshan’ (Doordarshan = Remote/Distant View). The reach of this programming was soon extended to Pune, via the Sinhagad fort transmission tower.Throughout the 70s, the programming was limited to a few evening hours. There were no ‘commercially’ produced shows. Essentially, majority of the programming was developed by the Mumbai Doordarshan Studios in Worli.
There were some real good international programs as well. Cricket matches were one exception when programming was available all day. Infact my earliest memory of watching TV is the 1974 India England tour, when Tony Greg was the England captain.Here is a list of TV programs that come to mindMarathiMarathi programming was quite prominent in those days, prior to the ‘National Programming’ invasion from Delhi around the time of the 1982 Asiad Games.‘Gajra’ – This was a weekly program focussing on a variety of small skits that were very well made. The program was light and funny, and was one of the stars of the week.‘Chimanrao Ani Gundyabhau’ – This was probably one of the first (if not the first) Marathi serials on Mumbai Doordarshan. And it was a classic. Even today, it is probably the gold standard for Marathi comedy serials. The serial was based on the ever popular book series by C.V.
Dilip Prabhavalkar was simply amazing as Chimanrao, with Bal Karve playing the interesting character of Gundyabhau.‘Saptahiki’ – This program summarized the upcoming weekly programming. It was like a weekly ‘TV guide’.‘Amchi Mati Amchi Mansa’ – This program was targetted for the farmers. It provided a lot of valuable information as well as some entertainment.‘Kilbil’ – No! I am not talking about the Quentin Tarrantino movie 🙂. This was a speciality children’s programming.‘Batmya’ – For many years, the Marathi news were set at 7:30pm. Famous news personalities included the likes of Bhakti Barve.‘Saturday Marathi Movie’.GujaratiAfter Marathi, Gujarati programming was also given a good deal of priority.
Note, I only understood a little bit of Gujarati, but my father and grandparents had spent many years living in Ahmedabad and were fluent in the language. Hence these programs were watched with good interest at our home.‘Aao Mare Sathi’ – This program was analogous to the Marathi ‘Gajra’.‘Santakukdi’ – This program was similar to Marathi ‘Kilbil’ and was targetted towards the children.Hindi‘Chayageet’ – This was one of the most watched programs. As the name suggests, this program presented a nice medley of Hindi film songs.‘Phool Khile hai Gulshan Gulshan’ – Interesting program focussed on ‘Bollywood’. The anchor, Tabassum was extremely good at interviewing the celebrity guests.‘Sunday Hindi Movie’ – This program was probably the most anticipated program of the week.
In the days before the VCR, this was the only opportunity to watch a Hindi movie outside a movie theater.‘Samachar’ – The Hindi news were scheduled everyday at 9pm.English‘Magic Lamp’ – This program was targeted towards the children.‘Sports Roundup’ – This was a weekly program that was anchored really well by Frendrun Devitre‘What’s the Good Word?’ – One of my favorites. This quiz-type show was a classic.
Sabira Merchant anchored it in her distinctive style.‘News’ – The English News were set for 10pm everyday.InternationalThese shows were terrific. They were usually sourced from UK and US.Charlie ChaplinI love LucyGoodiesFire Ball XL5Tele-Match (This was another one of my big favorites)AdvertisementsEven back then, the ads were quite interesting!Thumps Up – Happy days are here againFabina SuitingL.D. Obron SuitingBabubhai Jagjeevandas (BJ)Mahabaleshwar Fountain HotelVicco Turmeric CreamPalmolive (starring Sunil Gavaskar)Closing ThoughtsAs I mentioned this list is just a beginning, and I am hoping that readers will contribute more! I also wanted to point the readers to a great blog-post that I enjoyed reading tremendously – from the blog ‘Straying Around’ by Abodh. This post describes the Mumbai Doordarshan programming in the mid-80s, after the advent of color.Oh did I mention the TV hardware in the 1970s?! We had a 19 inch one channel Black & White TV, manufactured by ‘EC’. And in those days, they were expensive!
I think in 1975, this model cost around Rs. Said, on June 29, 2009 atThanks for tripping off some nostalgia, Amit.By the way, a better translation of “Doordarshan” would simply be “Television” 🙂Another programme that many (including me) watched with morbid fascination was “Aapan yanna pahilat ka?” — where a bunch of missing persons would be described, along with instructions to report sightings to the police!“What’s the good word?” was one of my favourites as well. And when the same Sabira Merchant did an interview of the visiting Boney M, wow, that made my day!A litte later perhaps, Harsha Bhogle made his first appearance on TV, hosting a Sports Quiz. Fredun De Vitre of Sports Roundup has written a book full of wonderful cricketing anecdotes must re-read it soon. And speaking of cricket, there was the programme “Looking Forward, Looking Back” hosted by the great commentator AFS Talyarkhan.Talking of the newscasters, surely you haven’t forgotten that Smita Patil started her screen career as one? A long-time stalwart was Pradeep Bhide, whom I had the pleasure of meeting once in my school-days. Closest I’d got to a “celebrity” in those days 🙂.
Sam said, on June 29, 2009 atGreat post Amit.Even then I was a TV fanatic and used to watch most of the program mentioned in the post.I used to watch all english programs – Charlie chaplin, I love lucy, Old Fox, fireball, Telematches were my favorites. Sunday morning favorite was baban prabhu’s show don’t remember nameI very distinctly remember Boney M being interviewed and also performing some songs. Thats the only time I remember having put the TV on full volume 🙂 BTW it was a 1976 Crown TV for us.
I sold it for 1500Rs in full functional state when we bought the color tv.With so little technology available, the quality of programs was so good that we can really remember them even now. Esp today, with so much crap being thrown at us by all the TV channels!
Abhay Patil said, on June 29, 2009 atThanks Amit and Neeran. BTW I used to travel from Bandra (East) to Nana Chowk (Grant Road), to my uncle’s place, to watch the Sunday movie.
Later we too acquired the best B&W TV ever made – EC. I used to check out the circle in the Doordarshan’s logo with my compass and call the tech support if it appeared even a little distorted 🙂While AFS “Bobby” Talyarkhan’s program was called “Looking Forward, L B”, the camera never used to move 🙂 It used to be the same frame, with the grand old man’s talking head, throughout the 15 or 30 minutes! As for the newsreaders I recall – Luku Sanyal (English)- whose voice had traces of legendary singer Pahadi Sanyal (who was her father or grandfather), and of course Harish Bhimani (Hindi). As for Marathi, bearded and serious Anant Bhave was my favorite.
Sojwal said, on June 29, 2009 atAmit,Wow.never thought I could feel nostalgic about good old Doordarshan especially those early days. 🙂Some features I remember other than mentioned here:– Magic Lamp: The english language equivalent of ‘Kilbil’ & ‘Santakukdi’.– Pratibha Ani Pratima: Discussions/interviews on Marathi literature & theatre.– Kamgar Vishwa: Equivalent of ‘Amchi Mati Amchi Mansa’ for workers.and above all:– Wyatyay!: i.e. ‘Sorry for interruption!”, which was quite frequent, especially when something interesting was on. (these days Tata Sky recreates this sometimes.)Advt.s:– ‘Thril’ & ‘Do It’, 2 substitute cola drinks other than Thums Up.the former had Rati Agnihotri in the advt. If I remember right.Amit, would be good to do a similar list for 80s TV. Amit Paranjape said, on June 29, 2009 atMayur, Sameer, Sandeep, Nikhil, Sojwal, Suhas, Abhay, Kaushal, Niranjan:Many thanks for your feedback and additions! I will wait for a few days, and then update my post with this.One question – was Dnyanadeep being telecast in the 1970s?
I thought it started a little later in the early 1980s.One more gem that I had forgotten, was Films Division produced short films. How can one forget those Black & White classics?!Remember – ‘Ramuek ShetkariNashibaney, tyala sagla dila’. Or’Tyala Apla Mhana.’ Or ‘Ek ChidiyaEk Ek Kar Ke Anek Chidiya.’ 🙂Amit.
Shaista said, on June 30, 2009 atThank you Amit!! I loved reading this one a lot!! Brought back many memories from my childhood!!
I had thought of a lot things. But after the blog when i read the posts above. They have covered pretty much everything I had to say!!I still hum the “Ek Chidiya. Anek Chidiya” to my girls. And i remember “the Tree” too!!Fireball. That rings a bell. Was that the space cartoon?or was that Thunderbird?
Cant rememberI do remember “Apan yahla pahilat ka” i was very young. And used to wonder why the lady kept repeating “passport” “passport” but later realized she was saying “Panch foot” for the missing people’s height!!My Grandfather used to work for Godrej. And he was probably a small technician. But when Godrej ads came. He would swell up with pride!! 🙂Thank you once again.Shaista.
Said, on July 1, 2009 atNice post. Took me on a nostalgic trip just like everyone else on here.I wasent too much into TV in the 70’s (due to age factor);-), but I do recall the serials of the 80’s pretty well. An incident which I can recall is from the early 90’s and the cartoon series of Jungle Book.
It was such a hugh hit that 3 of my friends dropped out of NCC because they didnt want to miss the serial:-). Fortunately I had a programmable VCR and continued my drills and watched the serial when I was back.We used to crash out early in those days, and I saw my first 10pm serial (Karam Chand) when I was in 8th 🙂Thanks for the trip. Amit Paranjape said, on July 2, 2009 atSameer – Not sure about a circa 1980s post.but with all these comments, might write a follow-up (Part 2) of this one. Lot of good information out there.Unmesh – Do remember that cartoon 🙂Neeran – Not sure if I remember too much of the 1970s radio programmingbut now that you mentioned, I do vividly recollect the Bournvita Quiz and Cricket with Vijay Merchant (including the theme musics of both shows!).
They were really good. Sadly, doubt if there were any good follow-ups.As far as BBC was concerned, I didn’t switch to it actively until 1988, when I got this great 10 SW Band Sony World Receiver Radio. After that, I was literally ‘surfing’ across these SW channels.remember listening to broadcasts from over 20 countries.maybe someday will write a post on that.Amit. Vijay Kini said, on January 21, 2010 atAmit, its a wonderful post. While reading, I was recollecting the Black & White images which we used to see on the tv when we were young.
Very eager to wait for Sunday evening movie announcement during the week and if and good movie, then we used to finish our studies before 5 pm. Those were the day, even in limited hours of telecast, we were happy. We all should once request Doordarshan to revive their old archives and re-telecast old serials like Chimanrao, Phool Khile hain Gulshan Gulshan, Kilbil etc.etcincluding those old ads also. Hope some body reads my request. Good work AmitVijayMuscat. Viswanath Iyer said, on March 7, 2010 atI am from Mumbai and I wish to share my thoughts on this topic.The best part of these programs was to see the enthusiam in eyes of the kids to see the shows by visiting the neighbours house.
Sometimes, while walking on streets and if did hear the audio of the program, you would know what day of week it was ( O that is start of Chaaya Geet, so it is Thursday ).If some one put the old gajra programs on You tube it will be great.I remember once seeting Nata Samrat on TV and it was excellent. Shantanu Das said, on May 31, 2010 atAmit,It was such a wonderful experience to be taken down memory lane (around 35-40 years) back to the era of the advent of B & W TVs in gud old Bombay.During those days, just a handful TV manufacturers existed, & consumers had to choose from either a JK TV, or a Televista, or a Telerad brand. Suman Bajaj Kalra said, on June 26, 2010 atAmit, since you plan to write another nostalgia piece on Bombay Doordarshan, please make it a wee bit more cosmopolitan. There were several noteworthy programmes in Hindi & English also. Arohi gave Kavita Krishnamurthy, Pankaj Udhas, Sadhana Sargam, Suresh Wadkar and several others to the film industry.
Smita Patil trained under me. Farouque Sheikh was my find and Mithun Chakravarty first appeared in my programme as a dancer with Salome Roy Kapur. What’s The Good Word was started by Adi Marzban, when I took over as producer, Sabira M. Came in to host the programme.
Superb!!One of the biggest names in the entertainment world today, Ronnie Screwalla is also a product of Bombay DD. Vidhu Vinod Chopra was a frequent visitor looking for exposure. There are many tales and anecdotes as well asmany eminent personality who were first introduced by DD. Suman Bajaj Kalra said, on June 29, 2010 atAmit, in fact you have really sent me on a nostalgia trip.
I must consider a blog. Thanks for the idea. Some of the other names of celebrities who appeared in my programmes fairly often are Alyque Padamsee (wrote in Express “light has gone out of Bombay TV” when I moved to Delhi), D.V. Nadkarni, Gerson da Cunha, Pearl Padamsee, Kabir Bedi, Nissim Ezekeil, Soni Razdan, Rohinton Mistry.the list is endless.How did u get interested in this subject? Those were the days when people like Raj Kapoor & Sunil Datt had the generosity to pick up the phone and call the director to talk to the producer to compliment for a good prog. Abhay Pimplikar said, on July 11, 2010 atAmit accidently came across your blog.very nice post!!.Great amount of details from many contributors, all tracing down the in the good old memory laneI remember my first TV watching experience at my neighbours house sometime in Yr 1977/78.TV was an amazing thing. Marathi Batmya (news) was my first TV experience.Batmya had the loud dhyan dhyan dhyan introductory music with many photes appearing from nowhere in random including the BARC dome picture (that I remember).
I do remember Bhakti Barve on news.We used to have a Dyanora B & W model. It had a shutter door that used to slide and disappear in the sides when openedI watched most of the listed programmes and especially the Diwali Gajra used to be special.“Shwetambara” was probably the first Marathi serial (1982/83?) Some of you might remember Raghuveer Nevrekar with his fearsome eyes. Ninad Bapat said, on July 11, 2010 atHiThanks Amit for reviving old memoriesIs there a way these old gems (especially Mumbai doordarshan programs-Marathi) could be bought/found anywhere in any form.These could be preserved for eternityUnfortunately the internet did not give any details except the odd ones on youtube.@Shantanu Thanks for reminnding me of the sports round up tune cant remember it fullt though and who would forget the ever smiling presenter of sports round up Fredun De vitre who started the show with “Hi friends”ThanksNinad. Pankaj Rathod said, on July 20, 2010 atDear Amit and friends,Thanks for taking us through the the 1970 doordarshan lane.good old days of controlled televisioni feel the world was a better place thenif only i had a time machine.I remember watching a one-to-one interview program wherein a host of different personalities from all walks of life would be interviewed by one Mr. Kamleshwar and the program was called “Vibrations”.correct me if m wrong.Also we used to have this yoga program with the great OSHO.he used perform various yoga asana’s. Sameer Malhotra said, on July 24, 2010 atKamleshwar’s program was called ‘Parikrama’. There was Yuvdarshan for youth in Marathi, Hindi and Gujarati.
Farouqye Shaikh would compere Hindi Yuvdarshan. I remember Meena Naik doing the Marathi children’s program ‘Kilbil’. There was a program to read viewers letters in Marathi it was Vishwas Mehendale and Vinaya Dhumale in Hindi it was T P Jain and Sudha Malhotra.Some of the Gajra program wer great especially bu Daya Dongre and Arun Joglekar. Some of the Marathi newsreaders I remember were Jyotsna Kirpekar, Anant Bhave, Pradeep Bhide, Charusheela Patwardhan. In Hindi Kumud Mirani was my favorite.Suhasini Mulgaonkar and Ashok Ranade were great in ‘Pratibha and Pratima’. It was fun to watch Bhakti Barve doin Saptahiki.
In Diwali I remember all the ladies would dress in nice Maharashtrian dresses. Ketan Mehta said, on July 25, 2010 atAnuradha Paudwal and Suresh Wadkar were regular on Aarohi, I think she became famous because of Mumbai Doordarshan. I remember they used to show Marathi films on Saturdays. There was a time when they would show every Saturday Jayshree Gadkar Marathi movie.Adi Marzban was compering Avi Maari Saathe. Ketaki Dave, Jhankana Desai, Siddarth Randeria and host of Gujarati stage actors were part of Avo Mari Saathe.Wednesday was short dramas mostly Marathi, Thursday was Chhaya Geet and Friday was Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan. Said, on August 8, 2010 atAmit,It was great going thru the blog and it did bring back a lot of memories. Stangely, since yesterday I have been on this trip of digging stuff on the net for the 70s and early 80s.
I discovered you blog reading about Amin Sayani and Binaca Geetmala on radio Ceylon.I think some of the programs that still haven’t got a mention are ‘Young World’ that was hosted by Rony Screwalla and the Urdu program hosted by legendary Ali Sardar Jafri, the ‘Mehfile Yaran’.The documentary that comes to mind is the one on ‘Aravali’ and the commercial of ‘Nirodh’.The yoga program was not by Bhagwan Rajneesh, as mentioned by Pankaj, but it was one of the other yogis who was connected with the political parties in Delhi. Cant seem to get his name now.The news readers that still stay with me are Harish Bhimani, Selma Sultan (who never smiled), Kumud Mirani, Komal GB Singh, Gitanjali Iyer, Tajeshwar Singh and Siddarth Kak.Anil. Hemangi Vyas said, on September 28, 2010 atSure Amit I just happened to stumble upon your page I dont know how, and it brought back a rush of memories which poured onto the page spontaneously.About your question on accessing old tapes.since you have respondents like Suman Bajaj Kalra who mention the (now) big names, you could ask him for help! I am sure if not through old contacts just by virtue of his having been at helm in whatever capacity at some point may work.I remember asking for the tape at DD many moons ago and i think they said that they didn’t have it or didn’t know where it was. I guess maintaining archives(surprisingly so) wasn’t an important part or even considered. But I have a feeling they surely must have old tapes somewhere and its just that no one wants to make an effort to go through what is in all likelihood a disorganized pile.
Riddhi said, on February 6, 2011 atHi Amit,Your blog came up when I was looking online for information on some old DD programs. My search is a little unique in that I am looking for episodes of Sports Round Up that were hosted by my father (yes!).
He had co-hosted this program for some time and after all these years, he continues to talk about it very fondly. In a few weeks, it is going to be my father’s 60th birthday and we would love to gift him a an old episode.Do you know if DD maintains an archive? Is there anyone at DD you recommend that I can connect with in order to get more headway?I’d appreciate any help!!Thank you in advance. Vijay Kini said, on February 10, 2011 atHi AmitIts almost a year now after I commented on your page. I had too requested then, if there is any way where we all can sign up a letter requesting DoorDarshan for re-telecasting old programmes from their archives.
I am sure, you will find plenty eagerly waiting for this. I tried to find if any available on youtubebut couldn’t find any. There are serial like Banegi apni Baat, Yeh jo hai zindagi etc. I hope somebody take this up. Nice reading and I keep visiting your page to read all the new comments.
Regards Vijay-Muscat,Oman. Sachin Kondke said, on February 21, 2011 atforgot the regular- ‘Santawani’- rhymes from compositions of our revered saints like Dnyaneshwar, Tukaram, Eknath MaharajOld Fox, To the Manor Born,.hmmmm, lets see, shwetambara (with horror music),Hope DD repeats all the old ads and old serials. This will beat all the satellite channels at one go. DD, make me ur President /Chairman/ Director or whateverReally, we experienced a classic era whenfrom even our school teachers remember us and vice versa. Dhirenvyas said, on May 12, 2011 atchhayageet phool khile gulshan whats the good word parikrama kamagar vishwa aamchi maati aamchi manas,the goodies heres lucy charlie chaplin and many moreeee,but when the election time was there and counting was going on dd use to telecast continous movies it was funn sorry for the breakkkk,and when due to some reason the flim was not aired than had mood off,and we use to come out of homes,can any one give clips of old prograames i wl be thankfulll pls replyyyyyyy fasttttttttt.
Niranjan Chavan said, on June 3, 2011 atAmit,i am reading ur blog n comments for last 1 hr.its 1.20 am.Truely great n nostalgic. Was searching for dr padam singvi n dr batra who were once upon comperers of health shows on DD in late 70’s n early 80’s. Not heard of them lately except dr batra is know in to homeo clinics all over indiA.No tv till 1979 in my house.we used to go to karuns house Harinarayans to c all these progrms.n of course cricket for hrs together from 9 tiL 12 3o pm then lunch break, again tea break at 3 30 pm for 15 min.till 5 pm on test match days for t next 5 days. Heytal said, on June 3, 2011 atHow can you forget the “Rukavat Ke Liye Khed Hai”?Also, I am one generation ahead of all the folks here, but Rangoli on Sunday mornings made me wake up early on weekends 🙂Chitrahaar on Wednesday, Chhayageet on Thursday and Rangoli on Sunday. The discussion next day between moms was about which songs were shown. Pehla ye dikhaya and dusara ye dikhaya.
Then suddenly one of the aunties would be sad for missing the program just for that particular song.Buniyaad, Nukkad etc were the stuff that we grew up with. There was another program called “The Crystal Maze” which was my personal favourite. Vivek shukla said, on June 29, 2011 atI still remember when India played West Indies in the Carribeans with their pace attack spear headed by Michael Holding, Andy Roberts.
The highlights of the test matches used to come much later and were really looking forward to watch those highlights. Also there was one English serial The Count of Monte Christo which was very popular.I still remember the Marathi skit of the legendary P.L.
Deshpande “Varyavarchi Varaat”Thanks Amit for refreshing old memories!!!! Amit Rao said, on December 27, 2011 atGreat post, thanks Amit! 🙂The 70’s was indeed the golden age of Indian TV, and Mumbai Doordarshan was the bestThere was also a program on Sanskrit literature, called ‘Amrutmanthan’. The veena playing in the theme of that was awesome. 🙂 Also, there was an early Hindi serial called ‘Biwi Natiyonwali’ from Lucknow DD.
Long before Hum Log came on the scene. Anyone remember these? 😛I am horrified to know about DD just deleting the Chimanrao tapes – it is a criminal destruction of a cultural gem 😦 I do hope someone has a private recording and this classic can be revived.Also, there used to be some really nice documentaries (some are already mentioned above – the Ek Chidiya, the one about garbage, the one about nutrition and the human body, and another nice one called Swimmi on strength in unity). Also some nice group songs (vrindagaan) in various Indian languages from Akashwani Gayak Vrinda, typically conducted by Kanu Ghosh. Durgesh said, on February 29, 2012 atMy My.
Prasad Kulkarni said, on June 28, 2012 atWow nice post and i straight went to my child hood, thanks Amit for taking me to these goood old days. One thing which i recollect we use to go to anybody’s house to watch tv programmes like Chaya git,Sunday movie. There was no hang to go and simply sit in their drawing rooms. Cant think our kids doing this.
I remember my mother use to serve Farsan,Chiwda or some eatable to all who use to visit our house to watch TV programs. Wow those were the days everyone one was so simple and clean at heart.!!
Srinivas said, on July 2, 2012 atI still remember watching India Vs West Indies. The great Windies team with Greenidge, Fredericks, Richards, Kallicharan, Lloyd, Deryck Murray, Keith Boyce, Bernard Julian, Young fast Andy Roberts and Vanburn Holder In addition to Lance Gibbs, Willet and Parry as Spinners. I watched the ’75 Windies Test tranmission live from Wankhede. What a joy it was to watch them play Truly nostalgic.India lost the series 3-2 But it was great fightback down 0-2.Those were the days. Srinivas said, on July 2, 2012 atThe Olympic Coverages – Highlights – One hour was a viewing event by itself Still remember Nadia Comaneci from Romania win Gymastics with Perfect 10 scores from Montreal ’76.Also late 70’s and early 80’s watching Cricket Highlights from England and Australia especially. Were a pleasure to watch as Radio Commentary was all we had for overseas cricket tours I totally agree with earlier comments Quality from ’70s and ’80s vs Quantity from today.
I also watched a lot of Marathi Dramas and Plays especially Vasantrao Deshpande’s.’Katyar Kaljat Ghusali’. Ajit Kadkade in some others do not know the names Also a lot movies with Chandrakant, Suryakant, Arun Sarnaik, Ramesh Deo, Seema Deo, Jayashree Gadkaretc. Ketanw@gmail.com said, on December 7, 2012 atHey All.It was so nostalgic going through all your posts that I feel almost like a school kid.
Rushing home post evening plat to watch Baatmya, followed by Dinner & sound sleep. However even with those limited programmes & limited dual coloured picture, watching TV was so much fun & interesting. Those Filmdivision cartoonsStop chan Pull chain.or an educational short film to increase awareness pertaining croccing a railway line( used to start ith a filmn a truck driver drinking & drving).Oh!!!! It was so simple.
I guess innocece was not just being a kid but in tv serials (Sorry Programmes as they used to be called then 🙂 )of those days too. If I may add am not sure but was ” The World of Sports” that used to be aired on Sunday afternoon used to be air around the same time.? Hope some one sheds light on this please.And Amit many thanks for starting the post& sharing in such a simplistic yet passionate words. And thankyou all for addying to it. I really feel like a child once more. Niranjan Karnad said, on December 29, 2012 atThis was so interesting and Nostalgic reading.
It took me back 40 years to the days when we did not have a TV set and would sneak out of the house to go to those who had one. Then my father bought one for us in 1974. I remember all those programmes mentioned above and do not want to repeat all those over again just a few which I feel people forgot or missed out1.
Man in the Suitcase (supense serial eveing 9.00 pm)2. Ascent of Man I think was Sunday mornings3. Cosmos On space I think compered by some Seagal4. Kandil at around 6.30-7.00 pm5. Documentaries like Skin in the Bin and Tree of Unity6. Budd Abbot and Lou Castello7. Soldiers (by BBC on War)8.
Apan Yanha Pahilat ka?9. A Sindhi programme similar to Gajra(Marathi) and Avo Mare saathe(Gujrati) I do not remember the name.10. Marathi Sangeet Natya many of them11. Someone had mention Dilip Prabhavalkar in Zhopi Gelela Jaga Zhala. However the actors were Atmaram Bhende, his wife Asha Bhende and Late Baban Prabhu. There was also a sequel to it Dinu chi Sasubai Radhabai. Roby said, on January 13, 2013 atthose days life was so simple and healthy.we used to love the outdoors and playing outside with your friends was a must.I guess we are the lucky generation who were witness to the beginning of the INFORMATION WORLD,but at the same time we never lost the fun of those innocent outdoor child hood games and pranks.for me the marathi picture on saturday was a must,i could not miss that even if i missed the hindi movie on sunday.probably bcoz marathi movies were more realistic and meaningful rather than the fantasy filled hindi ones.
Said, on February 4, 2013 atDear AmitActully I had seen the sangeet natak Katyar Kaljat Gusli,on DD but at that time it was not possible to Record it, having seen it I can easily say since than I have never seen anything like that till date, Dr. Vasantrao Despande at his best, there is no word to express the greatness of the whole group who worked for this on DD. Its a shame that DD mumbai still can’t re broadcast the same from their records, I did request them but with no responce, There must be someone who might have recored this program do you know anyone.?In the Old days the programs were limited but they were really good, Now you have too many but meaningless junk is being fed to the public,with moderiisation the ESSENCE is lost.Thanks of reminding us of what we lost.RegardsShankar Bhandarkar Worli Mumbai.
Vinay Naik said, on February 10, 2013 at@Niranjan- The Vikram Gokhale Serial you mentioned was name “Dwidhata”. Each episode was interesting and filled with suspense.It was one of my favourite serials.To add a few more which I can recollect.– There was a short 10 min slot for a crime awareness program called “Hoshiyaar” just before Chayageet (Chitrahaar??) which used to caution people on city crimes.– “Ladoo Singh Taxiwala” was one of the earliest non-sponsored serials I remembered starring Paintal as the friendly neighborhood taxiwala.– Regarding, short animations/docu, there was one which a Fat mustachioed guy eats meals from a steel plate wasting food and later a thin guy does eats his plate clean. Once they leave, the plates look at each other animatedly with a frown and a smile 🙂 I loved that one.– The “keep streets clean” animation in which the frustrated Guy shouts like hell in the end and expertly kicks rubbish back in homes.HaHaHa.Priceless!!– Cartoon which had a friendly mole/rat.(mole stories??)– “Only Vimal” Ad.One of the more frequent ads. Starring Model Deepak Parasher.– Kridangan.Sports program in Marathi– Khel Khilone – A kilbil equivalent hosted by Manju Singh– Woodwards Gripe water ad: Kai jhaala?.Bal radat hota.tu lahaan astana me hi tula hech det hoti.I remember we had a ‘licence’ for the B/W TVI wonder if that was really needed?BTW, I admit I got really emotional while reading all the comments.
Life was so different then. We were so happy with so little. Plenty of time to play, come home with excitement to watch TV. Watch with family, neighbors and friends.Can someone invent a time machine please? I really want to go back and relive those moments.God bless you’ll. Ashok Gokhale said, on February 22, 2013 atI came across this blog quite accidentally, I was surfing the net from my home in Illinois, where we have about 4-5 inches of fresh snow. Anyway, all the comments were refreshing, I remember that I appeared (I guess live) on Sabira Merchant show in about 1980, I remember the question: It was about the Suez Canal, I got it right!That was my two seconds of fame!
Before the actual show, we had to go through elimination rounds. It was some experience being at the Doordarshan studios. I distinctly also remember that day (about 4 pm or so), Smita Talvalkar was rehearsing her 730 pm news in Marathi. The other show I remember was called ‘VALAYANKIT’, I think hosted by one Gadgil, this show had interviews with kids of the rich and the famous. One episode I remember was about the Shantanu Kirloskar familyWe bought a Dyanora TV in 1974, remember watching West Indies vs India, live from Wankhede, The TV was on all day long including the breaks, The TV was really hot literally! The Doordarshan starting tune was very nice. The sunday movies was always a big attraction.
One sunday, I believe it was May 22 1978 or so, Raj Kapoor’s Jagte Raho was being telecast, I really wanted to watch it, but I was cramming for my finals, next day was my last exam at UDCT. In short, I focussed on the studies but could ‘hear’ most of the movie from the other room! Nostalgia is a great relief always, it is amazing how memories from 10-20-30 years spring forward! Have a good day all. Said, on February 22, 2013 at-The 1st Marathi serial or an attempted serial was a Marathi Natak called “Shwetambra” – it was shown in 3 parts and it was shown twice-Aamchi Mati Aamchi Manse and Gyandeep would alternate at the 7 pm slot. Gyandeep would be the more boring of the two and I think it used to air on tuesdays and thursdays– Batmya used to air at 730pm and I still remember their opening and closing lines:opening – Namaskar aaj chya thalak batmya ( they wud repeat this toward the end of the news too)closing – Aata ya barobarach aajchya batmya sampla, udya paryant baghoo ya Namaskar ( this was the cue to call everybody to continue watching sat/sunday films )– Bhakti barve used to read marathi news and even the 9 pm hindi news used to air from mumbai. Bhakti barve used to do hindi news too sometimes– Thurday 8pm they used to air a boring show called ‘Charcha’.
Sunildutt said, on May 6, 2013 athi kiti mast aathvani aaly dolyasamoar, its really missing every moment of childhood, eakach channel pan khoop majja. There is no question of marathi serial we follow as Gajara, Chimarao GundyaBhao,Aamchi Mati Aamchi Manse, Marathi Saturday Films, but as a child we also follow the Giant Robo, Star Trek.i am searching from long back the GAJARA & Chimanrao & Gundyabhao, but still i couldn’t suceed. It is my request if any one is having the same or any information please pass the same to me ASAP. Kenny said, on May 22, 2013 atFolks, this is getting even more nostalgic, I was quite a kid in the 70’s, but it seems you folks were quite grown up as you still recollect the names of the news readers and the programmes like Mulka velgli mansa, sundar mazaa ghar, kamgar vishwa, kilbil etc.
But I cant forget the duo baban prabu & yakub sayed. I am seeking those serials. There was also a time when the Hindi movies were scheduled in the mornings.There was also sports round up, paintal’s ladoo singh taxiwala, star trek. Said, on July 13, 2013 atI still remember the news readers. Smita Patil who became famous actress. Then there was Kumud MIrchandani whose smile was out of the world.
And everyone waited till the end to see it. Also Dolly Thakore. Shobha Tungare was our class teacher.
Her daughters too became new readers later. Her younger daughter Asavari is famous Hindi serial actress.There was one Ms Shelke too. I forgot her first name. Sharma had very deep and thoughtfull voice. Pradeep Bhide was handsome.News Readers in those days kept voice modulation to its minimum. In fact the news of some politician’s death was told in the same fashion as celebration of some politician’s birthday.
Orpe said, on July 13, 2013 atAnand OrpeI was one of the luckiest person to have a Television set right on the first day Doordarshan started.Those were the days when a T.V.mounted small antenna in the shape of ‘V’ used to be there.On the first day i.e.in 1971 or 72 I don’t remember almost 100+ people were peeking through all the windows of our flat and giving different opinions about how the antenna should be placed so as to get a clear transmission.We were having a German make PYE T.V. Mumbaikarsinha said, on July 14, 2013 atLet’s not forget – “Young World”, “Reflections” and Sports Commentary by AFS Talyarkhan on Saturday nights. Science Today on Sunday nights.
Halla Gulla Pathshala – Harindranath Chhatopaddhya would occasionally grace Magic Lamp, DnyadeepDo you remember the call sign being AIR? The Doordarshan logo and theme music came a bit later, perhaps 1975-1976,Wonder what happened to all the stalwarts of Mumbai Doordarshan – Sabira Merchant, Luku Sanyal, Nirmala Matthan, Smita Talwalkar, TP Jain, Fredun deVitre, Gerson da Cunha, Pratap Sharma.Some alas are no longer with us – Bhakti Barve, Smita Patil.Mumbai Doordarshan was a class apart, it just wasn’t the same after the nefarious “National TV” got shoved down our throats ca 1982. Neelesh said, on August 4, 2013 atWorli Doordarshan Kendra, Mumbai has a library and Smt Haldankar is the librarian. They do have DVD’s CD’s for sale However only selected programs are for sale because they have sent many request to New Delhi for permitting them to sell serials like Pratibha Ani Pratima but the response from Central Ministry is very pathetic.
This was my impression when I visited a few times. I am writting this so that some influential person presses the ministry to act quickly on the pending que. We need to get an entry pay to meet the librarian and buy the treasure. Uttam Padukone said, on August 13, 2013 atThe exact date on which Doordarshan started was October 2, 1972. A little known fact is that the first Sunday Hindi movie telecast on Bombay Doordarshan was Albela starring Bhagwan.———-On a different note, one of the tapes that was erased was that of the Marathi Sangeet Natak – Katyar Kalzaat Ghusli – which featured Dr Vasantrao Deshpande in the role that he made his own. The tape was required to be spared for the Asiad.There were many requests for a re-telecast of that play and the asses in Doordarshan then revealed that it was erased to release it for recording Asiad sporting events. These requests probably came in 1983 after he had passed away.
Vijay sahte said, on September 7, 2013 ati was searching for chimanrao gundyabhau clip to show it to my daughter. Wrongly i reached to a place where everybody of my age want to go! That reminds me my childhood memories!! Yesterday only i was telling about my childhood days to my daughter while watching the t v as she was surfing channels. As she wait hardly for 2-3 minutes for a particular channel and changes to next.
I told her we had no choice in our days. One incident i must tell about the sunday picture t v was a luxury in those days in my area only three tv sets were there and their son were my fast friend. To watch the programme we have to pay for watching picture on saturday – Marathi Picture and Sunday- hindi Picture. Now if i tell,in those days they were charging (!) 00.05 paise for Chhayageet, 00.20 paise for Marathi picture and 00.20 paise for hindi pictures.
(which they never asked me!!) when i told this to my daughter (She is 12 yrs) she laughed and said only 00.05 and 00.25 paise??? Yesterday only i downloaded fireball XL5,Street Hawk, star Trek episodes to show her a ZALAK of my(our) time classic entertainmen programme.I told my daughter the quality of programme -technically also comparing with these days advanced technology was excellent!now there so many channels are there having daily telecast for more than 10 to 11 years with no story theme.
During my better to say our time serials were ending in max 13 episodes- telecasted one in a week was having standard.Amit a big thanks!!!!!!!!!! Vijay sathe said, on September 7, 2013 atDD – Doordarshan had launched regional channels to compete with private channels. In earlier days upto i think 8 or 9 p.m was regional programmes were aired then national programme -from delhi doordarshan obviously in hindi — During earlier days Doordarshan relay starts at 5.00 p.m and ends up at 11.00 pm (if I am not wrong )some classic english movies were also aired at 10.30 or 11.00 on saturday night.
In those days All english movies were falling under ADULT movies even bruce lee was not exception!! Can’t recollect exact year — about which our senior collegues narrates to us in school days –.It remembers Me and my friends were WATCHING all engish series star trek,fireball.lucy’s show as the english ascents were not familier to us.Very next day in the school one of our senior friend tells the story of that english serial /movie!!Star Trek had given us an idea of cell fone – we took two match box which was tied with thread thru, that cause punishment to me and my friend,During festival time Doordarshan do air “Khas Karyakram” thru GAJARA. Ramesh Palvankar said, on December 23, 2013 atThe TV transmission used to begin with Retma Chart.The test matches were telecast without any commercials and so scenes on the field at drink intervals were also possible to view.
Many people preferred to keep radio commentary instead of patchy TV commentary. Harsha Bhogle in those days was appeaning in Sprorts Round up.’Cricket with Vijay Merchant’ after ‘ Bournvita Quiz Contest’ at Sundays 1:30 Pm were popular programmes,so also Aaplee Aawad and Kamgar Sabha on Bombay-B.Gone are those simple & hence lovely days. Uttam Padukone said, on January 25, 2014 atOne of the most egregious case of bullying by Delhi Doordarshan happened during Cricket World Cup final match between West Indies and India.After the telecast of Asiad and the creation of National Network, the earlier in the day programs would be locally produced while the programs from about 830 pm or so would be simultaneously telecast but sourced from Delhi Doordarshan. On some days, when Chitrahaar was scheduled at 8 pm, Delhi’s programs would be from 8 pm itself.But the first program when the Delhi sourced programs started each day was the News in Hindi.On the World Cup Finals day, there was uninterrupted live telecast of the match.
India had been all out for a low score of just 180+. And Balwinder Singh Sandhu had already removed Desmond Haynes. And India seemed in with a chance.In walked Vivian Richards with his customary swagger, started middling the ball and all of us were watching the match slip from India’s hands when Delhi Doordarshan interrupted the telecast for the expressionless face of Salma Sultan reading the news.As we gnashed our teeth, hoping for some updates about the score during the news telecast, we were to be disappointed.All of a sudden we (living in a colony in Bombay) heard a loud roar of voices in the streets below. My dad and I looked up and I said, “something big has happened.” Hurriedly, we tuned to the BBC which had a live commentary and learned that Vivian Richards had been caught by Kapil Dev with an incredible catch. And we waited for our Good Ol’ Doordarshan to give us some updates on this fall of the wicket – remember Clive Lloyd was NOT in form in that tournament while Richards was – and Salma Sultan did not digress even ONCE from the script, did not get one more wrinkle on her face to smile, read everything that was put in front of her – AND IT DID NOT INCLUDE THE FALL OF RICHARDS’ WICKET!To date, I can never forget the bullying by Delhi Doordarshan that day!
Milind Gokhale said, on February 3, 2014 atAmit,As a matter of fact, I met Pradeep Bhide’s (Marathi News reader in 70’s) son yeaterday while travelling to Nigeria. That took me back in 70’s B&W TV era and I started recalling the names of various programs Doordarshan used to telecast. All those faces such as Pradeep Bhide, Jyotsna Kirpekar, Bhakti Barve, Anant Bhave, Suhasini Mulgaonkar, Meena Naik, Tabassum, Dolly Thakur (English News reader) and their respective programs went through my mind. Those were indeed fabulous days.TV programs watching was a kind of get together and I remember that even the kids from Gauliwada (Near Aranyeshwar, Pune) used to come home to watch Saturday and Sunday movies. Not to forget Saptahiki as well.As a matter of fact, I recalled that the very first telecast was realised at OCS’s (Overseas Communication Services) Dighi center in 1971 or 1972. I was hardly 7/8 years old and the reason to remember is that my Mama was working with OCS those days.Milind Gokhale. Vivek Prabhu said, on March 5, 2014 atI had been watching Bombay TV since 1973 and in those days we used to go to a friend’s home to watch TV, The “Invisible Man”, “Man in a Suitcase” and “Fireball XL-5” were English favorites.
In Marathi we used to watch “Aamchi Maati Aamchi Manse” especially the Gappa-Goshti part. Kilbil, Magic Lamp, Chayageet, and Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan were the eternal favorites, apart from the mandatory Hindi movie on Sunday evenings.I also remember that in 1974 or so, we needed a license to operate a TV, and had to get it renewed each year at the Post Office. In 1976 or 77 only did the Govt.
Gajra Marathi Serial Number
Do away with the license, but we still needed the externalantenna (7 section multi-element) which was connected via co-axial cable to the TV tuner down in the home. At the time there was only 1 channel and so the frequency was the same, and if someone had a TV on nearby and had a clear signal, a neighbor could get a ghost image.
We were lucky to see the transition from single-channel B&W Doordarshan transmission, to Color TV with Cable TV and later on with 24/7 channels transmitting everything locally or internationally sourced over satellite.Kids today have no clue sometimes of what was, and are able to watch streaming videos on the iPads and smartphones and have so short attention spans for the TV programs now. TV then was entertaining and educating (I remember the Indian SITES experiment) which used to broadcast educational programs in science, geography, biology etc.
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