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In a click of a button, we are introduced in minutes to a world full of Naagins evil sasumas ,ghosts, adultery,swapping of wives and husbands, the list goes on and on never seeming to end and we seem to gain so much joy,entertainment and feeling of oneness with these TV serials that we try to imitate them and live their lives not realizing that in the bargain we lose our sense of belonginess,identity and are willing to live in a world of fantasy,deceit,falsehood. We Know Evil Exists, But... THIS Much? Most shows are pegged around women helming family matters and the plotting and conspiring amongst themselves tends to get on one’s nerves. Older shows like Balika Vadhu and Uttaran had antagonists who plotted to humiliate other members of their family. In Diya Aur Bati Hum too, a female antagonist was always heard scheming in her monologue.And who doesn’t remember Komolikka from Kasauti Zindagi Kay?The latest trend in shows is infusing a supernatural element, completely defying science, logic, death and sometimes even gravity.Naagins, makkhis, telepathy, super speed, ghosts, resurrections, and many other elements contribute in making Indian soap operas the enigma they are. Another strange phenomenon in our daily soaps is the crazy time jumps. The moment the lead couple gets married and has a baby, the show often gets fast-forwarded to at least 20 years.Their child is now 20 years old in the blink of an eye but the rest of the cast hasn’t aged a day! *slow claps. For example, show Saath Nibhaana Saathiya, for example, the mother looks like her daughter’s sister. Science definitely cannot come up with an anti-ageing treatment to match this phenomenon. In  Kausati Zindagi Ki, we see couples getting married so many times that it confuses us and makes us wonder what they are trying to portray. I can understand going to sleep in casual clothes, but going to bed wearing heavily embroidered saris, huge jhumkas, and more than five necklaces is unique to Indian soap operas. To top it all... waking up with perfect makeup! Reality takes a walk with most Indian soap operas as we are left to wonder, “Kaun banate hai ye sab, aur log kyun dekhte hai isse?” (“Who makes these shows and who watches them?”) Once upon a time, there was no television to pack up the entire world and bring it into our living room. But as soon as it arrived, we became addicted to it. Even after the rise of computers, internet and smartphones, our televisions are still holding their proud place in our homes. They entertain us, inform us and are great help in whiling away a boring hour. Out of all sorts of programs that we can watch on televisions, I thinks soap operas enjoy most popularity. And rightly so. After all, they entertain us while teaching us many valuable lessons. Yes, lessons. Here are some that I have learnt from the TV Soaps. It's sad to see Indian television becoming synonymous with regressive saas-bahu sagas and pointless reality shows. One of the major shifts that took place on Indian television was one person who denoted an era of her own - Ekta Kapoor. Unfortunately for us, she struck gold with the concept of family shows being held together by a lead woman character. These women were created to tick all the attributes of some regressive ideal of the beti, bahu, biwi. The purpose of their lives seems to be to be sorry for everything happening around them. Indian television also has become the den of reality TV shows where anger, expletives, flaring tempers sell more than any of the talent hunt. So we see a bunch of middle-aged men fighting over whether an upcoming singer will have roti in his house after the show gets over. It's good entertainment for the audience as we see foul-mouthed judges give it to each other. And that's that.  And that's when I drowned in my own thought about what happened to Indian television? It was decent growing up with the Malgudi Days, Byomkesh Bakshis of my time. And then everything went to shit.  

From the very beginning of the start of Covid all over the world, our normal daily lives have been disturbed, turned topsy-turvy leaving behind a long lonely trail of memories of good days gone by. Within a click of a finger we have lost so many near and dear ones, who we thought still had a long way to go… life has become so uncertain that we have begun to dread every day,instead of enjoying life we are scared who will be snatched  away next… we had taken life so lightly and for granted that today we wish we could turn back the clock of life .. On the onset they said “do not be alarmed” it was just a matter of good hygiene like washing hands, keeping social distance,wearing masks…They said this pandemic will be over in a year’s time and we will all get back to our old days soon. But it has now been more than a year and waves and surges of this pandemic don’t seem to die. In all this, we fail to understand and see the grief and powerlessness that many are going through at seeing their loved one sick and dying slowly before them. Many a time the patients are treated like outcasts and their bodies wait for their loved ones to come and complete the burial rites which many a time an outsider fulfills for fear of infection. Those who fought and are still fighting against Covid don’t deserve discrimination, we should  never lose our capacity to care, empathize and help all those who need our support.This virus has separated families and friends and brought out the worst in us as a people and society.   Never forget that a Covid patient is a human being who is scared, in pain and maybe without means to fight, we need to be more kinder, compassionate and human.   It’s the time to pay tribute to a family member, a relative, friend who died, recovered and are still fighting Covid.Make them know we salute them and that we are with them in thoughts and in our prayers.     .