November 21, 2004

A RAMBLE IN THE GRAVE

Sudden footfalls inspire,
The cold wind to chill the bones.
Was that the sound of spirits?
Walking out of graves to roam?

Eerie silence suddenly prevails,
The rustle of the leaves echoes.
Leaving no hope for calm,
Fear in the mind it sows.

The cobwebby stones emerged,
With an elegy to sing in praise,
The long dead man rests,
Unknown of how much he is loved.

Maybe sometimes he does come out!
To see those faces stained with tears,
And weep alongside and mourn-
He for them and they for their dear.

Out ahead looms,
The graves of all ‘dead’ souls.
Dead are they really?
A sudden doubt rolls…

~The Dreamy Dryad

November 02, 2004

DD!!!

The two letters conjure up an image of an old, out-of-date, dull something that makes you pause awhile…just awhile and then shift over your thoughts to SUNny,STARry and yuMmy options.
Yes…DD is old,greying and with no ideas of freshening itself!!! 


Welcome to the world bereft of colour-Welcome to DD!!! 


Being a DD viewer from when I was a toddler,there can be no one better to give a verdict on the channel than me!For all those DD fans-this is not for you b’coz this is a screaming,insulting and exasperated outburst of a 17 year old veteran DD-watcher. 


Let me begin with the serials.When in my ninth …which happens to be 4 years back,there was this serial called Aarohan with Pallavi Joshi as the leading lady.An excellent and surprisingly short serial(ran for about 13 episodes),the serial became my instant favourite.My grandmother who happened to pass by when I was watching the serial remarked, “Oh…they are showing it again?” 


DD retelecasted Aarohan for the fifth time this May and me-the jobless,collegeless girl watched it faithfully-coz there was nothing better to watch! 


Again in my ninth…I watched Sharukh’s Circus and my grandmother commented ditto!Again…this May DD telecasted Circus.Again…Again…Again!!!Am I getting repetitive?Ah well that’s what happens when you watch DD and DD alone!!! 


Avvai Shanmughi…the Kamal Hassan version of Mrs.Doubtfire was a great grosser in the box-office.Surprisingly within an year or so of its release,DD showed it.Man…wasn’t I thrilled?Good ol’ DD is getting better,we tribe rejoiced!But oh…in this world of gross uncertainities,too much happiness ain’t good for anyone!Anbae Sivam,Hey Ram,Virumaandi,Panchathanthiram,Pammal K Sambandham,Aalavandhaan and Vasool Raja MBBS later…DD showed Avvai Shanmughi for the nth time(I lost track!) this Sunday and my dear darling sister watched…coz…again…there was nothing better! 


This May part of the DD National woke up and decided to rope in some able people to make serials…Hindi serials!Ah…how I long for them?In came Meher,Kayamat(K-coz its Ekta Kapoor’s!),Miss.India etc.The serials were the same old fighting,making up,trials,tribulations,joy,laughter(or…giggles?) and lots of tears but this was new…YES NEW!!! 


The Gods above became jealous now at my bliss and employed DD Podhigai(namma local Chennai wing!) to shatter my inexplicable joy.Podhigai began to telecast its Tamil programmes in DD Podigai AND DD National at the same time!Senseless,but sadly true!Exit…Meher,Kayamat,Miss.India and happiness! 


Now that I have begun,let me finish…yes finish off Podhigai.They start showing a serial…ah relief to my mother and grandmother during their noontime hours,I thought.Oh again the evil eye descends…stop the serial mid-way. “My god…we’ll never know what happened to Devi in this serial –whether she’ll marry Ramu or not?”my poor family members worry. 


CRICKET MATCHES….they show it alright.But first balls and last balls,century celebrations and hugs and huddles are all cut…RUTHLESSLY unthinking of the average cricket fans’ craving for sports’ greatest moments! 


The only good thing about DD is its unbiased news,Sumanth Raman's Sports Quiz,Mark Lynn’s voice,Elizabeth Jane’s smart looks and the Friday-Saturday movies. 


Oh…but the plight of the DD viewer has improved ever since a few sensible programmes have been introduced in Podhigai.But sensible stuff are not what I want. 


I WANT TEAR-JERKING HINDI SERIALS,IDIOTIC GAME SHOWS,MOVIE REVIEWS,INTERVIEWS,GIGGLING GIRLS HOSTING COUNTDOWN SHOWS !IT MIGHT SOUND SILLY BUT I WANT DD TO BE LIKE OTHER CHANNELS AND SHOW SILLY AND STUPID ALONG WITH SENSIBLE STUFF!...AND YES…I WANT AAROHAN AGAIN!!!(Incurable,ain't I???)
© Dryad's Peak
Maira Gall