Nostalgia - by Vijayan M E

RTE (Radio Television Eire) will be 50 years old on New Year's Eve 2011.(RTE is like Doordarshan in India) 
So what ?? you would ask me, especially from the other side of the Globe and miles away from Ireland.Very TRUE and good question.In fact with all the new new 24hours channels, I see RTE mainly for Irish News and Sports probably giving the same importance as we used to give Doordarshan.What am i talking and what's the point i am coming to ?Well, An Post (the postal department of Ireland) issued three stamps of 55 cents each to commemorate the upcoming 50th anniversary.What really caught my eye was the three stamps made me look back at the years that had passed by.

The first stamp features  the late late show on the BOX television in black n white..................PAST. The second stamp features the children's show on a FLAT LCD television in colour/HD...........PRESENT and although featured as FUTURE,the third stamp features the RTE news on a hand held device (I Pad)And the best part was the zeal on the special stamps showing the good old BOX television with the big antenna on the top, making a big "V"

I took myself back through the stamps, well not 50 years back, but to the Year 1984. Los Angeles was hosting the Olympics.Apart from Ronald Reagan, Edwin Moses, Sebastian Coe, Carl Lewis and the then USSR boycotting the games, it was very very special to me because that is when Television came to my home,  "Dipthi". I remember still the "National" Box Television that was bought from the then gulf of Malabar, Chemmad in Malapuram.(National is now Panasonic).It was great then, especially the opening music of Doordharshan which now sounds "sad"  and Krishi Dharshan, Chitrahar, News at 0930pm and on Friday,  "The World this week" by Pranoy Roy who now is the main boss of NDTV. The best was when someone died, you have the whole day of Bhajans and singing.......eulogies and what not. Writing of someone dead, today you can see top leaders, personalities die every single hour in different channels in different angles through out the day as it gets repeated every hour again and again and again and........always showing breaking news/LIVE.......

Forget seeing whats happening "LIVE" insome remote corner of the world or the Royals getting married.......what's in store is VIRTUAL TELEVISION.I am not going into 3D Television. But with palm held gadgets, like iPad, iPhone........the world is right in your palm and not at your doorstep as they used to say.Truly a remarkable world!!!
Oh! Thank You for reading and season's greetings!!!!!!

---