Doordarshan turned 60 on Sunday and took the older generation of India to a nostalgic lane. A golden period when Doordarshan was another name for entertainment.
India’s first public service broadcaster that made the country revolve around the serials such as Mahabharata, Hum Log, Ramayan, Dekh Bhai Dekh, Bharat Ek Khoj, Shriman Shrimatiand and for the daily dose of news.
Established on September 15th, 1959, Doordarshan flagged the way for the Golden age in Indian television. It extended its services to Mumbai and Amritsar and then to seven other cities by 1975. On April 1, 1976, it transited to become a separate department in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Doordarshan was an idea inspired out of uniting families in the living room to watch the daily Samachar or the evening shows. It catered to all audiences alike with its evolving number of TV shows — from regional and general entertainment to news and sports.
People ran down the nostalgic lane on Twitter to celebrate the 60th anniversary with many of them asking “which is your favourite DD shows”.
#60GloriousYearsOfDD @shashidigital, CEO @prasarbharati shares his views on completion of 60 years of #Doordarshan.@MIB_India @PIB_India @mediasurya @supriyasahuias @DDNewsLive @airnewsalerts @AkashvaniAIR pic.twitter.com/iYW4FkDrj7
— Doordarshan National दूरदर्शन नेशनल (@DDNational) September 15, 2019
Many shared their memories associated with Doordarshan and the shows that made their childhood memorable.
The iconic logo which symbolises the human eye that used to appear before the programmes with its original tune were seen posted on twitter by many.
As the years pass by, Doordarshan has evolved into a network operating 34 satellite channels, besides providing free-to-air DTH service having 104 in its bookings. It expanded to other countries and is free of cost on cable and satellite TV for smooth and universal accessibility.
Doordarshan was once a platform for many of the Bollywood celebs to showcase their talent and grow into a star. One such celebrity is King Khan, who became a household name after his serial Fauji.
From an experimental broadcast, with a small transmitter and a makeshift studio inside the All India Radio to a world-known channel, it has seen all the ups and downs. Despite the challenges/competition from the present TV channels, it continues to live. Early this year, India signed an agreement with Bangladesh to telecast the state-run DD India in the neighbouring country.
Special Poem by Amitabh Bachchan to make the 60th anniversary of #Doordarshan;
Doordarshan has been a part of everyone’s life till now, and we look forward to it to come in a new GenX avatar so that the young generation could also relate to this never-ending legacy.
Let’s tune in to Doordarshan with the family to relive those old memories.
