Fighting Ekta and the IPL
Ketan
Tanna
finds out how two housing societies in Mumbai have been surviving without the idiot box for the last 13 years
Tanna finds out how two housing societies in Mumbai have been surviving without the idiot box for the last 13 years
Afew kilometres away from Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Telefilms stand two housing societies whose residents aren’t, like most of India, breathlessly following the convoluted tracks of her daft soaps. In fact, they don’t care about television at all.
In 1995, the two large colonies—Gulshan Society in Versova and Gujarat Momin Society in Jogeshwari—threw away their television sets. Some of the 1,500 residents of Gulshan did it with the kind of flourish that would have done Balaji proud—they chucked their TVs from their balconies. The decision was triggered not by the poor quality of TV soaps but by a zealous speech delivered at the local masjid by Maulana Abdul Rehman Khorakiwala on the scourge of television.
Thirteen years later, the two enclaves remain television-less, if one discounts the five or six families in Gulshan Society who have gone back to the habit, citing IPL as the reason. The Gujarat Momin society, however, has been steadfast in its resolve—there is not a single television set among the nearly 10,000 people living there.
So how do the denizens while away the long hours without the vicarious pleasures of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Indian Idol or IPL? Usmanbhai Sunasara, an office-bearer of Gulshan Society, dismisses the notion that one needs television. “The children are busy with school; we men go out for work; the women are busy with household chores. We have evening classes on the Quran. So where’s the time to watch or miss TV?’’ he asks rhetorically.
Illyasbhai Borania, secretary of the society when the decision to do away with TV was taken, is distressed about the dissident families who have succumbed again to the temptation.“It’s basically the youngsters who’ve bought the sets, saying they wanted to watch Twenty20 and the World Cup. But we all know that when one has television in the house, one does not stop at watching just cricket or news,’’ he sighs.
Borania, who is a bit regretful that the managing committee cannot impose unilateral decisions, tries nevertheless to make the youngsters see sense by “explaining to them that TV is nothing short of evil’’. Why? “Have you watched the daily soaps?’’ he asks indignantly. “Have you watched the Hindi movies? Do you think that they are family viewing?’’ His family has not asked once for TV, he says, adding loftily, “It all depends on the values that parents inculcate in their children.’’
The residents of Gulshan and Gujarat Momin Society are from the Chiliya Muslim community that traces its origins to Palanapur, Sidpur and nearby areas in Gujarat. Both societies have a lifestyle that’s different from other Muslim societies in Mumbai.
There are mosques within the society premises, and the atmosphere is distinctly religious—if one isn’t working, one is praying or just relaxing in small congregations in the evening.
The societies’ denizens are particularly proud of leading what they claim is a wholesome life without the insidious intrusion of television. New entrants—the girls who marry into families here, for instance—get into the flow of a televisionless life without much ado.Rizwana Borania,daughter-in-law of Illyasbhai, says that when she got married,she was aware that there would be no TV at her husband’s home in Mumbai. “At my mother’s home in Mehsana we did watch TV. But thank god we don’t have it here. TV is evil,’’ she declares vehemently. A Christian girl who married a Gulshan Society resident six months ago also claims she is happy.
Not that the womenfolk of Gulshan society are clueless about television—they know the alarmingly mutating plots of Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki or Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, for instance. “Yes, we are aware of serials because people talk about them and they are written about. But there never been any desire to see them,’’reiterates Rizwana.
To cite the converse situation, there’s 22-year-old Khadija Kojar who grew up in Gulshan Society and moved out after marriage a year and half ago. Her marital home has a TV set, but for Khadija that is irrelevant. “I can watch TV all I want to now,’’ she says. “I did, out of curiosity. But I am not terribly impressed by what I saw.’’
A lot of regular TV watchers would second that sentiment. TNN
ketan.tanna@timesgroup.com
In 1995, the two large colonies—Gulshan Society in Versova and Gujarat Momin Society in Jogeshwari—threw away their television sets. Some of the 1,500 residents of Gulshan did it with the kind of flourish that would have done Balaji proud—they chucked their TVs from their balconies. The decision was triggered not by the poor quality of TV soaps but by a zealous speech delivered at the local masjid by Maulana Abdul Rehman Khorakiwala on the scourge of television.
Thirteen years later, the two enclaves remain television-less, if one discounts the five or six families in Gulshan Society who have gone back to the habit, citing IPL as the reason. The Gujarat Momin society, however, has been steadfast in its resolve—there is not a single television set among the nearly 10,000 people living there.
So how do the denizens while away the long hours without the vicarious pleasures of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Indian Idol or IPL? Usmanbhai Sunasara, an office-bearer of Gulshan Society, dismisses the notion that one needs television. “The children are busy with school; we men go out for work; the women are busy with household chores. We have evening classes on the Quran. So where’s the time to watch or miss TV?’’ he asks rhetorically.
Illyasbhai Borania, secretary of the society when the decision to do away with TV was taken, is distressed about the dissident families who have succumbed again to the temptation.“It’s basically the youngsters who’ve bought the sets, saying they wanted to watch Twenty20 and the World Cup. But we all know that when one has television in the house, one does not stop at watching just cricket or news,’’ he sighs.
Borania, who is a bit regretful that the managing committee cannot impose unilateral decisions, tries nevertheless to make the youngsters see sense by “explaining to them that TV is nothing short of evil’’. Why? “Have you watched the daily soaps?’’ he asks indignantly. “Have you watched the Hindi movies? Do you think that they are family viewing?’’ His family has not asked once for TV, he says, adding loftily, “It all depends on the values that parents inculcate in their children.’’
The residents of Gulshan and Gujarat Momin Society are from the Chiliya Muslim community that traces its origins to Palanapur, Sidpur and nearby areas in Gujarat. Both societies have a lifestyle that’s different from other Muslim societies in Mumbai.
There are mosques within the society premises, and the atmosphere is distinctly religious—if one isn’t working, one is praying or just relaxing in small congregations in the evening.
The societies’ denizens are particularly proud of leading what they claim is a wholesome life without the insidious intrusion of television. New entrants—the girls who marry into families here, for instance—get into the flow of a televisionless life without much ado.Rizwana Borania,daughter-in-law of Illyasbhai, says that when she got married,she was aware that there would be no TV at her husband’s home in Mumbai. “At my mother’s home in Mehsana we did watch TV. But thank god we don’t have it here. TV is evil,’’ she declares vehemently. A Christian girl who married a Gulshan Society resident six months ago also claims she is happy.
Not that the womenfolk of Gulshan society are clueless about television—they know the alarmingly mutating plots of Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki or Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, for instance. “Yes, we are aware of serials because people talk about them and they are written about. But there never been any desire to see them,’’reiterates Rizwana.
To cite the converse situation, there’s 22-year-old Khadija Kojar who grew up in Gulshan Society and moved out after marriage a year and half ago. Her marital home has a TV set, but for Khadija that is irrelevant. “I can watch TV all I want to now,’’ she says. “I did, out of curiosity. But I am not terribly impressed by what I saw.’’
A lot of regular TV watchers would second that sentiment. TNN
ketan.tanna@timesgroup.com
Flight Announcement while landing in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), “Please turn your watches back one hour, and your calendars back 300 years, to conform with correct local time!”
Yeah…these guys will drag India and the World back by 3000 years if they could.
My Question is, if they dont like modern way of life why do they live in a modern society??? Cant they just settle down in a place like Saudi Arabia where the constitution itself is the koran??? The world will be a lot happier without these guys around.