World Television Day

TV, Television in its full form, a device that creates a triangular relation of science, human relation, and distances. Like other tele inventions such as the telephone, telegraph, or television, the word "Tele" means distance and vision means sight. This device enables us to see the videos beyond the distance of sights. Today we are discussing this device known as television, in our regular section.

The invention of this device is a joint effort of several inventors and their millions of efforts in the late 19th and early 20th century. By the 1920s when amplifications made the tele-vision practical, great scientist John Logie Baird employed the nipkow disk in his prototype video system. In 1925 he officially invented this device in London. Nepal, a small nation very far from London beholds its own story of adaptation and usages of this device. Nostalgia of the time when an entire village would just have a singular box of TV with a booster device nearby the box and a hanging YAGI antenna made up of aluminum pipes. I feel necessary to relive those initial television days of Nepal.

That hurry after dinner, desperateness to see the TV, people from villages in the TV room crowded and the craze for religious and social serials. The Ramayana of Thursday, Pakistani serial on Sunday, Debi, Om Naha Shibaya, Hijo Ajaka kura, do you guys remember those epic serials?

The Nepali proximity of TV begun with the establishment of Nepal Television in 1984 AD, initial black and white TV with no remote rather they had a tuning button as their ears to rotate but whatever it was, it was a true blessing.

The house with an antenna over its roof was considered of higher economic class as TV those days were very expensive to afford easily. A lot of families exchanged TV's with their harvested crops and some gathered money for years to acquire the magical box, the list of families receiving TV's in dowry is also super long. TV was and will always be a window to observe this world.

The childish desire of writing letters in kids shows, Mahajodi's teleserial, documentaries, even those boring news was also watched with equal attraction. Oh my god, how will I forget to mention the Saturday movies, one of the fewer ways to entertain ourselves. The tragedy would happen during exams, family members would strictly restrict to watch those movies and this was annoying. Radio Nepal delivered voices and sounds till our doorsteps whereas Nepal TV delivered faces with voices, interesting facts, and news from the world, and attractive footages to confine us around the box called TV.

I remember one of our late grandfather who would submissively lie on the floor ahead of TV with all his devotion before the broadcast of religious serials like Mahabharat and Ramayana. It used to be very difficult to manage his devotional practice inside the crowded TV room.

I remember the ecstasy to hire the video player (VCR), the surplus happiness was possible because of the magical TV. The initial video game series on TV was played through cartilages, I remember the joy of playing super Mario, super contra, F1 race, Nintendo, Pokémon, and several other games.

We laughed with the humorous series of Twakka Tukka and cried with the characters and incidents inside TV and on-screen tragedy would stimulate our tear glands. The burden and confusion of the childhood hoax that people get inside the TV and those who transcend in the virtual world of screen are only shown. This rumor was also too exciting and misguiding at times. Dense nostalgia of the colorful moments of world cup football matches on the black and white TV still energies me, they bring the integrals of golden days.

Gradually the TV evolved into colorful screens, remotes at hand, and incidents from over the world, now there are infinite channels according to one's interest. Almost every household owns TV these days, even the delicate Yoga is taught via the screen by Baba Ram deb, agriculture show teaches agriculture and reality shows bring talents from offshores into the mainstream stage.

Even the current American president used to invest in WWF (World Wrestling Federation) and was a judge in the reality show "The Apprentice" during 2007 AD and before. In this regard, Television is not only giving a face but also creating personalities and leaders. Let's remember and think about the personalities TV has created, accumulating late Indra Lohani from the famous talk show "Bahas" or Bijayy Kumar from "DisaNerdesh", DurgaNath Sharma of "BishwoGhatana" or the recent hot selling Dhrumus Suntali couple, all together TV has delivered a lot of hope and ideas to us and added several reasons to live and relive for them who are in need for it. A lot of comedy characters who presented social sarcasm through TV are very popular in us, there are millions of names which are so much full of life and they come to meet us from the same box named TV.

Today let's also remember the hidden faces and talents behind the camera as technicians, cameramen, makeup artists, and entire crews to make things happen.

 Social messages like washing hands after going to the toilet, the Jeewan Jal (Oral Rehydration Salt), Iodine salt usage, and the awareness of sending our daughters to schools, TV aware of us in several issues.

The huge and heavy TV gradually transformed into a slim, smart, and attractive device with several adjacent features. Mobile phones in hand when connected to the internet and gets transformed as a TV. The current present, probable future, and past days everything's are in your palm and clicks. Old days audiences had no options for the missed shows but these days you can repeatedly watch, re-watch and plan to watch your shows. The number of serial watchers especially women is very much increasing, isn't it?

Slowly as Nepal was being introduced to the multifaceted features of TV, the mornings were accompanied by Dibyadristhi channel, Channel Nepal, Young Asia, Nepal one into Kantipur, News 24, and now several national and global channels. Local channels are so many, I get confused at times. TV has been a trusted companion for your pursuit of world news, entertainment, and infotainment.

TV channels transmitted to the device beyond Dish or aluminum antenna of YAGI technology are the terrestrial transmissions, gradually antenna vanished and the nexus of dish cables were established, online TV's these days are so effective.

Some foreign orthodox writers and fiction makers have given a wretched analogy to TV as they describe this as an anti-social intervention but every intervention in this world depends on how we use it. Even sugar if consumed too much will get sour likewise TV too much can be bad. However, TV can make you live, feel, and observe things which you might not be able to do in real life and one can also see live telecasts of events and ceremonies.

I conclude TV as a technological democracy where expressions can be made and delivered to the world, can bring the different diversities of the world in a single platform and takes its audiences beyond the TV room through its screen.
Best wishes to all on this TV day.

Suyog Dhakal