There is a battle being waged these days in Mumbai. It is between producers of Hindi soap operas and the set workers, who are opposing the outdated pay they get for their services. It has resulted in a total shutdown of shooting, thus the lack of new episodes for airing. I embrace this third kind of 'meltdown'. (The term has been made much famous in light of the economic crisis rather than the real issue - the global warming one! So I take the liberty of further trivializing it! pardons to anyone offended by me)
The best thing about this meltdown of soaps is the peace, quiet and serenity in the temple of my home. Having to spend most of my time at home was driving me crazy for the simple reason that every day my mother had the TV on for longer than time itself, with the perpetual background music of the soaps seeping into my closed room regardless of heavy wooden doors! Usually I am not bothered by noise. But this was insane! She would watch reruns in the day and they repeated the same crap all over again twice at different times!! From morning to night in an endless loop, one soap after the other!! Is it not enough to see the episode once, get to know how the story has progressed (or rather in this case - digressed with another devious intrigue plotted with the same might as of a chess move) and then wait for the new episode? Does one really have to see the same episode twice again the next day? How difficult is it to retain the no-brainer 'stories' of these endless soaps anyway?
I know this doesn't bode well for my mom - who is being depicted as one of those moronic desperate housewives sitting at home with nothing to do except watch TV! Interestingly, my mom was never like this only recently she has been getting there. She never was interested in TV much. But she has a tendency to bow down under peer pressure! Yes! She goes to these weekly kirtans - a sort of prayer sessions with songs sung in gods' celebration. There she meets these other aunties of the Society. And obviously after so much religion, they have to gossip and chat about the latest episode of this or that and what sari was worn by the females! Thus, a victim to peer pressure my mom started watching soaps so she will not be left behind in these conversations, and is now officially hooked. Before them, it was the endless music reality shows (like American Idol). Especially the ones with children competing. My mom loves children and loves to see them sing and dance. She thinks its all very cute. She would get emotional for their sad lives shown for generating sympathy. She thought it was really real. Poor mom. She had to have her maternal-ness being shouted at by me accusing her of enjoying child labour!
When the strike first occured 2 days ago, I rejoiced. All I needed more was for the reality shows to stop as well, and I would be walking on air. But alas! the TV channels keep repeating the old episodes - flashbacks they call them! And once again my locked and bolted room is not clean of the uninvited soaps sounds.
