Ramayan and Mahabharata.. Epic Diet for Tik Tok Generation!

 

 With the younger generation, particularly the millennials taking to the digital media in a big way and doing everything possible to gain attention through online platforms such as Tik Tok and getting access to OTT platforms streaming many shows alien to our traditions and value systems, the need of the hour was not an external regulation but an internal detoxification, to rejuvenate and strengthen them enough not to get influenced by those very aspects of the alien life style and culture, which has put the entire humanity in peril today.

 

 

If the 21 days Lockdown announced by the Narendra Modi Government is a significant step in preventing the spread of Corona virus, the decision of Prasar Bharati to re-telecast the once hugely popular Ramayan and Mahabharata is no less a momentous step in spreading our long cherished values which are fast being replaced by the Western consumerist culture.

 

 

As a young university student, I remember vividly how the entire nation came to a grinding halt during the telecast of the two epic serials way back in the 80s. The voluntary lockdown not only enabled children of the Chitrahaar generation to understand their roots better but also brought together families and neighbourhoods. The cast of the two serials became celebrities overnight and they were even worshipped by a devout nation. Many of them later got elected to Parliament with huge margins though they were political green horns. There were of course political theories too woven around the telecast.

 

Many saw in it the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s attempt to play the soft Hindutva card along side opening the locks of the disputed structure at Ayodhya to facilitate the worship of Lord Ram. There were others who saw the fledgling BJP benefitting immensely out of what they called Hindu ‘revivalism’ and ‘resurgence’ as an outcome of the telecast of the serials, particularly in strengthening the Ram temple movement.

 

For me, it was only a modest attempt by an ancient nation to retrace its roots and strengthen the value systems that were fast falling apart with increasing urbanization, nuclear families and a self-centred approach to life. It was more of a detoxification and a clarion call to embrace the eternal values to survive the pitfalls of Kalyuga. It was less of mythology and more of the abiding civilizational values which have seen us through centuries of turbulence. It was about the victory of good over evil, reinforced with the celebration of every festival – from Holi to Diwali – yet forgotten in the cacophony of rituals.

 

 

It was about Dharma, about loyalty, simplicity, parental love, sibling affection, faith, goodness, democracy, justice, equality, fraternity, respect for elders and Guru, conjugal happiness, sharing and caring, trust, unity and integrity and love for the motherland and Mother Earth-most of which are enshrined in our Constitution as well in ample measure.

 

The serial highlighted the disastrous consequence of injustice, partiality, greed, cruelty, avarice, inequality, impatience, anger, lust, faithlessness, disrespect, disharmony, disunity, hatred, blind faith and how they could lead to avoidable destruction. The Mahabharat is not a celebration of war as many perceive it to be. On the contrary, it’s a sad commentary on the futility of conflict, a message still relevant as nations continue to stockpile deadly weapons rather than spending the resources for the well being of humankind.

 

Ironically, it took a Britisher Richard Attenborough to make a good film on the Father of the nation, several decades after India’s independence. But of late, we see a reawakening among the country’s film makers who are coming out of the romantic mould, class wars and rural urban divide. The younger generation is today getting exposed to a range of historicals from Tanhaji to Manikarnika and more, to cite a few recent examples.

 

 

With the younger generation, particularly the millennials taking to the digital media in a big way and doing everything possible to gain attention through online platforms such as Tik Tok and getting access to OTT platforms streaming many shows alien to our traditions and value systems, the need of the hour was not an external regulation but an internal detoxification, to rejuvenate and strengthen them enough not to get influenced by those very aspects of the alien life style and culture, which has put the entire humanity in peril today.

 

Gandhiji had famously stated, “I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the culture of all lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any”. And that’s what exactly the re-telecast of these serials would help to achieve.