The battle to be able to watch a particular programme on TV is a part of the everyday life in many households. SHABIHA NUR KHATOON explores the different situations that this throws up.
The saas-bahu serial is about to begin on one channel on television even as the ATP World Tour finals is set to start on another. The husband and the wife lunge for the remote and the battle begins.This is an everyday feature in many households with the members of the family using all the tricks up their sleeves to get control of the remote control so that they can watch their favourite show. This leads to piquant situations in many households when it is TV watching time.
“In our home we have two television sets. One is controlled by my husband and the other one by my daughter. My husband is very much fond of news and sports like any other men and my daughter being young has a different taste. I have to move from one room to another in the hope of getting to watch my favourite show. Sometimes it feels as if I am shuttlecock,” says Sudakshina Swain of Cuttack for whom TV plays an important role in everyday life as it provides a break from the hustle and bustle of the city.“I usually get time to watch TV in the evenings. On weekdays it is possible to sit down and watch TV. However, this is not possible on weekends as my husband is glued to the television set the whole day,” says Priya Choudhary.
Priya says that one way of resolving the problem is for each member of the family to take turns on using the remote control. “I believe that the option of giving every member time to watch a specific program is the best way to resolve the issue of control on the remote that takes place in almost every house,” Priya says. However, some people feel that often women suppress their desire to watch a particular show so that others can watch what they want. One of these is Sagarika Praharaj, who is all praise for such women. “In our house we don’t have any such problem as we get to watch the repeat telecast of our favourite daily soaps in the afternoon when the children and the men are out for work. We thus keep away from the fight for the remote control. By this way we sideline ourselves from the juggling of TV remote control,” says Praharaj. “It depends on us how we manage. If there is only one TV in the house, the only solution is for people to compromise so that everyone can watch the serials of their choice,” she says.
Amrita Beura, a professional from Bhubaneswar, has a different take on this topic. She says that she does not get to watch TV much not because her husband sits in front of the television set but because she herself is very busy with her professional and household work. “I get time to watch TV only after 10:30 pm just to go through some news headlines. I can surely say that TV is not a part of my life,” she adds.