Of 'TV tales' and 'Movie Trails'

'Dunston Checks In' was playing on TV and although i could catch a few scenes only, a hurricane of memories zipped by. 

The pampered me

Imagine this- In the pre mobile and internet booking era, Baba stood for hours in line at the ticket counter for 'Sound of Music' at one of the best cinema halls in Calcutta. At home, Dadu threw a fit... not because he didn't want us to watch the movie, but because Baba had forgotten everything else just so that we could see one of the most brilliant movies ever made. Bashiku, is what i call him now, is like that. He's a movie buff but only for specific movies. And sometimes he surprises me with his choice.

Mumma on the other hand is not a big fan of the TV or movies. She's extremely selective. She would rather spend time writing or doing something more 'constructive'. And to think she would ROFL over 'Delhi Belly', yet another surprise! Mumma, if u read this, ROFL= Roll on the floor laughing!!!

Bashiku was away, Mumma was working on a book, Shreya was still a schoolgirl and i had started earning a few bucks... i decided to treat the mother and sister to a movie. 'Main Hoon Na', was THE movie. I took a favour from one of my colleagues and got us awesome seats at a theatre in west delhi. I'll brag; it was one of the best outings of those times. We did it all, popcorn, cola, laughing on silly jokes, pouring emotions in the so-called-army scenes... and topped it up with some fun conversation over dinner. I will never, and i hope Ma and Shra also never, forget that movie outing. 

Family time

                     

'Shishtas'

I'll go back a few years, to the time when i was in class 7/8, shreya was 6 years younger and the parents would have gone out at night, giving us strict instructions not to put on the TV. After finishing homework, i would promptly put it on, not worrying about the consequences. Shreya was always part of the act, but still a baby, so excused all crime!!! As soon as we heard our parents get back, TV was off and we packed ourselves in bed, pretending to be asleep. The first time, the fan gave away our secret, and we were scolded. In the next few times that followed we would watch TV without the fan (don't miss the dedication). The dirty looks and stern voices still followed... till i realised that the TV itself gave away our secret (the body would remain hot). At some point i felt it was better to take permission and watch to my hearts content, without sweating it out.

Ma and her girls

Sunday morning 'Rangoli' and 'Mahabharat' was family TV time. And one sunday, 'Paraya Dhan' (starring Rakesh Roshan and Hema Malini) was being aired. As usual Bashiku wasn't there, so Mumma and her girls had a gala afternoon watching it while she hummed all the songs. That i'm able to recollect the day is proof enough that it must have meant a lot.

All the girls

My point is, will Aanya ever have such memories? Will i ever be strict about her TV/Movie routine? In this age of information overload some boundaries will have to be drawn. Rest, we'll see...