Changing world of personal entertainment

Today everybody is aware of OTT, YouTube, Netflix, Hotstar and so many other apps that provide streaming services. People discuss about different Webseries and await for new content. From toddler to old people eyes of everyone are glued to mobile, TV or Laptop screen. People who go for walking or cycling have streaming music from their mobile to accompany them. This wasn't the scenario earlier.

In our childhood electricity was not available in all households. Houses with power supply used to have radio set. Post department used to charge annual license fee for the radio set. These radio sets were mostly imported and had electrical valves for operation. Radio set used to be made of wood to give good sound quality. The radio set required a large antenna for capturing radio waves. The antenna used to be made of thin wire mesh. Only medium wave and short wave transmission was available. Akashvani (All India Radio), BBC and Voice of America were popular channels for news and events. Running commentary for Cricket, Tennis, Football etc games used to be broadcast. Fans used to eagerly listen to the commentary in groups, cheer their teams and discuss the events in the match wholeheartedly. Once during a test match being played at Brabourne stadium, Bombay a commentator raised doubt on a umpire's decision. The crowd in the South stand became wild and there was a riot. Later they banned carrying transistor to the stadium. Vividh Bharati and Radio Ceylon used to play music and entertainment programs. Binaca Geet mala was a popular program of Radio Ceylon based on popular Hindi movie songs. Amin Sayani was the presenter of the program. Every household was turned to Radio Ceylon to listen to the program on Wednesday. Every day morning around 7.45 AM songs by Pankaj Malik and KL Saigal used to be broadcast, telling us to get ready. In 1960s transistor radio came and entertainment became portable.  

For music lovers, other than Radio the other choice was of a record player. From the initial handwound gramophone to electrical record player and then stereophonic Hi-Fi record player running Long playing (LP) record player the evolution was there. The furniture in the sitting room/ hall also changed accordingly to accommodate the large speakers. The records were costly. Some libraries existed for music records also. Restaurants installed Jukeboxes giving customers a choice of music.

Spool type magnetic tape recorders were the next innovation for music lovers. These were also imported and were bulky. The next stage was cassette tape recorders. Initially these were imported. First mono players came after that stereo cassette players came. Many of the cassette players had inbuilt transistor radio also giving the user a choice. The music cassettes were very costly and the prices came down drastically when T-Series made an entry into the business.

Sholay was the first movie whose dialogues were released in a cassette. Dialogues of the movie were very popular.

After cassettes came compact disc (CD) players.

The next step was introduction of walkman by Sony and I-pod. Personal entertainment changed totally from then on.

The proud owners of music records and cassettes and CDs now find that all their voluminous collection can be stored on a single USB drive requiring no space at all.

Till late 1980s listening to a LP record or music cassette was a favourite pastime for most of the people in the evening. Soulful gazals by singers like Jagjit Singh and Pankaj Udhas were very popular. 

Till late 1980s, there was no full time TV broadcast. Earlier only metro cities were having TV tower and broadcasting. Only one channel of Doordarshan in Black and white was available from evening 6 PM to 10 PM. On weekends there used to be broadcast of popular Hindi movie and movies based songs program called Chitrahar. Some interviews also used to be broadcast. After Asian games of 1982 colour TV broadcast came to India and many towns had TV towers to boost the signal. Doordarshan had a policy to sanction only 13 episodes for a program and depending on popularity extension was granted. Most of the serials had a fixed day of broadcast. Humlog was a popular serial that was running for a long time and on multiple days. It was because of the social message it conveyed. Popular actor Ashok Kumar was the anchor for the serial who used to talk on the storyline. Ramayan, Buniyaad and Mahabharat serials were given a longer period and number of episodes. The advent of cable TV and private channels has changed the scenario completely. Now serials are broadcast everyday for a number of years.

All the above had impact on the lifestyle of people. There were three types of clubs in those days. One was frequented by officers and their families. Other one was frequented by affluent people. Both these clubs had attached kitchen to serve snacks and refreshments.  People used to go to a club for playing cards, badminton or table tennis and swimming in the evening. Clubs used to organise weekly screening of a movie for its members.  The third type of club was for ordinary people where people used to play cards or carrom. Those who were not members of any club would spend time at home or go on social visit to their friends' house.  Meeting at somebody's house and chatting or playing cards or musical recital was one of the favourite pastime for many.  Religious people used to go to temple in the evening or be part of group that sung Bhajans. Going to library and borrowing books was a ritual for many. New books and periodicals were purchased when going on a long journey.

Going to a theatre was necessary to  watch a movie or drama or attend a orchestra/ music recital / dance performance. If no option was available, then same movie watched many times. Smoking was not prohibited in theatres in many places. It used to be a nightmare to watch a movie in dilapidated theatre with no air-conditioning. In the evening, doors of the theatre would be opened for natural breeze to cool the theatre. If you a liked a movie or songs/ scenes from the movie, the only option was to see the movie again in the theatre. With colour TV came Video cassette tape player (VCP), and  many video parlours opened across the country at every nook and corner. These used to run movies round the clock. Private buses also  started screening movies using VCP and later VCD. Going to theatre became optional.

As children we had the choice of many indoor and outdoor activities/ games. Most of the games were using cheap equipment. 

Cricket was played with old tennis balls. Old tennis balls were available from clubs that had lawn tennis facility. Other option was cork ball which had very little bounce. Makeshift stumps were used.

Viti-dandoo or Gilli-danda was popular through out the country. Glass crystals and bottle caps were other choice for playing. 

Many board games were available like Chess, Chinese Checker, Business , Ludo and Snakes & ladders. For accommodating large number of children, games like Antakshari were there with options of Movie songs or Name, place, animal testing the general knowledge of participants. Different sizes of Carrom boards were available for different age groups.

Card games were many and played with lots of interest. Used  playing cards in good condition were available from clubs. People used to play cards overnight on weekends. 

With TV and daily serials, lifestyle of people has changed. When Ramayan and Mahabharat serials were telecast on Sunday morning, the traffic on roads vanished and roads became deserted for an hour. People fixed visiting times according to the telecast time of the serials of their choice. If someone dropped in while the family was watching their favourite show, it would reflect in the behaviour of everyone. Men started meeting outside so that entertainment schedule of families was not disturbed. 

With internet and mobile apps, now most of the games are available online. One can play Chess, Bridge, Rummy etc games online. Option of playing free or with stakes is available in these games. Yes one can spend time in these online games, but the thrill and enjoyment of actual game is missing. You no longer are required to be poker faced to play online poker. In the physical game, by watching the body language and sparkle in the eyes one could decide to continue or pack in Rummy. 

The noise, the smells and overall liveliness of places is missing. The arguments after a game of bridge and Rummy are missing.  Spectators also used to comment on the course of the. This was applicable to the game of Chess also. These arguments and time spent together created long-lasting bonds between the persons. That also is missing now.