90s DESH RAAG

Baje Sargam har taraf se, Goonj ban kar, Desh raag... Desh raag!! This was quite similar to " Mile surr mera tumhara"  that featured great personalities and public figures including Film stars. It was a Social advertising that was brought to us by Doordarshan in the 90s. DESH RAAG featured big names in the domain of Indian classical music such as Ravi Shankar, Zakir Hussain and many more. It was a great presentation by Lok Seva Sanchar Parishad, made us realize about our own Rich Indian cultures in Music and Art. As kids we also learnt about the Regional cultures of the country which were like divided into classical, folk music, North Indian Hindustani and South Indian Carnatic music. We got educated about the different Diverse cultures we have within the country and their own significance and History which is so beautiful in its own way. Today I watched it after like 15 odd years, brings back memories somehow it made a lot of sense compared to earlier days, as it shows us to know that our Music n Art is not less than any Western cultures or it is simply incomparable.

 I liked watching "Desh Raag" over and over again on DD in the 90s, made me feel that Music if its good breaks any kind of boundaries and until the whole Universe exists Music will be there reaching to all of us. As I think about it I recall my father used to enjoy the Tabla Jugalbandi between Zakir hussain and his Dad or Ustad Alla Rakha in this video, it was Great! Other than all this Music Lovers like me, got to know about the various musical instruments the great artists used like Tabla, Bulbul tarang, Santoor, Sitar, Veena, Shennai etc. I guess every other time when they played this short social advert on DD, I learnt and understood how Music without any language reaches to everyone's heart and how important it is to the soul.   

Lok Seva Sanchar Parishad presented a Rich contribution made by some of the eminent Indian Maestros. I feel Proud to to be part of such a great country India. I m so glad to share this video in this blog cause on the whole it still makes us realize to look for the depth of our Culture which has been alive from ages and this video is giving us a powerful message to pass it on and keep it alive as it is the Truth about who we are and where we come from.

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Do you Remember Salma Sultan??

I do, I do!! :) Well, who can forget her, if you've lived as a Conscious child and older in the 80s era of Doordarshan, Right!! .. She used to read the news so coolly, calmly and  she was so articulate in her Speech. As far as i could remember she was one of the most serious looking yet pretty and was amazingly graceful in her job of reading the Bulletins among the other Gorgeous News readers. Now that i picture it in my mind according to my memory she was the one who had this hidden kinda smile when she used to read about some entertainment news either in Sports or films. So professional and serene.. Yep, that's what it was all about, those times were different but real, at least to me.

Salma Sultan.. talks about her wonderful days on Doordarshan. She still is so Graceful and Sweet :) and dear viewers how about this, Doordarshan has turned more than 50 today pretty cool!! Good times lets keep looking :) Nice report by CNN/IBN good to know people and the media haven't totally forgotten about the old era of Television programs.

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Other video of  Salma Sultan in which she shared her experience while working.

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YATRA 1986

Yatra (1986) was TV series, based on Himsagar Express, the longest running train of Indian Railways, from Jammu to Kanyakumari, directed by Shyam Benegal, starring Om Puri.

Source: Absoulete Astronomy

Just watched an episode but I don’t recall watching this in mid 80s, might have completely missed. So I believe the series is all about the long journey people cover by Train that included days and them sharing their slice of lives or experiences with. It’s really interesting, thou the series were made more than 2 decades ago but the Life experiences according to me are somewhat similar in today’s era. I’ve watched Mr. Bengal’s Movies they are so interesting and real. I always learnt something new from his Art. He made Rajani, Tamas, Ek Ruka hua faisla which are so well directed and some of these were movies which were shown as part/episodes every week on Doordarshan. Shyam Benegal won many awards to name a few are the Padma Shri, the Padma Bhushan and the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi seven times.

Watch some Episodes here