This February, Cybernag would be three years old. Thank you dear readers, for staying with me all this while. Many of you have gone on to become dear friends on and off the blog. What I appreciate most is your participation in the lively discussions that follow the posts. I humbly acknowledge the fact that they add great value to my sometimes incomplete posts, bringing fresh insights and perspectives. I cherish every comment, including the ones that criticize the post, for these are the ones that make me realise afresh that I still have a long way to go to become a better writer. Besides, they keep me from getting a swollen head!
And folks, on this blogaversary, Cybernag also celebrates the fact the interaction between commenters on her blog has facilitated many a virtual, and real time friendship among them!
Recently, while browsing through the archives, I realised that I have written many posts on the TV and its place of pride in the L&M’s family. The idea occurred to me then, of re-posting the very first piece of the series (L&M and the Brats) , which incidentally talks about the Brats’ fixation with music TV .
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The Idiots and the Box
The two boys are sprawled in front of the television. The older one has the remote in his hand, channel-surfing furiously. ‘Wait, wait!’ cries the younger one but before he can even the get the first syllable of the first word out, the elder one has switched half a dozen channels and doesn’t know which one his brother had wanted him to stop at. So the process begins in reverse. ‘There, there!’ screams the latter again and with the same result.
By now, the elder one has zeroed in on one of the music channels and settled down to enjoy the song — the one that has already played a dozen times in different channels since the morning. It has become so repetitive that it has started coming not only out of my ears but my nose and eyes as well. As I am gagging, the younger one manages to get hold of the remote, as his brother relaxes a bit.
‘Ah,’ he sighs. ‘Now I can change channels!’ and begins flicking the remote control faster than his brother had been doing, if that were possible. This time his elder brother has to shout at him to stop. And so the channel surfing goes on.
And I thought that TV is meant for watching!
I have often wondered why they need to switch the channels at all, when all they do is to settle for one or the other of the music channels. And even that doesn’t make any sense because the same songs are played day in and day out over the various channels.
I am sure that they possess some extraordinary powers to be able to make out that one of my favourite old Hindi film songs is playing and skip that particular channel before I can yell, ‘Stop Stop!’ Not that my ears or eyes can react as fast as theirs.
On the remote possibility that I manage to stop their maniacal surfing, and insist that I have to listen to the particular song, they oblige. And how! Soon I beg them to continue with their surfing. Why, do you ask? Who would want to listen to a song in snatches, because the fiends are busy surfing between stanzas?
It can truly be said that the one who controls the remote in our house controls the household. And this includes the L&M.
If the boys are hooked to the music channels, then the L&M is a news freak. If he gets control of the remote then it is one news channel after the other. Fortunately he doesn’t flick the channels at a maniacal speed but listens to a complete newscast on one channel before going on to another — newscast, that is. With hourly news bulletins being given on several channels these days, he keeps listening to the same news items throughout the day.
I mean how many news breaks can there be on an average day? Or for that matter how many times can the price of onions change? Or even, Jayalalitha/Lalu/Mulayam waddle in to make the same threatening statements about withdrawing support to the government? But there is no arguing with him. So he keeps listening to the same statements made by the PM/Home Minister/Opposition Leaders/Jayalalitha and so on. Soon, the words of the news items are all imprinted on my brain too and they begin to come out of my ears, nose and eyes. Who says I have no variety on TV?
This is nothing compared to the ubiquitous WWF matches. I don’t know how it can be telecast in a sports channel, because it is nothing short of bloody murder, as one or the other of the hideous looking characters beats/pummels/pulverises another to a pulp. My brood yells its approval and sometimes gets so carried away the boys begin to enact their own version of it on the carpet and I have to step willy-nilly into the fray to call a halt to the proceedings.
If the boys are crazy about the show, the L&M is practically a devotee. To him Bulldozer, Road-roller, Excavator or one or the other of the crazy-named murderers is nothing short of a demi-god. I remember the time he had gone abroad. It was well past midnight when the telephone shrilled and I jumped up to answer it. A sheepish-sounding L&M enquired after me. As I was beginning to wonder if he was really so homesick — he had talked to me just a couple of hours ago — he asked for his younger son.
The boy, when he came on the line, began excitedly whispering on the phone for the following 20 minutes. For all his whispering, I heard him graphically describe the gory details of the WWF match that had been telecast earlier in the night in India. Thankfully, he rang off before I clobbered him WWF style. It turned out that the L&M had missed the matches when they were telecast in the country he was in. How could he possibly relax without knowing the results of such an earth-shattering event?
The idiot box holds complete sway over the household, as its denizens can’t live without it for one moment if they can help it. I remember the time we had shifted our house. The L&M and his brats had gone ahead with the luggage and had promised to set the house in apple-pie order before I came along later in the evening. Dreaming of putting my feet up after reaching my new home, which must have by then organised by my loving family, (how naïve can one be!) I entered the place and promptly tripped over a carton of books. As I picked my way through an obstacle course to the room from where I heard an assortment of voices, I stood shell-shocked. For there, was my wonderful family, sprawled on the dirty floor in companionable filth, watching — what else, but a WWF match?
By some unwritten rule, while it is perfectly normal for the other members of the family to watch non-stop nonsense on the idiot box, it is a crime for me to even watch a movie once in a blue moon. If I manage to catch the name of some English or Hindi movie that I want to see while one of the remote-fiends is flicking the channels, I have to do one or all of the following: hide the remote; put on my most forbidding expression and bare my teeth and fangs; scream my head off till they back off.
‘Look at her gaping at the screen!’ the elder one says.
‘She looks like a regular TV junkie, doesn’t she?’ the younger one adds.
‘All women are like that,’ the L&M pronounces in all his infinite wisdom.
But I am blissfully unaware of their pronouncements as I watch my favourite movie…
Do also read about the genesis of the series and the Younger Brat’s tribute to the L&M here.
(Homepage image credit: http://kevinspear.com/)
The Cybernag 
Congratulations! 🙂
Just feeling my way around again, and a Thank you for wishing me on my space. It’s a few months late, but hey, here I am!
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Zephyr I miss you 😦
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Aww…..Hugs.
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Belated blogaversary wishes. (Apologies for the delay. I am not so active as I was before.)
Yes. T,V remote is the battlefield on which family wars are fought. It is the same in every household, isn’t it?
I don’t know why they do not teach this in Unity in Diversity,
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Thank you for your wishes, Sairam. Good to see you after so long. Been missing your posts 🙂
They don’t teach anything about unity, leave alone in diversity!
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First lemme take a breath …. I scrolled down a million miles of comments to say this 🙂
Three Cheers to Three Years !!!!!!! Hip Hip Hurray 🙂
I came back to your blog after ages and this post was awesome. Loved it. The last one I read was also on the idiot box 🙂 . The humour is so lively and the writing so crisp that even in this tired post work state I felt refreshed and made the effort to scroll down the sea of comments … is mine the 100th comment ??? do I get something 😛
I won’t mind some balloons bursting and some confetti showering.
I hope to come and read your blog more often in this 4th year … Happy Cybernagging 🙂
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Why, thank you Elixir of Life! That is a wonderful compliment and I hope I am able to live up to the expectations. As for the 100th comment and getting something…well, I hope to be able to refresh you every time you come here 😀
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Happy third birthday of your blog……..ok belated actually…..
Reading your posts under the L&M and the brats always brings a smile on my face and re-reading it definitely did the same thing.
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Thanks potluckofthoughts. Good to see you here after so long 🙂
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ha ha… this is hilarous. You write so well Zephyr, no wonder you are so famous! I too have wondered many a times about the changing channel event. I mean, the TV is for watching! I have said this same statement quite a few times at home. Finally, I get a TV in my room one day. You think that I will get control of the TV and have some privacy in the room while I watch it? NO WAY! The kids cuddle into the blanket to join me with all the love in the world, then slowly take charge of the remote, and voila, back to channel changing! Sigh!
Belated Happy Blogwala Birthday. 🙂
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Thank you for your appreciation and the wishes, Jyoti. I don’t think I am famous, but am certainly fortunate to have some great readers who like my posts 🙂 The fun in holding the remote is not just for watching what you want, but to feel close to the ones you love, even if it is only to bug them 😀
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Just wanted to let you know I have given you one of those blogger awards.
http://luciferhouseinc.blogspot.in/2013/03/womens-day-liebster-awards.html
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Thanks, Karthik, for the award. I trust you will pardon me if I take my time to do it, if I am able to 🙂
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Waiting for the fourth-year posts to begin!!
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Hope so too 🙂
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Ahh the fight for the remote…though these days it seems like there really isn’t anything good on the tube..
Wishing you a very happy anniversary!! 🙂 🙂
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Thank you for the wishes. Who wanted to watch anything at home even in those days? The fight for the remote was for changing channels 😀
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Just happened to see your blog. I’m new to blogging and I enjoyed reading a few articles of yours. Heading over to read the remaining posts.
Happy Blogaversary 🙂
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Thank you, The Whimsical Fairy, for the wishes and for liking the posts on my blog. Welcome again 🙂
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I’m really glad that I stumbled upon your blog and I’ve been a great admirer of your writing. The issues you write upon are such that, anyone would be able to relate to it and I enjoy reading your thoughts and the way it has been expressed. Hats off to your wonderful effort 🙂
And regarding the remote, more than deciding which channel is to be watched, me and my sister used to fight for the remote , most of the times and Ma used to come and settle the ‘panchayat’ between me and sis 🙂 This one did bring back my old memories with the idiot box, I hardly get to watch tv these days.
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Thanks for the words of appreciation, Ashwini and sorry for the delayed response. As for the mother doing the panchayat, unfortunately this mother had no such powers as you have seen from the post 😦
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Super! Congrats on the 3rd anniv. and here’s to many many more to come. Thank *you* for writing cool stuff.
The days of watching live TV in our household are long gone. We tape a couple of our favorite shows on the Tata Sky box and watch whenever time can be found. Interestingly, Sudha and I have always watched the same shows for the longest time, and I don’t recall any skirmishes in the household over this.. 🙂
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Thank you for the wishes, Srini. Apologies for replying so late. You both make a great couple and watching the same programmes is just one aspect of the togetheress. God bless you both!
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hahaa…i think most of your reader can easily relate with this…..as far i am concerned, now a days i enjoy fighting with my 8 yrs old son for the remote, whenever he tunes to cartoon i simply change the channel n enjoy his reactions……
btw many congratulations on 3rd anniversary…..though i am not very consistent in blogging these days but whenever i get time i try to go through few blogs and undoubtedly this one is one of them…..so keep up the wonderful job…..there are any more years to go…insha allah.
Regards,
irfan.
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That sounds like so much fun! When we descend to the level of the children, it is so delightful, isn’t it? And thank you so much for the appreciation of my blog and writing. I will try not to disappoint 🙂
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Congratulations with those three years – and another thought-provoking and thoughtful post.
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I remember reading this and even commenting – cannot see what black hole that comment fell into.
Congratulations on the third blog anniversary Zephyr and may you entertain us for many more years (Ah! I certainly did comment – this phrase is what I wrote then as I recollect 🙂 )
As for the ‘remote’ wars – I can only enjoy that in other people’s houses – in my own I need to go schizophrenic to have someone to fight for the remote 🙂
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Thanks Suresh. I am so sorry about the comment going missing. But I do remember a mail you had sent me about the typo of the word ‘voila’ 🙂
And ah, the remote fight! Sometimes we can be objective only when the sufferer is someone else, right? 😀
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Congrats on 3 years. Interesting post. In our house always only one person holds the TV remote – mom before my marriage and wife after marriage. So much so that I even forget that there is something called TV which I can see programs of my choice when wife is not at home. Somehow whenever I stayed with friends, I ensured we did not have a TV.
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Thanks for the wishes, Karthik. Poor you! You know, it might not be a bad idea to have two remote controls, each flicking the channel of his or her choice and adding to the melee and the chaos!
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Congrats on three years!
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Thanks and welcome here, Anthony 🙂
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Congratulations on your blog anniversary! 🙂 May you have many more fulfilling years of writing!
I guess even I am guilty of channel surfing at a maniacal speed…!
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Thanks metherebel. I am inclined to agree with gc here, about us being a restless people who can’t concentrate on one thing. Welcome to the club (I am not a member, btw 🙂 )
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Congratulations on completing three years! 🙂
I have a very different view on television since I hardly watch it. But the fight does turn ugly in a lot of households.
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Thanks Amit. In our house it was never ugly unless you considered my screaming as being so 😀
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Three years!! wohoo…congratulations Zephyr 🙂
Ahh…the idiot box!! Reading about your brats, I can almost visualise Ma screaming her head off when brother used to put on the english music channels on high volume 😀
My only grudge was Pa and brother greedily gulping in the video footage of prey hunting and snake mating on Discovery when we had our dinner 😦
After wedding, I was shocked to see how lovingly the TV is treated, as if another member of the family. One fine day, its speakers went bust and the whole family looked as if they were mourning 😯
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Thanks for the wishes, Visha and welcome here 🙂 I can understand the mourning faces. Would you believe it if I told you that once during severe rains, the set top box malfunctioned and the screen was blue. It rained for hours and the signal didn’t come on. And the L&M was sitting in front of it and staring at the blue screen as if he could make it come alive 😀
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Happy anniversary, dear Zephyr!! You again have a three year old in your hands!! Hope he/she does not become a WWF fan too! 😀
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Thanks Roshni. I do hope this three-year-old doesn’t join the brood 🙂
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A big hug and super happywala congrats Zephyr! I love your writing and the way you share experiences and opinions 🙂
The remote. Less said the better. (And as I type this, am sure K is already planning a bribe for me. Fixing the laptop to the TV comes at a price. Only, this time I may not agree 😛 )
Keep blogging! Keep treating us! 🙂
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Thanks for the hug and the wishes Toffee. Laptop to the TV? what for? you can have two screens if they are used individually, can’t you? 😛
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To quote K –
” Some things are best watched on the big screen”
(and he maybe referring to a wonderul series on National Geopgraphic that I absolutely don’t mind to a youtube video of Kapil’s match.)
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Super Congrats on the milestone..blogging is fun na 🙂
Now that I have met L&M I can so imagine him doing that hehehehe 🙂 I love the L&M tell him that eh?
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It sure is, RM. Else where could I have met such wonderful friends like you? 🙂 As for the L&M, he was on his best behaviour, since it was the first meeting. Be prepared for his real avatar when you meet him again 😀 I will definitely pass on your love to him.
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Congrats zephyr for the approaching blogversary 🙂 that,s a disorder that has stuck badly my husband and he keeps watching news allll the time
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Thanks Jas. What I fail to understand is that when we all know the news is hyped/cooked/sponsored and repetitive on top of all that, why do these men get addicted to it?
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Well, I thought only my nephews had this disease!!!
Your blogs are worth reading 🙂
To say the least…
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It is a universal disease, if you read the other comments 🙂 Perhaps I would change channels too if my hand-eye-brain co-ordination are so good! Thanks for the compliment, GC.
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I feel obsessive channel flicking germinates from mental restlessness and lack of ability to concentrate one particular thing, a syndrome common to us all, the moder day rat-racers, a stress symptom perhaps. What say you?
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I agree with you, gc (how do I address you btw?) We are too restless to do something in a sustained manner and need to multi task all the time. Wonder if it is a good thing though.
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Woohooo! Congratulations for completing 3 golden years of cyber nagging! I remember the times when I had just begun to read you. Back then, more than your writings what had really caught my attention was your profile pic – your belan. Of course, it was only a matter of time till I came to realize the warmth and goodness that it was packed up with 🙂 Thank you for being there Aunty, it’s been an honor to have known you and learnt so much from you. Here’s a BIG hug wishing many more milestones like these in all the times to come 🙂
Coming to the post, I could never understand what the fuss surrounding WWF was all about even as my brother remained glued to it while it was on. I can so understand and empathize with your situation.
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Thank you so much for the hug, Arti 🙂 I remember your scared face when we met, as if you expected a whack from my belan 😀 I am glad you found out that I don’t go whacking my friends!
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congrats! and how are you?.long time since i heard from u?
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Hey, thanks Renu! Will mail you ASAP 🙂
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Hahahaha…my delightful, lovely Zephyr battling fighting a lonely battle against her L&M and brats.
I think WWF has a different name now. Not sure what its called. But I feel for you! I hope you have separate TV sets now?
Your blog is already a phenomenon! Wish you many many more fulfilling years of writing.
Mwah ❤
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What is the point in having a separate TV set? Didn’t you read the post Eat, sleep, watch TV and fight’ ? We still fight, even though the fighters are reduced to two!
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Hi Zephyr,
Many congratulations for completing three years of your blog. This is really an achievement and I know what a good feeling it gives. Though I came to know about your blog of late but I really admire the efforts and wisdom that you pour in your posts.
I believe the ‘fight for TV remote’ is a typical household story – at least it also happens in my home! But as my daughters grew up and entered their teens, they somehow also entered into an agreement on a schedule that decided who kept the remote and when. So, apart from the occasional cribs and shouts, the one without the remote quietly sits in that period because she knows she’ll be the one who calls the shots in the next time slot as per their contract. This also means that I’m excluded and denied of my rights to watch my serials. Thankfully since my hubby isn’t much of a TV enthusiast except for occasional cricket matches, which too is India is playing and winning too, I get to hold the prestigious remote and get my daily dose of the latest happenings of the family dramas on TV.
Such a delightful read and the post instantly made me relate to my own experiences of TV woes. I wish you keep on writing content that touches our personal lives and wisdom that lights our life.
Thanks for sharing. 🙂
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Thank you for the wishes, Harleena and I glad you could identify with the scene. I guess your girls are more sensible than many a Brat in many a household. It is so praiseworthy that they not only worked out a system, but also stuck to it 🙂 In our house, the free-for-all was without my participation except when I wanted to watch an old Hindi movie song. I can relate to your hubby watching matches in which India wins! I do that, and preferably when it is re-telecast. I hate suspense and the associated tension. This way, I know India has won and so can enjoy the game in peace 😀
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First let me congratulate you for the blog anniversary! I agree with you that we are getting closer to so many people, some people, without even knowing their faces! We know everything about them and vice versa!
The scene in our house also was like the one in your house until a few years back. Now all the 3, father and 2 sons, have agreed that the WWF is all made up!
Now, it is cricket, cricket, 24 hours a day. I have a TV now for the past 1 year, because I was complaining to whoever was heeding that I was never allowed to watch any programme in our house and they were inviting me to come to their house to watch good movies or musical reality shows, which I love to watch!
Actually, I was laughing while reading at the way you narrated the happenings in your house, Zephyr!
Keep on writing for many more years to come!
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Thank you Sandhya, for the wishes. The WWF is like a drug. It allows people watching it be passive aggressors, or whatever it is that let them be 😀 As for knowing it is fixed, we all know that Bollywood fights are all made up and still end up watching them, often paying through our noses for them, don’t we? It is so sweet of your neighbours to invite you to watch programmes of your choice 🙂
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Happy Anniversary and a big thank you for giving us readers much fodder to think, laugh and just enjoy!
Looks like every home is like yours… channels are surfed more than viewed..and my Hubby will leave every channel to tune the one that only he knows is missing! the only channel that he sticks at least for a sensible time is the news channel and thus even I am hooked onto to politics. But wish it would stop there.. but the same happens inside the car too.. he will search for the music he loves and replays it again and again..sometimes I get this terrible urge to whack his hands when he does so..
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Thanks for appreciating my blog, Asha. Yours was one of the blogs I had discovered through another. I think it is a wonderful way of networking, don’t you?
I didn’t know even the L&Ms flicked channels 😀 I can understand how you have started watching news too. Psst…have you done it? I mean whacking his hand away when he plays the music in a loop? 😀
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Not yet..but if that ever happens I would need a lawyer ready!
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Ha Ha! Wish you all the best to hold your annoyance in check, then 😀
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My best wishes on completion of three years of blogging.
I watch the serial Arjun on Starplus.
My wife and I are in separate rooms in the evenings.She watches serials.
I watch/ listen to panel discussions ,except on Ndtv and Ibn
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Thank you for the wishes, Chowlaji. There is more fun in being in the same room and fighting over a remote, than watching programmes of your choice in another room 😀
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Fight?HaHa.
Do you know of any men who have ever won from their wives?Phewwwwww
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Congratulations!
The TV news channels rule in my house too. I have stopped reading newspapers, and stopped watching TV altogether. Giving up is the best escape route. Thankfully my better half is not interested in the Internet. hehe
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Thanks Pattu. Me thinks you have spoken too soon — about the better half not being interested in the internet. Keeping fingers crossed 😀
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Zephyr congrats on your third blogoversary–keep blogging like this -always!
This post tells me that there are many more gems hidden there.It was heart warming-to say the least!
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Thanks Indu. I hope to keep blogging for some time, though now I am seriously thinking of a break.
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Congrats for third blog anniversary and wishing you many more such anniversaries.
Its always cartoon for kids and cricket for husband….Sometimes i beg them to allow me to see something which i prefer. Kids think papam amma (poor amma) they will change the channel but the moment husband is in the channel is changed. He behaves as if he is deaf and not able to hear my cries that i am in middle of a movie….Saga continues…..
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Thank you Saritha. Now you know why they are called the L&Ms? These days, without the Brats around to bolster his case, I simply hide the remote and glare at him when I want to watch a movie badly. Since I don’t watch any serials, he is happy to watch his endless newscasts. Paapam Saritha 😀
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Happy third blog-versary! 🙂
I remember reading this post, long back! Loved it then, love it now! So glad to have found you and it was lovely to meet you. Looking forward to another one of those meets.
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Thank you for the warm words, Akanksha 🙂 I am glad you enjoyed it a second time round though I cheated by re-posting an old one!
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Many happy returns of the blogbirthday , Zephyr ! Loved this post and it brought back some episodes in my own home. We do all the things you mention, and then there is these cricket matches……Ah well.
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Thanks Suranga. Those were the early days of satellite TV and so channel flicking was a major kick the kids had. The L&M was not around except during the late evenings and so the tussle would begin, especially during meal times. Cricket matches and news — now. Ah well….indeed 😀
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Congratulations! Lovely to read this post. I think it was one of the first posts I read here on your blog.
Looking forward to meeting you now.
Hugs! Vidya
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Thank you, Vidya! I am so sorry to have re-posted something that had been read, but what to do? 😀
Me too, want to meet you!
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I know I will happy to read this more than thrice or four times 😀 It is delightful! Hugs.
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😀
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Congratulations on completing three years of blogging! Enjoyed this post about family TV viewing- I read it for the first time today as I had not yet discovered your blog when you first published it.
Friends gained through blogging are indeed precious. And it does not matter whether we live near, or far, or whether we meet seldom, or indeed, at all!
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Thank you Manju. I wasn’t able to come up with a new post for various reasons and so reckoned this would have to do, considering my readership built up over the years and so this one might have been missed by many 🙂 I do take pride in the fact that many friends found each other through this space 🙂
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You are a massively good writer! Hahaha! What I find cherishable is how you go through life with a certain sense of detachment–enough to be able to write about it:) Congrats on your third year anniversary!
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Thank you for the lovely words of encouragement, Bhavana! I certainly was not detached when the events were unfolding, let me assure you 😛
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reminds me of my childhood ..
congrats for completing three years ..
WWF is all scripted .. so it’s not something they are doing in real… i was addicted to WWF when i was young but as i grew old, my love for WWF declined ..
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Thank Rahul. Back then WWF was new and all the rage though I KNEW all along it was scripted, but who could make the trio understand? *rolls*
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The remote control is probably the worst invention:) I hope your grand children do’nt ask you to tell the story of the times when you had to walk up to the TV to change the channel. May this lovely blog continue to stir the hornet’s nest to have animated debates / discussions for many more years, Zephyr:)
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Times are changing, aren’t they? I am sure they would ask me that question one day. I remember reading somewhere about how a young boy asked his mother if they had electricity back when she was young. And that woman was a 70s child! Thanks for the warm wishes, Rahul. Let me tell you that I look out for your name in the comments eagerly 🙂
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Wish you many more years to come…keep blogging and keep enlightening us, naggig us 🙂 I thought I read every post…this looks new…anyway, enjoyed it thoroughly…you should do one post again…been long we read abt them. We hardly watch Tv. So no remote fights and the only time we do, we fight of course…lol.
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‘…the only time we do, we fight of course’ — how universal! Unless it is an earth shattering programme, I guess there is more fun in fighting than watching. And thanks for the wishes. I am planning a blog break for a while though.
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As long as I remember, I have never been adamant about watching TV. I had certain selected serials (Superhit Muquabla, etc) and I used to watch only these. Thankfully, there were only two channels when I was very young and there was not much to ‘channel surf’. I do remember watching WWF, Wonder years, Batman, etc. fondly.
I do remember getting irritated at others flipping channels on TV vigorously, later on. I will leave the scene and get away to my music system or books.
It’s been more than 5 years since I saw any program regularly on TV. Yes, I have given up on that medium. Including, and especially news. I am happy with the net 🙂
Destination Infinity
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The brats have long since grown up and today are into other things on TV or net. But the L&M has remained the news fiend that he has always been. And ditto with me — an occasional movie if I manage to find out if there is a good one and then remembering to watch it. I have caught the L&M a couple of times sneakily ignoring the reminder I had set for the movie 😀
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Enjoyed reading the old post with its liberal dash of humour and hyperbole.You seem a prolific writer and in three years have amassed a huge fan following.Congratulations on reaching this milestone and best wishes for continued success
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Appearances can be deceptive, KP. The number of comments is commensurate with the number of readers of the blog. Of course, if one were to look at it positively, that means that most of the readers of the blog also comment on the posts. Thank you for liking my posts and continuing to be a regular commenter 🙂
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I think my mom must have felt similarly. Though dad and us used to watch her rona-dhona serials with her :), We were more tolerant back then. In my own home, two Tvs helo, Besides Tata Sky + is a huge savior. I hardly watch TV these days. Love your writing always and you the person. Wish you loads of success. May the cyber nag always continue her loving nagging. Much love!
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I have never watched a serial in my life but good movies are different. I like to watch them in peace once in a way, not interrupted with wisecracks and eyes rolling, thank you 😀 And thank you for your confidence in my nagging prowesses. BTW., according to WP stats, you head the list of commenters with the most number of comments in 2012. A big thank you for that 🙂
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You don’t have to thank me. I love what you write and love the conversations that ensue a lot. This is one blog where I can disagree and yet not feel judged or unwelcome to do so. Thank you for having created a space that your readers feel a lot of comfort in, where the conversations are stimulating and the topics enriching.
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The idea of writing something is for the feedback, both good and bad, and not just praise. The latter makes way for complacency whether one likes it or not. As for judging a commenter, it is the height of conceit. you may try to argue or agree, but never put down a commenter, who has not only taken pains to read what you write but comment on it too! you are most welcome to spar with me anytime, dear girl! 😀
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mmm.. this fight never ends.. even my in-laws had the same prob -news channel and movies were like death and life.. so we presented the m-il with a new tv at her bedroom.. prob kinda solved now..
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Somehow, when each one watches his or her own TV, the fun of the fights goes off. But i guess sometimes you do need control of your remote and the programmes 😀 I watch my movies only when I am alone and am not being interrupted by someone or the other wanting to surf when there is a commercial break 🙂
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lol!! that again was wonderful!
you have me addicted to your wonderful humor and style of writing!
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Say, why do I feel a sense of deja vu on reading the piece ? No brownie points for guessing !
Love your ‘L&M and the brats’ series….!!
Keep ’em coming….
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Well make it a FAN category 😛 not Guest …
and yes for ur last question i felt like saying .. ” Me me me.. hehe” thtn i thought Hold on Ridhima, u are in mid twenties.. are u Nuts;) Dnt talk kiddish:) hehehe. Dats what happens with us …
A 3 year old child loves to run in the house freely, without any boundations. The mother puts a new Kashmiri carpet in the floor and now the child is told not to run inside the drawing room. Now the child cant run freely , he feels restricted and in few days gets used to this border line created by his mother.
Now even for him, decency is not to spoil the new carpet , even if he has to put hold on his steps. Out of dear and out of force.
All of us are a victim of the same in soo many ways ,this is just a mere example. Since we were born and opened our tiny eyes, we have been accustomed to soo many restrictions like these, with fear and force not with natural instinct.
We are told wht is wrong and what is right. We are not given a chance to decide, as we are small, and as time passes by, we get soo used to all these restrictions, that we give the sam e to our children. Why not we think of giving them freedom of choice and expression. Freedom of being decent in his own way.
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U stand in a audience of 100000 and ask Raise your hand, if you remember fighting over the TV remote as a child? As an adult?..
U know where all the hands are pointing…;) lol
The almighty remote control; ….a simple device that instills the beholder with the opinion of unsurpassed power over all who place themselves within the vicinity of the television…. through the powers of invention, the almighty remote control was invented to stave off all those unwanted efforts of manual labor. It now appears difficult to remember how we ever coped without it. Oh, and god forbid if the remote cannot be found. …The sheer thought of returning to the darks age and having to physically press the buttons on the television does not bear thinking about…
The relentless hunt for the elusive remote. The sofa, down the side of the chair, no matter where you look you cannot find it, even though the natural instinct is to repeat the search over the same places that you have checked. The mind programs itself to tell you that the last time you looked your eyes were closed or you had some temporary blindness and the remote will be there this time you look. This principle is the same applied no matter what your lose, your glasses, the door key and car keys, it is all the same….
ow you sit down in the comfy chair, the remote must be positioned exactly next to you. Symmetrical, perfectly aligned, within easy reach.
Problem, you need the toilet. Two thoughts subsequently arise. Do you risk leaving the remote or do you take it with you. A tough choice as you scan the room for those that will attempt to steal your honor and your downright privilege as master of this house. To save the risk you either put it in your pocket or hide it behind a cushion while no one is looking….
The power of the buttons. The ability to flick through the channels. The thought that if you cannot find anything worthy of your attention, hell will have to freeze over before you allow another person to select…
he size of the remote will still always have a meaning. Modern technology allows for the most minimum size of objects, like cameras and mobile phones, but the remote must never be deemed small. It is required by law that the humble remote must look the part. We do not want a thin, minuscule remote. Size is power.
The buttons. An array of colors and functions. The ability to alter the sound, add extra bass, to brighten the color. An action that must be done while others are watching the television.
Whoever has the control has the power of the living room. He or she will reign supreme. But be aware, if power is contested the reaction is to become argumentative, the sulks and miserable faces. To storm off in a huff, to blame all life.
I might be wrong, but I’m pretty sure the remote was invented by a man. If you believe in all that men were hunters and gatherers in the early years of man (Adam was a shepherd, Cain was a ‘gatherer’) you will realize that man has always been a hunter. Now that he is no longer required to hunt or gather, he must have something to replace these activities. Hence the remote control…
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wow! that’s quite some comment. it deals with an inanimate object in such depth! in fact it merits being a post by itself. know what?it has inspired me to create a guest category where such comments will be featured, and guess whose comment is going to be the first?
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sounds so familiar – except I don’t watch tv 🙂
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More than anything else, brought me 7 years ago, right back home. Thank you! You are a transporter to the truest.
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Really good ones and so much refreshing to read.. Reminded me of the old times at home.
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I am seriously thinking of investing in Tata Sky+ thanks to its record facility…
Since I am not that often at home given my crazy work schedule, the remote stays in hands of the Home Minister, or her deputy, my older sister. Hence missing out on the minor one-programme-a-day schedule that I follow…
Still… you do need to understand that channel-surfing is an art.
The moment you switch to a new channel, trying to identify the history, geography and the diorama of the whole channel’s future plans in that single frame that you have seen, and taking a decision to switch or stay in the time before your thumb presses the ‘next channel’ button, the thumb being on autorun, btw… all this is an art by itself, and a skill worth mastering, for it improves your cognitive abilities too…
So I say, do not grudge the channel surfers their limelight, for they too are experts in their fields.
Regards,
Grondmaster
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you certainly are the ‘grondmaster’ of channel surfing! i am impressed by your detailed description of the ‘art’. btw, what does grond stand for? you see i have been bereft of the company of the brats for so long now, that i have lost the vocabulary of the sms generation. So please enlighten me.
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Well…
The etymology of this word can well be traced to a long ago marathon session of watching a movie famously known as LoTR, or to that section of the world who are not Tolkein’s fans, ‘Lord of The Rings’.
Suffice to say I will not presently bore you with this history, but you are welcome to head over to the now defunct grondomania blog on http://grondomania.blogspot.com/
Regards,
Grondmaster
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You know I now believe your earlier statement that we would catch glimpses of our home in these blog posts…. and it has also deepened my conviction that as different as we think we are, actually we all are the same….
This story could well have had my mum in your place and worked exactly the same…. cos between my EPL telecasts, sister’s music videos and dad’s news, God forbid if my mom dared switch to the saas-bahu soap for she was promptly christened a tv junkie and enough noise made for her to miss the serial inspite of the countless slow-mo action replays that the actors believed in enacting!
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wow, that’s a piece of great philosophy: as different as we think we are, actually we all are the same….You are so right.
am sure your mom has a lot of L&M stories too. do ask her.
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