Still relevant?
With reference to “Can we afford Prasar Bharati?” by Sevanti Ninan (September 19), it is not right to argue that Doordarshan and AIR are now irrelevant because a whopping amount of Rs. 3,600 Crores per annum is being spent annually on Prasar Bharati. Doordarshan in fact did commendable work in the spheres of literature, dance, music and other fine arts prior to the 1990s and is still doing service in these fields even after the entry of the private sector in the electronic media. The memorable Ramayana and Mahabharata serials and Humlog and Nukkad came from Doordarshan only. There is no doubt that during the monopoly days DD and AIR have been the mouthpieces of the Government.
Today there are innumerable private channels giving breaking and sensational news minute by minute which many a time has a negative impact on the country. The serials too are not up to the mark. The literary and cultural programmes of DD have their own viewers. From 2001 I have been doing literary programmes on DD and AIR and the feedback on them and others is highly satisfactory. The most surprising aspect is AIR is having wonderful response in rural areas. Some wastage in Government is inevitable. For that matter even the poverty eradication programmes of the Government like IRDP have succeeded only to some extent.
Karavadi Raghava Rao
Vijayawada
I was deeply saddened and filled with remorse when I went through the article. I have served both AIR and DD, all across the country for nearly 40 years and I know pretty well that these two organisations still consist of highly motivated, world-class professionals, with abundant creative and combative spirit. By taking meaningful stimulus measures and packages, both AIR and DD will certainly prove that they are second to none in the spectrum of broadcasting.
B.R.Kumar
Former Deputy Director-General, All India Radio and Doordarshan, Prasar Bharati, South Zone, Chennai
Prasar Bharati's actions are bizarre indeed. The Davis Cup matches between India and Brazil were telecast by DD on the first two days, but on the final day of nail-biting finish, Sunday, September 19, the telecast of the last reverse singles match between Bopanna and Mello was abruptly halted and a less important polo match began to be aired from Hyderabad. It was nothing short of a shame. No question of priorities or accountability. It is time the institution is thoroughly overhauled and real autonomy with transparency and accountability introduced.
R. Narasimhan
Chennai
Getting gadget-free
Indu Balachandran (“Nail cutters are passé”, September 19) has indeed provided a first hand account of what happens to each one of us when it comes to purchase of gadgets that are intended to speed up our work in our houses virtually ending up doing the opposite in her own inimitable way. The way the men demonstrate the myriad utilities of kitchen ware literally fascinates everyone. The irony is that once we bring it home, we end up scolding the salesperson as more often than not it fails to dance to our tunes. It would be better if we pay heed to the ultimate message from the article, that of learning to live a gadget-free, sensible and simple life.
J. Anantha Padmanabhan
Srirangam
