Preeta Chag

How excited we were about DTH?

Like Alice caught in wonderland, we were so eager to have so many channels at the flick of our finger.

News, movies, music, entertainment. The choices seemed endless.  And the desire to run through all rampant.

And then came HD. A supposed promise of doing away with advertisements while watching the super vamp, saas-bahu dramas being enacted. Banking on our feverish dreams to devour all without a break.

And now we have the Netflix and Amazon and Hotstars.

Taking away the fingers of so many on the remote from the DTH straight to the button of Netflix and Amazons.

Are we getting too spoilt? Are we getting too inundated? Serials on Star Plus and Zee are now being replaced by TV series on Netflix and amazon.

The winning point is non-stop viewing. Addiction to it causes entire Sundays of all being spent on finishing a series.

So what is it? A great positive new wave we are embracing? Or slavery to all newer pop-ups continuously surfacing? An extremely innovative, smart business venture promoted and marketed so sleekly that we have no option but to succumb.

But have we ever sometimes paused to think?

When I open Netfix nowadays, I am now confused. With a string of new additions, classifications, and an increasing choice between genres, I take 20 minutes to even decide what to see.

And then I begin. Press the Play button in anticipation of supreme entertainment.

Sometimes I am rewarded. Sometimes I  feel let down.

I promise to myself that next time I have 30 minutes to watch i will not open Netflix.  I will just browse through the good old channels  and do complete time pass.

No trying to select from the plethora of titles or tying to follow some addictive series in one go…..(believe me that is the worst thing to do to yourself).

Or why don’t I just pick up my good old book or listen to some music.

Wind down, relax and not get engrossed in some gory killer series or a crime movie to set off my stress points.

I, in fact, look forward to the simplest solution to this.

I have just pressed Play and the doorbell rings. My husband walks in and says, ‘can i watch news?’

Bingo. The choice is not mine anymore.

And Life become so simple, doesn’t it?