That we celebrate a World Television Day is an eloquent testimony of its abiding signification in our lives. It is a deeply intrusive, transformative influence, changing social mores, the way we dress, the things we eat, even the way we look at each other, haloing men, hollowing others, in effect , materially reshaping social attitudes and individual choices. Long held conventions and firmly grounded societal signposts are getting replaced with new benchmarks of 'modernity'. Much has already been written about it. Yet, on its day of glory, I can't resist the temptation of adding a footnote in acknowledgement of the thrall in which it holds us.
My great grandfather belonged to the jowar-bajra ki roti, kodo rice (an indigenous variety now extinct) and saag epoch of Indian gastronomy. My grand parents transited to 'chakki ka atta' and parboiled Taichung rice( a high yield dwarf hybrid rice strain developed in the 60s), my parents put polished arhar dal, arwa chawal and a wholesome mix of veggies in the menu. I brought packaged grains, oils and flours, and other branded groceries to spice up the dining table ; my brood reared up under the proselytising gaze of 'Television' went eclectic and cosmopolitan in their gormandising. The flavours and aroma of Chinese cuisine -chow mein, chilli chicken sweet- and- sour soups floated about.
But things turned really topsy turvy with the grand children.Theirs' is a truly global palate that tucks in Kentucky fries, pizzas, pastas, burgers, French fries,exotic Thai food,sushi in wasabi, Continentals...... and whatnot. Food is no longer what is cooked at home but that which is ordered on line. Not a little of this metamorphosis is attributable to advertising hypnopaedia unleashed by television.
The Tele boom in the post-WWII West was fertilized by corporate advertising moolah that targeted the DICs , Double Income Couples, the baby boomers. Much the same is happening here with a half century lag, only that the DICs come from the assembly lines of IT and services sector, not industrial.
Whatever it maybe , if the grand children are not to corral us oldies in Reservation centres for 'Roti-Dal savages' in their BRAVE NEW WORLD ( Aldous Huxley saw it all a century ago, only that he was obsessed with viviparous reproduction, we with gastronomical delights ) our taste buds need to globalize and globalise fast. Otherwise, our homes risk branding as
culinary ghettos that grandchildren avoid.
As a footnote to a footnote, this anecdote, most certainly apocryphal, is pretty instructive in many ways about the BRAVE NEW WORLD that television is envisioning.
On TV a young chap spotted an unequivocal promise from the famed fast-food chain, Burger on the Double.
"your order at doorstep in 30 min, else you get it free".
To check on it he ordered a 'cheese burger'. As Dame Luck would have it, the delivery boy's knock came 45 min later. So he took delivery and shut the door. But the boy wouldn't go away.
'late delivery, hence no payment. go away ' , bellowed the chap triumphantly.
'Sir, that offer is only for chicken burger ", smiled the boy. Willy-nilly, he paid up.
Sometime later he ordered a chicken burger. Again late, but again he had to pay.
' Sir , the offer holds only for chicken jalapeno burger '
Determined to avail what promised to be a certain freebie he next ordered a chicken jalapeno. The boy was late yet again . Aha ! he had the boy by the scruff this time , no getting away. But the boy continued to smile, ' sir, delay due to force de majeure is excluded. It’s raining and still is '.
On a bright sunny day with the gods smiling all over he took another chance. He reordered chicken jalapeno. As before the order came late.
' Sir, it seems the whole city is on the streets. Even gods cannot control this traffic, a force de majeure even greater than rains'.
Livid with rage he threatened to expose the fraudulent offer in Facebook. Nonplussed, the boy said, “ as you please sir, but do give us a five star rating in the feedback "
Livid with rage he threatened to expose the fraudulent offer in Facebook. Nonplussed, the boy said, “ as you please sir, but do give us a five star rating in the feedback "
The last one heard of him was that he was on the double chasing Burger on the Double, down to next to last item on the menu in quest of an elusive freebie.
That is the hypnotic spell tele marketing casts, ensnaring us into chasing ghosts and falling for the Quixotic - putting round pegs in square holes. What happens when vision gets fully replaced by Television ? Only Big Brother knows !
