Tuesday, March 5, 2013

DOORDARSHAN TURNS 25

The pioneers

02nd January 2010 12:30 AM





















FOR a few nostalgic minds at Doordarshan Kendra, Friday was not just the birth of a new year. Instead, 25 long years were reborn before them as they stood witness to a historic moment at the DD Kendra at Kudappanakkunnu, where the first transmission had happened exactly 25 years ago.
On Friday, they got together to send a news bulletin on air with the same producer and newscaster of their first bulletin. Only the technology had changed.
There’s no exaggeration in calling them comrades-in-arms. T. Chamiyar, John Samuel, Baiju Chandran, Dileep, Shiva Gurunathan and Kannan, who relived their 1985 moments for ‘Expresso’, had joined Thiruvananthapuram DD when its pillars were only coming up at Kudappanakkunnu.
The first transmission from Thiruvananthapuram DD Kendra was inaugurated by the then Chief Minister K. Karunakaran on January 1, 1985. The first bulletin, which was aired from 7.30 p.m. to 7.40 p.m.,  was read by Kannan and produced by Baiju Chandran. On Friday, the two of them, in the presence of many from the first batch of DD, took the same seats for the 7 p.m. bulletin.
“We began when the language of visual media was not even written, there were only alphabets,’’ Dileep’s words conveyed the scene in raw. They were a bunch of fresh hands in journalism, some straight out of studies and some who had come dumping their old jobs. They were thrown together at FTI Pune for five months of intensive training. Then without models and mentors sent to Thiruvananthapuram to begin from scratch.
This when black and white television sets counted more and Kudappanakkunnu was only beginning to lose its virginity. “Remember,  we had no stocked files, no prepared documentaries, only a dismantled camera from Jalandhar which used to shut eyes in between the shoots, giving us a jolt. We, as a team, gave a shape to DD to make what it is today,’’ says Baiju Chandran, who is now Assistant Station Director.
It was a selection panel headed by filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan who had chosen the team and further content. More than 10,000 applications had flooded the Kendra at that time, for the post of newscasters. Ravi Vallathol, former MET Director Santhosh and a few from AIR had tried their hands in newsreading then.
The first full-fledged live telecast of Thiruvananthapuram DD were the semi-finals and final of Nehru Cup Football, towards the end of 1985. With no OB vans or DSNGs, it was physical and mental will that many a time came to their rescue.
“When P.T. Usha and Shiny Wilson were accorded a public reception at Central Stadium, the traffic was jammed all over the city. We sent the first visuals to the studio in the hands of a minister’s gunman,’’ John Samuel, who is now producer, recollects.
It was how the whole thing worked, with lots of outside support, Chamiyar says. He, who travelled the length and breadth of Kerala to shoot for DD, located people, spotted trains or buses and took the help of police personnel to send the video tapes safely to DD Kendra. Chamiyar is now the Programme Head and Executive Producer at DD.
They can count lots of errors, small and big happenings, where their skills were put to test. When recorders did not work, cameras blinked throughout or news visuals reached late. Chamiyar, however, ranks the episode of Perumon train mishap at the top, when the visuals had not arrived until weather report was read. The gravity of the tragedy mixed with professional stress had made it a day, he remembers.
But one thing the team remembers with gratitude is the support of common people. `Sorry for Interruption’ board somehow never made them indifferent, the team says.
Times have changed, mostly technology. The team, which was shuffled to other centres in between, got together (with the exception of C.K. Thomas who is still in Thrissur) in the capital five years ago.
Looking back, they agree that being in a government media has its own flaws. Being the first batch also has its drawbacks. “Lack of a real guide with a vision was the main handicap, though. We made through those days all by ourselves, learning from our mistakes and making our own decisions,’’ Baiju Chandran says.
However, the whole sentiment was summed up in Chamiyar’s words, “History of DD Malayalam is our story too.’’
asha.nair@expressbuzz.com

2 comments:

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  2. But all your corrupt asses will be delivered justice oneday,your illegal assets and stash will be brought to daylight

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