Changing
Life : 2-Study Notes
In this chapter we shall look at the changes that have taken place in the fields of language, sports, theatre, films, newspapers and television. Language : Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannad, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Odiya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Konkani, Manipuri, Nepali and Sindhi are the official languages in India. These Indian languages also have dialects, but their number is now on the decline. Timely steps should be taken to nurture them, otherwise we will lose an important part of our heritage. Nevertheless, Hindi, which has reached everywhere through the medium of Hindi movies, has served to unite the country by language.
The English language has been gaining ground in India due to the process of globalisation which began after 1990. English is becoming the language of livelihood, as it opens the doors to multiple job opportunities. Moreover, Indians are at the forefront in learning English. However, it is necessary to ensure that this process does not endanger the very existence of regional languages.
Sports : During the pre-independence period, only a few selected games were known to people in general. Some sportspersons changed this situation. This enhanced the status of both - the sports, and the sportspersons. For example, Geet Sethi achieved global excellence in snooker, a variation of billiards. He won the national championship of billiards for teenagers at the age of 15. Later, he went on to win national and international championships.
At the global level, he won the amateur billiards competition thrice, and the professional one five times. His success made the game popular, and newspapers began to report news about billiards. Thus he made a new field available to rising sportspersons in India. It was in 1983, that the Indian team won the World Cup for cricket, under the captainship of Kapil Dev. It was a historic victory. Cricket instantly won great popularity across the country. In the same year, Sunil Gavaskar broke the earlier record of maximum centuries in test cricket. In 1985, India won the ‘Benson and Hedges’ World Championship of cricket. As a result, cricket came to be played in all States to a lesser or greater extent, but at the cost of indigenous Indian games.
A few movies were also produced around the theme of cricket. Live telecasts of the full five days or one day of the matches also became available. India had been participating in Asiad and Olympic games. At the Olympics of year 2000, Karnam Malleshwari won a medal for weightlifting. She was the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Olympics. India’s representation began to rise in various Olympic games such as hockey, badminton, tennis, swimming, weightlifting and archery. Theatre and films : Theatre and films are important aspects of Indian life.
Early plays were very long, sometimes running through an entire night. Now, the form, technique, duration of plays have all changed. People from different walks of life take part in the dramas. But ‘musicals’ have now declined in importance and political and social subjects have replaced the earlier mythological and historical themes. The age of black and white movies has been succeeded by the age of coloured movies. In the field of entertainment, the place of Hindi movies is incomparable. Now movies reflect contemporary themes. Film shooting locales have moved abroad. So, viewers can now see many different places in foreign countries. Movies in foreign languages are now translated. During the screening of English movies, a short Hindi translation now appears on the screen as sub-titles. Hindi movies now compete with ‘global’ movies as they have reached every nook and corner of the world. We see a reflection of politics, social events, industry and technology in the movies. Movies which were 3-4 hours long are now of only one or one and a half hours. Moreover, the concept of one screen and one cinema hall has given way to multiplexes.
The days of a movie running for 100 weeks in one cinema hall are over. Now one movie runs in thousands of cinema halls in India and abroad simultaneously. This development has changed the economy of movies. Production of movies has attained the status of industry. The industry now employs crores of people. The movie industry in regional languages is also thriving. Newspapers : The changing lifestyle has had its effect on newspapers and other mass-media, and they in turn have influenced individual as well as community life.
During early post-independence period, newspapers had multiple objectives. In this period, the newspapers were expected to not only give the news of daily events, but also give impetus to industry and commerce by printing advertisements. Newspapers functioned with the following objectives : shape public opinon, direct it towards constructive work, at times lead the latter, carry on the task of public education, keep a watch over the government machinery, etc.
Earlier, newspapers were black and white. With the changing times, colour printing became common. Earlier, newspapers were thought to be the mouthpieces of the taluka or district. Now they have to face tough competition from the State level newspaper chains. But on the whole, newspapers are now becoming more active. Their scope has enlarged to Sunil Gavaskar Karnam Malleshwari 54 include raising funds for drought affected and flood affected people, helping meritorious students from lower income groups to go for higher education and organizing or sponsoring cultural programmes. This is how newspapers have now become on inseparable part of our lives.
Television : Television came to India during the post-independence period. Earlier it was black and white. Now it is coloured. Earlier it was limited to some selected programmes and fixed time-slots. Gradually its scope was enlarged to include educational programmes, news bulletins, detailed reporting of the tours of the President and the Prime Minister. During the telelcast of Ramayana and Mahabharat, a majority of the people used to sit glued to the television set.
These serials proved the popularity of this medium. Then in 1991, CNN channel showed to the entire world a live visual reporting of the Iraq war. At this stage the world of Indian news channels changed include raising funds for drought affected and flood affected people, helping meritorious students from lower income groups to go for higher education and organizing or sponsoring cultural programmes. This is how newspapers have now become on inseparable part of our lives.
Television : Television came to India during the post-independence period. Earlier it was black and white. Now it is coloured. Earlier it was limited to some selected programmes and fixed time-slots. Gradually its scope was enlarged to include educational programmes, news bulletins, detailed reporting of the tours of the President and the Prime Minister. During the telelcast of Ramayana and Mahabharat, a majority of the people used to sit glued to the television set. These serials proved the popularity of this medium. Then in 1991, CNN channel showed to the entire world a live visual reporting of the Iraq war. At this stage the world of Indian news channels changed completely. In 1998, STAR (Satellite Television Asia Region) a private media house entered India, and the uninteresting, monotonous and propagandist news telecasts of the early period underwent a sea change.
The language, the technique of presentation, studios equipped with the latest technology and the use of OB (outdoor broadcasting) vans have expanded the scope of Indian T.V. channels still further, and brought in transparency and variety. Now, every nook and corner of the country is connected. This has had a great impact on politics. In short, the whole country started changing. So far we have studied the history of modern India. Next year, we will study how to make use of this subject in the practical world. We shall see how history can be a part of daily life, and not just a thing of the past.
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