Malayali’s tendency to emigrate is well known. From chayakkada (tea shop) on the moon jokes to meeting a Malayali in Alaska(that would be me), we Keralites think that we have a monopoly in the category. The problem is the Chinese, the Punjabis, the Gujaratis , the Philippinos and the Koreans, to name a few, also claim that they are in the driver seat when it comes to driving away from their home countries. Just look at all the China towns in all major cities across the globe, you’ll see that the Chinese have a strong case.
The emigration competition can wait, that was not I came here to write about. As usual, meandering thoughts took control of my keyboard. What I wanted to post about is a website I chanced upon recently – turbotv.in, that brings live streaming of major South Indian TV channels and a few Hindi channels to your home anywhere on the planet, provided you have an internet connection. Goes without saying, it should preferably be broadband.
For Indians like us who live in places where the scarcity of sub-continental Indians(South or North) have failed to entice satellite TV providers to generously beam down our desi TV channels, turbotv.in is quite a find. Reception is fabulous, even in this remote niche of the world called Alaska. It is almost like I never left home more than a decade and a half ago.
Some observations after watching a few hours of Malayalam TV:
- Move
over prescription medicine ads, make way for gold jewelers. Both items
promise to make us better than we are, through different approaches.
Clearly a Malayali prefers wearing a three stone (precious of course)
gold bracelet specially anointed and blessed by his astrologer to ward
off his Pharmacophobia.
- Politicians continue to bicker and reconcile over power, liquor, women and prayer.
- TV
presenters still can’t enunciate Malayalam properly and insist on
speaking in some version of English undecipherable outside Kerala .
Along the lines of Lou Gehrig Disease this affliction can hitherto be
called the Ranjini Haridas Disease after its most famous proponent and
propagator.
- Reality television has become a reality. ‘Inspirations’ of Judge Judy, The Amazing Race, Maury and Survivor are all over the place bringing the traditionalist Malayali to bare and give all in front of a television audience for fifteen minutes of fame.
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