The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : No place for science here

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 22, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

No place for science here

R. Sujatha

TV serials have a dedicated women audience Regional channels combine the sublime, the supernatural and the spiritual, say social commentators

CHENNAI: Here's one more reason why television serials, especially regional channels, seem to have a dedicated women audience.

These channels combine the sublime, the supernatural and the spiritual, say social commentators. Such serials get high ratings for the producers.

In a serial on `Amman' (the Goddess), the protagonist's husband develops skin rashes. Though the wealthy agricultural family makes educated guesses about toxic pesticides and fertilisers, medical help is not sought. The family tries a variety of traditional applications.

Meanwhile, the audience is introduced to a vengeful character who teams up with three amorphous ghouls in blue, green and pink. So far, science has found no place in these serials (and it is anybody's guess if it will even in future).

While on the other hand, practical wisdom dictates that a sick person needs medical help. At a programme to mark the World Kidney Day, V. Selvaraj, a civil servant and a trustee of a foundation researching on hypertension, spoke about religious practices in villages: "In a number of villages there are absurd practices. Why can't doctors' associations protest against the breaking of coconuts on the head? Such practices not only produce head injuries but also haematoma, in which blood clots in the brain, and ultimately endanger life."

Viewers argue that serials are a way of passing the time. R. Mythili, who watches the Sunday serials, says, "Life is all about belief. If you believe in God we will be blessed. There's nothing a woman cannot do. Such serials help to get over our fears."

K. Balasubramanian, another regular TV viewer who practises law, feels "positive vibes come through" considering that people have grown up on popular stories and folklore, replete with dubious events.

"It [watching serials] is just entertainment," he says.

Small wonder then that such serials have a steady audience. Intelligent understanding of the story or the content is an issue that is hardly debated about.

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