Even in my younger days I never really was a fan of any particular TV serial. Now, that doesn’t include the cartoon series of Tom and Jerry though! It’s still on my watch list and I guess will always be.

My younger days… the era of the late 90’s, those were the days when Ekta Kapoor ruled the television industry with Star Plus being the number 1 channel and all the ‘saas-bahu serials having their names with ‘K’ as their first alphabet customarily recieving the television awards for reigning upon the hearts of a million .!

Back then, I never understood the interest with which people could follow serials in which women were dressed for occasions 24*7 and woke up with the perfect hairdo and make up in their bedrooms having the resemblance to a fairy tale set up. Fashion and dressing sense of many a woman was highly influenced by these serials. I on the other hand, could never relate to the idea of following up something which falsely depicted the human emotions and reaction in 3D effect and in an artificially exaggerated form.

Yesterday while getting a head massage done, my son noticed that my fingers were getting rough and my finger nails were cut short with no nail polish. He asked me to pay attention to myself, specifically saying that I needed some dedicated “Me” time. “Why don’t you watch some TV serial in routine?” He asked.

Pulling his leg, I humorously responded if he was missing having a “typical woman in the house who is immaculately dressed all the time, with perfect hairdo, manicure, pedicure all done up to date? Like one of those particular women that we can see on the TV?” His astounding response changed my narrow vision and viewpoint though, for he said that I was being biased in my opinion ! As per him watching any particular serial as a habit on daily basis would eventually allocate a certain portion of the day to which I would look forward to, which didn’t require me to work or perform any task rather it would become my space to relax my mind and take away my attention and focus from the daily responsibilities and duties to a different world for that some amount of time that I chose to watch that serial. Listening to such clear thoughts from an eleven year old rendered me speechless.

His response helped me to get a fresh insight as to why people follow a certain television serial in routine, why is it a part of their daily life. It’s not for only watching the unnecessary family melodrama and politics neither it’s only for learning and conforming to the latest local fashion trends. It’s also for a break and diversion of mind from the daily life routine which at times is tiring, mundane or unhappy on certain days and on all such challenging days this half an hour of TV serial is like a distraction of their mind and energy from the issues involved in their personal space.

Also I thought, not every incident nor each experience of our life can be expressly shared with our parents, life partner, relatives or even friends, no matter how close to us they might otherwise be. There are certain aspects of our life which each one of us quietly takes in his/her stride and puts away in the corner of their heart and mind, bravely putting up a strong face before the world to hide those feelings.

These television serials through their fictional characters many a times help people to relate with their such hidden emotions, to feel a connect and to comfort their mind that everything’s okay and that they are not alone nor left out. Sometimes seeing other’s problems in a larger than life, 3D effect helps one to see their own problem as much smaller and manageable, seeing other’s happiness in an overly dramatic expression elevates and inspires one to enjoy and celebrate their own life differently. Sometimes a bit of drama mixed with emotions displayed in high definition is required to have a fresh perspective to daily life..!

Not that I started hunting for some TV serial right after this conversation with my son but yes ! I have definitely learned and gained a fresh perspective of not forming opinion on any one who is addicted to playing a particular mobile game or dedicatedly watching some serial/series or maybe following any other practice/habit which is beyond my reasoning to comprehend. Probably they are just doing those things for their “Me” time that they require for relaxing, for shutting out the chaos of the real world and loosing themselves in an imaginary place where they are not the center and focus of responsibilities, duties or problems, where they can be someone different for that amount of time, living in a fictional world of their personal emotional comfort.

All of us I believe need and deserve a special, magical, personal space of our own and some ‘ME’ time for ourself even if it’s in a fictional world, for at least some part of the day to reconnect to our inner selves and to refill our energy tank for effectively shouldering the responsibilities that our daily life demands. So here’s to the much required daily ‘ME’ time and a changed unbiased, non-judgmental fresh viewpoint.!