Religion on Indian television

There is hardly anyone who is not afraid of God and prays to Him to save him out when he is in trouble. And, in order to ensure that we do not lose sights of our objectives, there are any number of programs dedicated to Gods and Goddesses. Yes, while some religions believe in one God, in the Hindu culture, there are innumerable Gods and Goddesses. One reason is, probably, the different dialects that exist in the country and the different cultures and food habits prevalent. Each group wants to be identified with a God or Goddess who is like one of the group.

Anyway, in order to cater to one and all, Indian TV channels have risen to the task remarkably well. Since television now is a 24X7 affair, most of the channels present religious programs in the early mornings – these end by 7am when regular transmissions take over.
Side by side, there are a few channels devoted entirely to religious programs that continue throughout the day and night.
And, religion is an integral part of practically each and every TV serial – since the fad is to have huge households, also known as joint families, there has to be an area earmarked for pujas to the Gods and Goddesses who are important to the family. There could be an idol of Lord Ganesh or an idol of Lord Narayana and Goddess Laxmi or idols of Lord Rama, Sita Devi and brother Lakshman.
The fact is that the family members will gather in this special area to pray – the prayers could be for the speedy recovery of a member of the family who has met with an accident and is on the death bed. Or – for the well-being of a kid that has been kidnapped. Or – to ensure that the husband is not distracted by any other woman.
The situations are innumerable and, at every step, they turn to God to help them out.
Of course, at festival times, the whole family gets together to pray – and the evil members take the opportunity to cook up some more evil plots that ultimately fail because of timely divine intervention. (to be continued …)

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)
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