7 Life Lessons I Learned From Indian TV Serials

Like all Indians born before the 90s, I grew up watching Hindi TV-shows on DD National. Those shows used to have a limited life span, usually in multiples of 13 episodes. Very few of them turned into lengthy epic sagas. But then, cable television happened, with dedicated "24 by 7" channels JUST for serials.

Tara was the first show I watched on cable TV. Around the same time, there was Banegi Apni Baat and Campus. All of them started out to be amazingly fun and creative, but somewhere along the line, without the earlier restriction of fixed episode count, they just seemed to lose the plot somewhere, and became kind of overly "political" and heavy.

Eventually, I stopped watching Indian TV serials altogether.

During the first few years of my blogging journey, I have voiced my ABSOLUTE displeasure of this "modern" breed of Indian TV shows countless times. But then, in December 2011, I had a 180-degree shift in my views, and I, OFFICIALLY, took all my former criticism back, because, like all things in life, these slow-moving, seemingly-full-of-cunning, Indian TV sagas also serve a purpose. They teach us a lot about relationships. They teach us a lot about people. And they teach us so much about life.

I had started following two Indian television shows back then, based on high recommendations from people I knew -- Bade Acche Lagte Hain and Kuch To Log Kahenge -- and while I eventually DID lose interest in both after a few months (details in some other post, some other time), I nevertheless got to learn quite a bit, even in those few short months. Here are the top 7 life lessons I learned from those two Indian TV shows.

7 Life Lessons I Learned From Indian TV Serials

1. Always keep your distance from people having no constructive pastime. Since they have little, if at all anything, to do in their own life, they WILL interfere in yours. And the more discontent they are of their own life, the more they'll try to disrupt yours.
   
   
2. Being in love does not necessarily mean a permanent bed of roses. It doesn't mean you'll always feel on top of the world. That state can be experienced only when both people in the relationship are freely expressing their love for each other. The moment any one person blocks the flow, whether in giving or receiving, both suffer. (And their viewers are also forced to experience their agony!)
   
   
3. Resistance or refusal to change, or even to see a different viewpoint, is what leads to the slow pace of story in TV serials... as well as in life. The more obstinately we stick to our "comfort zone", the more "boring" and dissatisfying our life becomes. If we want our life and relationships to change, then WE must change, from within. Blaming destiny or any other "so-called" external "variables" is totally useless.
   
   
4. Lack of communication is usually the culprit in all broken/staggering relationships. Most conflicts can be nipped in the bud simply by having a mature OPEN conversation with the people concerned. (Subject to point 5 below)
   
   
5. Just like there is day and night, light and dark, there WILL always be both "good" people and "bad" people in the world around us. It's up to us to learn to differentiate between the two. And to accept them as they are, without feeling obliged to "change" their ways. (Further subject to point 6 below)
   
   
6. People may not always be what they seem to be. Hiding our real self is an art we humans learn at a very early age, as a part of our "Survival 101 Kit". So, the reality of most people lies not only in what they reveal to you, but also in what they don't, or can't.
   
   

7. When it comes to relationships, most people "seem" to be as lost as a ship without a compass on the sea, but that's ONLY because they don't really take ownership of their relationships, the way they would of their car or the mixer-grinder in their kitchen. They simply expect things to fall into place on their own, without bothering to put in the TLC required, or even to understand WHAT TLC is required.
   
   

So, these were the 7 prominent life lessons I learned from Indian TV serials, back in 2011, about people, relationships and love. Now, if your story was to be made into a TV serial, what would that be like? Boring? Interesting? Gloomy? Inspiring? Work-in-progress? Would you desire to change anything in that story? Would you be willing to change yourself for that?

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