On Tuesday (April 25), Indian public service broadcaster Doordarshan completed 41 years of its first test run of the colour telecast.
As per reports, it was primarily driven by the need to showcase the Asian Games, which were held between Noevember-December in New Delhi in 1982. It must be mentioned that Doordarshan was founded in 1959.
“Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram…This day of the year 1982 is important in the history of India. On this day, DD National began its colour telecast and ushered into a new era,” wrote Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur.
“Hearty congratulations not only to the people associated with DD but to every Indian on this special day. Today this channel is making an important contribution to nation-building through its authentic telecast,” he further added.
“This decision was taken due to the Asian Games being held in the country. Colour broadcasting skyrocketed the popularity of TV,” tweeted journalist Durga Sharma.
Bureaucrat Abhinav Saxena informed that Hindi films such as ‘Shatranj Ke Khiladi’ and ‘Sadgati’, which were directed by Satyajit Ray, were shown in colour on Doordarshan.
“This was #Doordarshan‘s first telecast in colour in regular transmission, following the Government decision to introduce Colour TV,” he added.
Some netizens were lost in nostalgia.
“My father bought a color television in 1985. It was a Sony Trinitron. We were the only house in a colony of 4,000 flats that had a television. On Sundays our hall used to get filled with children from neighbourhood who came to watch the weekend Doordarshan film,” recounted Alpesh Patel.
As per reports, Doordarshan began its experimental broadcast in 1959 only with a makeshift studio and a small transmitter. It was only in 1965 that the first five-minute-long news bulletin was read.