Anatomy of the Marathi TV Serial

Having spent a rather large part of this week with my grandparents in Pune, I finally got the opportunity to reconnect with my roots. Did I attend a authentic Marathi culture fest? No. Did I examine folk art of the tamasha or the warlis? Nope. Did I connect with members of my linguistic community on topics of cultural importance? Hell no!
Instead I spent a small part of my trip accompanying the grandparents in their daily activities of Soaping. Ew. Not that kind of soaping, children. I am talking, obviously, of the Marathi TV serial. For four whole days this week, I was tried on a diet of Bhairoba, Shubam Karoti, Saam Gurukul and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa. I learnt later that these were in the good company of Anubandha, Vahinisaheb, Kunku, Kulavadhu, Avaghachi Sansaar and the irresistable Home Minister. This final one is not of the daily soap type (neither actually, are Saam Gurukul and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa)...but deserves a little discussion because of the sheer volumes of audience it engenders.
It is with great excitement and typical Maharashtrian fervour, then, that I proceed to dissect some of these. Any remarks about Maharashtrians are to be taken with a pinch of salt...As Chetan Bhagat would put it, you only joke about the people you love... As for the non-Maharashtrians, I can promise you none of this is limited only to the Marathi-speaking population. We are a nation of screwed up people. If you have ever watched the likes of the K-serials, Saloni ka Safar, Choti Bahu... you will get my drift.

Chapter One: The "Ghatasfot"
This one is my personal favourite. I find it extremely interesting that the word for 'divorce' in Marathi is so similar to the word for 'bomb blast' ("bomsfot")... And the ghatasfot is a calamity of similar proportions in the Marathi TV serial. Its eruption causes so much drama that I can assure you divorce lawyers are almost as hated as Kasab in the Marathi serial world. Almost.
Ofcourse, like every other patriarchal community, we like to blame the woman for the ghatsfot. Afterall, the "mangalsutraachi aabru" comes with a built in "lakshman rekha" which these on screen women are blamed for crossing... faster than you can say SEXIST.

Chapter Two: Garbhavati - The Pregnant Woman
Sounds like a B-movie no? Anyway, remember: a woman is never just a woman. She is the upholder of tradition and sau(n)skaar. Therefore, some very logical equations follow.
Pre-marital sex = Paap (Sin)
Pre-marital sex + Pregnancy = Maha paap (and the woman is always asked how she "let" it happen/influenced the mind of the innocent boy and forced him into it)
Ofcourse, this is also the ultimate weapon to force an unwilling saasu to get her son married to you. Ladies, take note for future reference.
The upside: the married Garbhavati can use her pregnancy as an all access pass. An excellent tool to improving your "bad boy" husband, pleasing your in-laws and "improving" a breaking marriage. Brownie points for giving birth to a boy...but still accepted for delivering a future-grabhavati to the world.

Chapter Three: The Mishter
Alternatively addressed as "Bara kaa" or "Aaho" or "Aamche Hey" (which literally translated, means "Ours this one"). Like any good Indian woman, the Marathi bai never ever calls her husband by his name. Therefore, he is often referred to as her "mishter". The Mishter is a rather insignificant cog in the serial world because in the larger scheme of Garbhavatis, Saubhagyavatis, Ardhaanginis, Saasus and Vamps, the innocent husband has little to do. He comes. He earns the bread and butter. He occesionally stands up for his wife/mother/sister. He impregnates (because sperm banks are still a novelty to our world) and he conquers.

Chapter Four: The Home Minister
If you ever get a chance, you must MUST catch the TV show by the same name on Zee Marathi. Hosted by the delicious (ok...maybe not...) Aadesh Bandekar, this is the guilty pleasure of several housewives in Maharashtra. On the show, women of the socio-economic middle class compete with each other in several simplistic games- dumb charades where they must mime names of common household items, spoon races, antakshari contests and so on. The grand prize that each vahini is willing to kill for? A Paithani saree...and of course the respect and envy of others in the neighbourhood. Therefore, when Mr. Bandekar comes a visiting, the housewives invite the whole village to see the sport. And they gracefully stand in a crowd waiting to be introduced - "This is my mishter. My first son. My second son. The neighbours son. My uncle. My husband's best friend's wife. My husband's best friend's wife's sister..."...you get the drift. The only reason why this one is a personal favourite is the fact that it really reaches out to the masses...and gives these women what my Lit teacher would call a celebratory space- where they can celebrate being women- without excluding the males in their lives.

Epilogue
I would have loved to include
Chapter 5: The Mutual Admiration Society of Reality Show Judges... but if you've seen Himesh going "Excellent. Mind Blowing!! History!!!!" every two seconds on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa...you already know....
Chapter 6: The Saasu (Mother in Law) requires no further description

and many such...but maybe in true blue TV serial fashion I'll sign of with the dramatic...TO BE CONTINUED....
and in true blue viewer fashion, expect to be let down. :)