Keltron memories
Years ago, when the telly was just making its foray into the south Indian hinterland, I remember a car driving into my courtyard one afternoon.
My home, where I was born and brought up till graduation, is in the cusp of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Trivandrum used to the nearest city for us there. It still is. Trivandrum, for me, was the place where all the action was. A car used to be a spectacle then for the residents of my back-of-the-beyond, and yet prosperous village . Kunjammavan, my uncle, a resident of Trivandrum (He is no more) owned a car then. It was this car that drove into my courtyard. My father alighted from the vehicle and was helped by Kunjammavan to take out of the vehicle a big box with KELTRON printed all over.
Our first television had arrived. And, what better brand than Keltron. Many consumers those days picked Keltron with eyes closed. There were others too who had contempt for Kerala’s own brand and swore by rivals like Dyanora and Weston. The exquisite brands available today were unheard of then. Keltron competed with Dyanora, Dyanora competed with Weston and the two competed together for a space in the sun with Keltron.
Our first TV took position just below the Gandhi-Nehru photograph, which once upon a time was revered by one all who visited us. One look at Gandhi and Nehru and then at the Keltron TV – that was the routine.
With TV’s arrival, Doordarshan became the honoured eyepiece. Show timings began at 6 pm and ended at 11 pm. Malayalam programmes ended at 8.30 pm and it was “Over To Delhi” from then on. NEWS was read out by admirable ladies like Usha Albuquerque, Rini Simon (a.k.a Khanna) and gentlemen like Sunit Tandon and Tejeshwar Singh. They turned out to be heroes for kids like me and my sister. All these, courtesy, our new Keltron colour television.
Cut to current day. Gandhi and Nehru have long disappeared, thanks to pest invasion. A proud, smiling Indira Gandhi has taken their place. But sadly she has now been reduced to just another photograph on the wall.
Newscast via Rini Simon and Sunit Tandon too is history. NEWS is part of my life today. As the world grew big to get smaller, and as technology proved geography is nothing but history, my mode of television watching too has changed. I watch a Sansui these days. My friends have LGs and Samsungs. The Keltrons and Dyanoras have gone off even the shelf.
The other day, reporting Keltron’s anniversary day for my newspaper at the company’s famed campus in Trivandrum, brought back to memory the days I spent in front of the Keltron set. The crowd that constituted family members of Keltron staffers brought to mind the sequences from some fiction where I read of get togethers that buried all worries. And, when the Industries Minister revealed that Keltron staffers have worked hard to keep the company afloat even when it is in the BIFR fold by forsaking pay revision since 1991, it was a revelation. I could do nothing but applaud.
A company under BIFR, a team of engineers, and a never-say-die spirit. That defines Keltron these days. Struggling to stay afloat, Keltron has been swimming against the tide, and also with it whenever needed. Many a minister has offered revival carrots. Pay just continues to be an incentive, the team spirit gives Keltron the biggest sop soaked in job satisfaction. When the IT revolution dumped companies like Keltron to see new-age players crop up, why didn’t we, and the government realise the importance and need for the survival of Keltron.
Maybe, for many Keltron is just an old company with old values and ancient people. It isn’t so for me, and for may around me, I guess. My father, who has tried out television brands such as the Sansui, and the LG Golden Eye, apart from the good old Keltron, continues to believe Keltron is still the watchable television. For, the colours the new age brands beam are never as natural as on a Keltron monitor. I stand by him. Don’t you think the people at Keltron deserve a whole hearted applause?
Years ago, when the telly was just making its foray into the south Indian hinterland, I remember a car driving into my courtyard one afternoon.
My home, where I was born and brought up till graduation, is in the cusp of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Trivandrum used to the nearest city for us there. It still is. Trivandrum, for me, was the place where all the action was. A car used to be a spectacle then for the residents of my back-of-the-beyond, and yet prosperous village . Kunjammavan, my uncle, a resident of Trivandrum (He is no more) owned a car then. It was this car that drove into my courtyard. My father alighted from the vehicle and was helped by Kunjammavan to take out of the vehicle a big box with KELTRON printed all over.
Our first television had arrived. And, what better brand than Keltron. Many consumers those days picked Keltron with eyes closed. There were others too who had contempt for Kerala’s own brand and swore by rivals like Dyanora and Weston. The exquisite brands available today were unheard of then. Keltron competed with Dyanora, Dyanora competed with Weston and the two competed together for a space in the sun with Keltron.
Our first TV took position just below the Gandhi-Nehru photograph, which once upon a time was revered by one all who visited us. One look at Gandhi and Nehru and then at the Keltron TV – that was the routine.
With TV’s arrival, Doordarshan became the honoured eyepiece. Show timings began at 6 pm and ended at 11 pm. Malayalam programmes ended at 8.30 pm and it was “Over To Delhi” from then on. NEWS was read out by admirable ladies like Usha Albuquerque, Rini Simon (a.k.a Khanna) and gentlemen like Sunit Tandon and Tejeshwar Singh. They turned out to be heroes for kids like me and my sister. All these, courtesy, our new Keltron colour television.
Cut to current day. Gandhi and Nehru have long disappeared, thanks to pest invasion. A proud, smiling Indira Gandhi has taken their place. But sadly she has now been reduced to just another photograph on the wall.
Newscast via Rini Simon and Sunit Tandon too is history. NEWS is part of my life today. As the world grew big to get smaller, and as technology proved geography is nothing but history, my mode of television watching too has changed. I watch a Sansui these days. My friends have LGs and Samsungs. The Keltrons and Dyanoras have gone off even the shelf.
The other day, reporting Keltron’s anniversary day for my newspaper at the company’s famed campus in Trivandrum, brought back to memory the days I spent in front of the Keltron set. The crowd that constituted family members of Keltron staffers brought to mind the sequences from some fiction where I read of get togethers that buried all worries. And, when the Industries Minister revealed that Keltron staffers have worked hard to keep the company afloat even when it is in the BIFR fold by forsaking pay revision since 1991, it was a revelation. I could do nothing but applaud.
A company under BIFR, a team of engineers, and a never-say-die spirit. That defines Keltron these days. Struggling to stay afloat, Keltron has been swimming against the tide, and also with it whenever needed. Many a minister has offered revival carrots. Pay just continues to be an incentive, the team spirit gives Keltron the biggest sop soaked in job satisfaction. When the IT revolution dumped companies like Keltron to see new-age players crop up, why didn’t we, and the government realise the importance and need for the survival of Keltron.
Maybe, for many Keltron is just an old company with old values and ancient people. It isn’t so for me, and for may around me, I guess. My father, who has tried out television brands such as the Sansui, and the LG Golden Eye, apart from the good old Keltron, continues to believe Keltron is still the watchable television. For, the colours the new age brands beam are never as natural as on a Keltron monitor. I stand by him. Don’t you think the people at Keltron deserve a whole hearted applause?
Comments