Daily Times

Sir: I have heard quite a few people telling women in their houses not to watch Star Plus dramas and others of the like. Many men complain that they affect their wives’ behaviour and influence them.

We all agree that what is shown on some of the shows is beyond the decency limits. Sometimes the story lines get dirty, the saas-bahu (mother-in-law and daughter-in-law) melodramas influence thinking, the romance shown lifts expectations and other such daily life happenings. I have noticed behaviour changes in some of the people around me who followed these serials religiously. Slowly, their natures became more complaining, critical and impatient. Once one of my colleagues laughed about what his son said.

They were passing by a restaurant in Lahore and a dish called sajji (chicken barbecued on coals) was being prepared. Seeing this, his son asked his father whether someone had died there. Following what he had seen on Indian TV, he believed that someone’s burial was going on because of the ashes. Children do get affected by anything that goes on around them. The TV is not a babysitter. These dramas do not give a good message; rather we should inculcate the habit of reading good books and watching meaningful dramas.

WAFA AFTAB

Karachi