Eaten by a Fish

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'Sorry for the interruption'!

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Indian literature from the Vedas to the present
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'Sorry for the interruption'!

With apologies to DD Kolkata

Rohini Chowdhury
Mar 28, 2023
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'Sorry for the interruption'!

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Doordarshan, India’s state-owned TV broadcaster, launched in Kolkata as DD National Kolkata in 1975. This was a big event for me, for it changed forever the manner in which I and the other children in the neighbourhood spent our after-school free time. All games and activities would come to a halt by 6 pm, and we would gather in front of the box, eagerly awaiting the daily programme for children. And just as we would be fully engaged, the TV screen would flicker and turn blank. The stories of kings and queens and monsters would be replaced by grey lines and white noise. A few minutes later, and, we assumed, after much struggle on the part of a hardworking and perspiring network crew, a straggly sign would appear: “Sorry for the interruption.” This might sometime be followed by another sign: “Normal service will be resumed soon.” Most times, service was resumed.

The last two months here on Eaten by a Fish, were, I am aware, somewhat of a blank-screen moment for my readers. For this interruption, I am sincerely sorry. Like the TV network crew of our childish imaginations, I have been working hard behind the scenes, travelling, reading, researching, meeting other writers, and thinking, planning, plotting, strategising so as to make Fish a pleasurable reading and learning experience for us all. I am pleased to say that normal service will indeed be resumed soon—on April 1, to be precise.

I also want to say a big thank you to all my readers, old and new. Fish will soon be celebrating its first birthday. It has been a year of learning and experimentation for me, and you have all stood by patiently without complaint.

I am especially grateful to all of you who signed up even before the first article on this publication had appeared. Thank you for your faith.

And thank you, to all my paying subscribers. Your support is much appreciated and has contributed greatly both to my confidence in continuing Fish and in helping meet some of the costs of the research required for writing this newsletter.

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I look forward to another year of learning together.

With many thanks, and apologies once more for the “interruption”.
Rohini

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'Sorry for the interruption'!

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The Story Birds
Writes The Story Birds
Mar 31Liked by Rohini Chowdhury

This really made me chuckle. I’m sure the interruption is only a creative pause while ideas simmer and take shape. Blessed too with no ‘snow’ and no teeth on edge ‘noise’. Looking forward to the next post.

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Usha Bubna
Writes Usha’s Substack
Mar 28Liked by Rohini Chowdhury

Very good way to explain the delay .

Looking forward to the next story nrxtweek

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