http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-afghan-soapopera.html
May 16, 2006
Indian Soap Opera Transfixes Afghanistan
By REUTERS
Filed at 9:06 p.m. ET
KABUL (Reuters) - Don't telephone an Afghan at 8:30 in the evening.
Chances are, he or she will be settled down in front of the television
for a daily fix of an Indian soap opera. And they won't want to be
disturbed.
The series ``The mother-in-law was a daughter-in-law once too,'' or
``Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi'' in its original Hindi, has transfixed the
country.
Men, women, young and old -- anyone, it seems, with access to a
television -- is enthralled by the family drama. It centers on Tulsi, a young
bride from a poor family who married because of love and is persecuted
by her evil mother-in-law.
For the first time, Afghans have been able to see a long-running family
drama that explores so many of the issues they encounter in their own
lives, said television commentator Farzana Samimi.
``It shows problems that are so common in Afghan families in terms of
the relationship of brides in the family, especially with the
mother-in-law,'' said Samimi, who presents a program on women's issues on Tolo
TV, which broadcasts the series.
Afghanistan is still a deeply conservative Islamic society where family
problems are invariably kept hidden behind a veil of privacy.
The series gets people thinking about such problems, Samimi said. ``It
enlightens the minds of people in the family, not only of brides or
mothers-in-laws, but others too.''
The cultural context of the Indian soap opera was also very easy for
Afghans to relate to, she said.
``People are interested because our culture is so close to India, their
way of daily life, the hierarchical system in the family,'' she said.
Whatever the reason, the soap opera is Afghanistan's most popular ever
television program and fans refuse to miss an episode.
``AN ADDICTION''
Generator shops in Kabul have reported heavy sales since the series
caught on because so many people want to ensure the city's frequent power
cuts don't interrupt their viewing.
Many fans who can't afford a generator have rigged up their televisions
to car batteries to beat the black-outs.
Tolo TV, the most popular channel to appear since the ouster of the
Taliban in 2001, says it is amazed by the success of the series. It
declines to say how much it paid to broadcast it.
``It's our biggest series. We're surprised to see so many people
interested in watching it so keenly,'' said Saad Mohseni, a Tolo director.
Tolo began running the soap opera, dubbed into Afghanistan's Dari
language, this year. It began in India several years ago and is still
running, so Tolo has lots more episodes to run.
Every day, the TV station gets calls from people asking for the
episodes to be extended and complaining about the interruptions for
advertisments, said another Tolo official, Ahmad Tawab Niazi.
Some fans have begged Tolo to change the broadcast time because it
coincides with congregational prayers at mosques, he said.
Some postpone their prayers.
``Let's pray later, I can't miss Tulsi,'' a man murmured to his friend
recently in a restaurant in the western city of Herat.
The show was about to begin on a television in the restaurant.
``It's like an addiction,'' the man told Reuters.
Mohseni said he had heard stories of a wedding banquet being
interrupted so the guests could huddle around the television for half an hour.
Some are taking advantage of the obsession.
Robbers in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif stripped a vehicle of
its wheels and mirrors recently, confident they had a mid-evening window
of half an hour when they wouldn't be caught.
``Thanks Tulsi,'' one of the robbers scrawled in paint on the side of
the car.
May 16, 2006
Indian Soap Opera Transfixes Afghanistan
By REUTERS
Filed at 9:06 p.m. ET
KABUL (Reuters) - Don't telephone an Afghan at 8:30 in the evening.
Chances are, he or she will be settled down in front of the television
for a daily fix of an Indian soap opera. And they won't want to be
disturbed.
The series ``The mother-in-law was a daughter-in-law once too,'' or
``Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi'' in its original Hindi, has transfixed the
country.
Men, women, young and old -- anyone, it seems, with access to a
television -- is enthralled by the family drama. It centers on Tulsi, a young
bride from a poor family who married because of love and is persecuted
by her evil mother-in-law.
For the first time, Afghans have been able to see a long-running family
drama that explores so many of the issues they encounter in their own
lives, said television commentator Farzana Samimi.
``It shows problems that are so common in Afghan families in terms of
the relationship of brides in the family, especially with the
mother-in-law,'' said Samimi, who presents a program on women's issues on Tolo
TV, which broadcasts the series.
Afghanistan is still a deeply conservative Islamic society where family
problems are invariably kept hidden behind a veil of privacy.
The series gets people thinking about such problems, Samimi said. ``It
enlightens the minds of people in the family, not only of brides or
mothers-in-laws, but others too.''
The cultural context of the Indian soap opera was also very easy for
Afghans to relate to, she said.
``People are interested because our culture is so close to India, their
way of daily life, the hierarchical system in the family,'' she said.
Whatever the reason, the soap opera is Afghanistan's most popular ever
television program and fans refuse to miss an episode.
``AN ADDICTION''
Generator shops in Kabul have reported heavy sales since the series
caught on because so many people want to ensure the city's frequent power
cuts don't interrupt their viewing.
Many fans who can't afford a generator have rigged up their televisions
to car batteries to beat the black-outs.
Tolo TV, the most popular channel to appear since the ouster of the
Taliban in 2001, says it is amazed by the success of the series. It
declines to say how much it paid to broadcast it.
``It's our biggest series. We're surprised to see so many people
interested in watching it so keenly,'' said Saad Mohseni, a Tolo director.
Tolo began running the soap opera, dubbed into Afghanistan's Dari
language, this year. It began in India several years ago and is still
running, so Tolo has lots more episodes to run.
Every day, the TV station gets calls from people asking for the
episodes to be extended and complaining about the interruptions for
advertisments, said another Tolo official, Ahmad Tawab Niazi.
Some fans have begged Tolo to change the broadcast time because it
coincides with congregational prayers at mosques, he said.
Some postpone their prayers.
``Let's pray later, I can't miss Tulsi,'' a man murmured to his friend
recently in a restaurant in the western city of Herat.
The show was about to begin on a television in the restaurant.
``It's like an addiction,'' the man told Reuters.
Mohseni said he had heard stories of a wedding banquet being
interrupted so the guests could huddle around the television for half an hour.
Some are taking advantage of the obsession.
Robbers in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif stripped a vehicle of
its wheels and mirrors recently, confident they had a mid-evening window
of half an hour when they wouldn't be caught.
``Thanks Tulsi,'' one of the robbers scrawled in paint on the side of
the car.
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