Pictures: Best TV oldies of all times

Published: Wednesday, October 10, 2012, 18:09 [IST]

Indian television has come a long way. From touching to sheer outrageous content, TV has engrossed, instructed, entertained and brought the entire family under one roof for decades.

Whether it was the wizard Karamchand munching carrots and solving mysteries along with his funny and dumb assistant Kitty, or a young Swami narrating the stories of his childhood in Malgudi Days, television has never lost the common thread with the masses.

While all those who have watched the classic shows of yesteryears claim that today's saas-babu saga lacks the magic touch that old serials did, the flourishing TRPs of these soaps indicate otherwise.

Here are list of ten serials that might take you down a nostalgic tour. The list is in no particular order. Write to us and tell us which one was your favourite.

Buniyaad

Buniyaad, directed by Ramesh Sippy and Jyoti Swarup was one of the most long-running soap woven around partition. Alok Nath's portrayal as Master Haveliram earned tremendous recognition. Lajjoji (Anita Kanwar) was also a huge hit.

Hum Log

Hum Log (We People) was Indian television's first soap opera. It began telecast on Doordarshan, India's national network on July 7, 1984, then the only television channel of India, and it quickly became immensely popular.

Karamchand

As the carrot chomping, witty detective Karamchand (1985), Pankaj Kapoor along with his scatterbrain assistant, Kitty (Sushmita Mukherjee), rocked Doordarshan by solving curious cases. Though the makers tried to revive Karamchand couple of years ago, it failed.

Malgudi Days

In Shankar Nag's adaptation of RK Narayan's short stories, Master Manjunath as Swami was a huge hit. Malgudi Days focussed on Swami and Friends and their tale.

Mr. Yogi

Mr. Yogi was based on Madhu Rye's Kimball Ravenswood. The memories of a charming, yet confused NRI, Mohan Gokhale as Mr Yogi, looking for a suitable bride week after week was great fun to watch.

Mungerilal Ke Haseen Sapne

Mungerilal Ke Haseen Sapne was one of the funniest serials made on Indian television. Remember how Raghuvir Yadav used to wink furiously before he slipped into another bout of daydreaming!