Punjabi antenna
Recipe for good taste
Randeep Wadehra

DID you know that there are more than 500 types of non-vegetarian kebabs alone? Vegetarian kebabs too are numerous. It is kebab time on ETC Punjabi’s Kebab Corner Mondays 8.15 pm. The anchor of the show, five-star hotel chef and author Devender Kumar, reveals the secret behind those crisp and juicy vegetarian and non-vegetarian kebabs that he concocts for the gourmand.

He also demonstrates how to prepare these aperitifs. However, one wishes that the musical interregnums are done away with. Viewers have plenty of Punjabi pop shows to choose from; at least keep this programme free from the ear-splitting hamming.

Talking of music, it was a pleasure to watch Dolly Guleria interacting with youngsters on Ridka On Road. Apart from getting glimpses of her life one heard snatches of such evergreen numbers as Maavan te dheeyan, Charkha chandan da, Amritsar da papad etc. As a semi-classical/folk singer, she does resemble her illustrious mother Surinder Kaur, but with a difference.

She is more open to such innovations as remixed numbers. It goes to her credit that she has carved out a niche for herself while living under the shadow of her legendary mother. Not for nothing is Dolly Guleria the current melody queen of Punjabi music.

As the deadline for acquiring licence approaches, the Punjabi television scene is getting increasingly hectic. All broadcasters are required to acquire licence by June 1 for both down-linking and up-linking various channels. The amount of fee too is so high that small players stand no chance at all.

Although the Information and Broadcasting Ministry appears to be concerned more with the dissemination of news, entertainment channels too are feeling the heat. However, quite a few new Punjabi channels like Channel Punjab, News Punjab etc are entering the scene. This should help improve the fare being dished out to the viewers. Or, is it going to be merely a wishful thinking?