Rediffusion

Rediffusion days will end in April. This post is a tribute to this 'box' in my childhood...

I remembered very vaguely how this little box got 'fixed' in a position in the living room. But it was movable, connected by wire and followed mum often to her room.

From this little 'box' came my source of music, and source of marking time.... there were many serialised stories, but the one that i remembered most was the one man story-teller, wan dao, every nite from 845. It was in hokkien. I cant remembered when i start following the serial, about 8 or 9 years old. Quite young. I remembered mum being taken aback about that, that i could understand and follow the story. The hokkien was a high level, educated version. And the story would be those of the pugilistic world, written by jin yong, or gu long.

not too long ago, i noted some fb remarks abt the Heaven sword and Dragon Saber series that was screened. I was amused that the kids were following a serial of my childhood. I remembered watching a show based on this novel. But it was incomparable to the narration of wan dao. I think it was a direct reading from the novel.

In many ways, this little box was the consolation of my life in my childhood. It opened up a different dimension, a different world from the realities of life at home. It also trained my auditory skills, and concentration, and laid a good foundation to the chinese language that many to this day, commended me for. I always opposed the killing of dialects, and really that is a tragic loss to culture.

In those days, having a rediffusion was considered a 'luxury'. I remembered primary schoolmates 'envied' me for having that at home. And the programs broadcast were deemed better than those on radio. This was a private enterprise. Radio and TV then were directly government run, i think.

kids in this present day will never understand how little we had at our times. Every book i can lay hold of, i read.... i was almost the only one that borrowed library books, especially chinese books when i was inprimary school. And the rest of the time, it is listening to this 'box' . We didnt follow the english programs, and i wasnt interested in them either. And such a simple source is that which ignited my imagination. It was never boring. I felt for every character, and weaved different endings. And i actually like the dialect operas particularly the cantonese ones.

my favorite story-telling time ended with the speak mandarin campaign, as did all dialectal programs. I know many older generation folks at that time found it hard to forgive the authorities for this....and really, i dont blame them....having authority doesnt entitle one to attempt to cut off one's inner roots and 'engineer' social directions.....that was folly and the price of such actions is already surfacing in the non-cohesiveness and divide over the have's and have not. I saw that folly as a kid, and it never fails to amaze me that 'authoritarian' kind of attitude in 'management' are still present, even with those that has never been under tough authoritarian regime. How foolish! I use management, cos using 'leadership' would be a gross misnomer.

i digress...

my interest in the little box waned over time....and as expenses had to be cut down....mum decided to end the rental...cant quite remember when.....i was against it...but well, the programmes werent what it used to be....and honestly dad never liked it. He was too 'atas' for that. actually, only mum and i took on to it.

Whilst it did not feature anymore in my life, it was my faithful childhood companion.... and like those in my times, that had expressed their regrets over its impending demise, I feel very much for its end. My life would have been much poorer without it. It had played an important role in the formation of childhood values, and gave me a window of relative joy....

This is my incoherent but heartfelt eulogy for Rediffusion. I am sorry to see its end. Very sorry.