RABINDRA NARAYAN FATHER OF PUNJABI SATELLITE TELEVISION

Hindi or English knowing viewers had already started feasting upon Star Plus, Star News and many other media outlets but Punjabi viewers were still condemned to the staid Doordarshan that insisted on placid programming. It was in this milieu that Narayan became a saviour with first-ever Punjabi satellite TV channel, Punjabi World, and then ETC Punjabi.

Narayan had come equipped to the field; he had studied English literature at the Delhi University, acquired domain know-how in journalism and mass communication, had not just been a theatre buff but had actually straddled the stage in umpteen dramas, was a core team member of the Delhi-based Collegiate Drama Society, and had also dabbled in direction. Besides, he had a rather peculiar obsession: he would always want to know everything about every department in a complex production venture.

To the entrepreneur in this soft-spoken man, whose eyes and mind are forever darting to catch the whiff of a new idea, one thing was clear: Punjabi satellite television now needed a primal force that could provide that decisive push. He served as business head of ETC Punjabi, Zee Punjabi and Alpha ETC Punjabi but then decided to become that primal force himself. This was a decision that was destined to shape his life, and the cultural life of the media-consuming Punjabis.