The Expression Hub

Genre: Comedy-Drama

No. of episodes: 7

Presented by: The Viral Fever

” A happy childhood is perhaps the most fortunate gift in life.”

Dorothy Richardson

Yet another week and another pick. This time we will be taking a trip down the memory lane when we were children. We all have our favorite childhood memories. For some, it might be a visit to our native places in the holiday season. For others, it might be a birthday party which might be the most memorable one. The list goes on from enjoying the new places we visited apart from our native place or maybe playing cricket all day long or maybe getting lost in the magical world of books or maybe watching our favorite cartoons. What was your best childhood memory? Do tell me in the comments section. I would love to listen to your thoughts.

When we are children, this thought might have crossed everyone’s mind- wish we were adults. But when reality hits as adults we do feel we were better as kids. The reason being simple: childhood has less responsibilities to look forward. But as we grow up, the so called responsibilities increase. Isn’t it? We just sometimes wish to go back .The show which I am about to talk about chronicles what it was to be a child before the pre-Internet era. I personally feel the pre-Internet era was a time which has had the most awesome childhood memories related to it . If you have been born before the pre-Internet era in an Indian family, you will relate a lot with this show. Read on to know about the show which triggered a nostalgia in me.

Synopsis: Yeh Meri Family is a story about an Indian middle class family. The story is told from the point of view of a 12 year old boy. Meet Harshal Gupta who lives with his parents, an elder sibling and a younger one. He is supposed to be the mischief maker of his house always getting fired by his mom for not being interested in studies. He has a best friend named Shanky from whom he always takes advice. He has a crush on a girl named Vidhya who is supposed to be a very studious girl. He encounters various situations and tribulations in his day to day life . How he deals with them and his family forms the rest of the story.

Assessment: I might be a little biased here but believe me The Viral Fever always makes content which brings a lot of emotions in it. It will make you laugh, it will make you root for the main protagonist , it will make you feel sorry also a lot of times for the main character but most importantly it will make you feel a tad emotional at the end. This is what I personally experienced as I watched recently two shows from the same. They have the most beautiful story lines maybe not the most perfect but the emotions which they invoke in you is priceless. Plus they might give you something to think about and maybe a life lesson without sounding preachy. That is the most appealing part of the stories made by The Viral Fever. The negatives is they might contain some profanities but those also kind of integrate into the story line very easily. This show has the most beautiful memories of a kid who was born before the pre-Internet era.I, being one of them could relate to the memories that were shown in the web-series. Like for instance, the stack of comic books to be read during vacations or the famous Maruti Esteem car which has become next to extinct now but once was a symbol of prestige . Or having a stack of WWE cards if you were a boy or barbie dolls if you were a girl.Or watching cartoons like Duck Tales or Chip ‘n’ Dale.

Many such memories which were simple yet made life meaningful before the Internet spoiled the beauty of the so called childhood. It also teaches lessons about love and care among siblings. The elder one might be the one who looks like and treats the second one like a bully most of the times but he is also the one who showers the maximum love when it is least unexpected. Or how the younger one shields the elder one if the elder one would have done something wrong. These lessons might seem small but are of great importance when it comes to family values. The dad was super cool and the mom was strict but a doting one . And the youngest sibling was such a cutie to look at .

The only negative I found in this show was that in some scenes there were some profanities involved. But the best part was that before the beginning of any episode, there was a disclosure regarding what the episode consisted of. For example, if there were some profanities or something which might be a bit inappropriate to view it came with a disclosure that this episode contains this thing which requires viewers’ discretion. While most of the shows never take the efforts to make such disclosures, this effort or the step by The Viral Fever in this show shows responsible behavior. This effort I personally feel should be made a mandatory rule for every TV show or web series so that viewers can make better choices.

The View: If you want to witness what life was before the Internet came to existence and children got hooked to online games or how an Indian family went with their day to day lives before mobile phones or online social life came into existence, then this one is a must watch. Watch for the beautiful story line and realistic portrayal of an Indian family.Watch for the inter-generational dynamic that was unique to that era. Watch for the life lessons it offers. This one I am sure will make you super nostalgic and help you revisit childhood memories which always occupy a special place in our hearts.

Rating : **** stars

Baap Dialogue: “Waise toh bade se iss universe mein humari yeh family bahut choti lagti hai lekin humare liye toh family hi humara universe hota hai.”[In this big universe of ours, our family is a very small part but for us our family feels like the entire universe.]

Que: For what subject does Harshu’s mom insist Harshu should go to tuitions?

a. Maths

b. English

c. Science

d. Hindi