‘I don’t need it’

Television will be in intruder in my home.

Television is an intruder for a non-resident Pakistani 53-year-old Rashid Khan, who is living in England for the last 30 years. He does not have television at his home and he is leading a pretty smooth life. "I don’t have any religious reason attached to it, and I am very comfortable with this situation. When I comeback from office, I relax a bit whiling sipping tea with my younger son and wife. We discuss so many things, even the trivialities of our routines. It is at this point, I forget my office and we thoroughly enjoy the time spent together. In the evening, my eldest son and daughter come back from their respective offices. This starts another round of gup shup. My children are happy with the situation now though sometimes they feel pretty bad about not having a television at home.
"I believe that if television would have been there, communication among our family members would have been either limited or badly hampered. We would not have been able to understand each other to this extent. Frankly, television is like an intruder to me, which will destroy the harmony among the family the moment it gets into our home.
"It is not a dull life to us. Every weekend, we have a ritual of going to a park away from the bustling city of London. On week days, we have a lot of options. Anyone of us can go to theatre, watch latest movies in a cinema hall, stroll in any park or do a bit of shopping, which we all go together. Then again, we have a lot time either to read or sleep for long hours.
"We have a lot of time either to see our family here, friends and for going to functions. Our life is easier and simpler as compared to those who have this ‘idiot box’ at their homes."