Ramayan re-telecast inspires memefest on Twitter; netizens pit Doordarshan against Netflix, Hotstar

A large number of Indians gathered in front of their television sets on Saturday morning to get a dose of nostalgia.

How? The first episode of the popular mythological serial of yesteryears Ramayan was telecast at 9 am on Saturday.

National broadcaster Doordarshan has decided to telecast reruns of both Ramayan and Mahabharata from 28 March.

Written and directed by Ramanand Sagar, Ramayan was a big hit of the 90s. Most of the actors from the TV show became household names.

Both sections of viewers, those who saw the original series and those who did not, expressed their feelings on social media after the first episode was telecast.

And of course, all was not sappy and nostalgic. Memes and jokes on Ramayan were aplenty on social media.

Ramayan trended in India with more than 80,000 tweets made with the hashtag.

Here are some of the top tweets doing the rounds on the internet

The first #Super30 batch of mankind #Ramayan pic.twitter.com/s3dy75TdNv

— mechie (@mayankrai3133) March 28, 2020

Netflix, amazon prime, hotstar premium right now😂#Ramayan #mahabharata pic.twitter.com/DyjCrFoKEW

— Ash (@humorash) March 28, 2020

This got to be the best meme on this #Ramayan #Doordarshan#ThanksPMThanksDDpic.twitter.com/KUeUis2q8z

— Gaurav🇮🇳 (@IamGMishra) March 28, 2020

Retweet if you are watching
#Ramayan pic.twitter.com/V0YFpHTRFR

— vny_sapariya (@SapariyaVny) March 28, 2020

Me and My boys at 9am today 😂😂😂#Ramayana#MEMES #memesdaily #QuarantineAndChill #quarantinememes #quarantined #lockdown #CoronaLockdown #coronavirus #CoronavirusOutbreak #coronavirusinpakistan #sumeetsuryodhan #comedy pic.twitter.com/t4knQVKMik

— Sumeet Suryodhan (@Sumeetsuryodhan) March 28, 2020

Iconic Ramayana serial set to come back on air and social media is full of memes about it https://t.co/TEBbdiZSYL pic.twitter.com/6WMteoDwRu

— vishnu s (@VishnuVichu608) March 27, 2020

#netflix, #prime, #hulu, #hotstar , #zee5 to #Doordarshan #Ramayana #Mahabharat pic.twitter.com/d8l8oX3JAl

— Memes In Hindi (@memesinhindi) March 28, 2020

Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar also tweeted a picture of him watching Ramayan on television. However, he soon deleted the post amid mounting criticism. Several people took to Twitter to express their ire against the minister. They said Javadekar should monitor the condition of coronavirus patients and work towards removing hardships faced by daily wage workers due to the 21-day lockdown.

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@PrakashJavdekar This is quarantine time for the people.. Not for you. You have to make sure that quarantine is been followed by people strictly.. India need you., not Ramayanam serial.. #IndiaDeservesBetter pic.twitter.com/5mKuPgKP2O

— Gobinath (@Gobinat53117992) March 28, 2020

1789 : Let them eat Cake. (Marie Antoinette)

2020 : Let them watch Ramayana. (Prakash Javadekar)

— Advaid അദ്വൈത് (@Advaidism) March 28, 2020