World TV Day: Remembering Odisha’s Iconic Konark TV

Cuttack: Did you know there was a TV brand born out of Odisha in the 70s?  Konark Television Ltd. was a Government of Orissa initiative created in 1973. This was pre-liberalisation time when government-run companies used to dominate the market.

“Konark TV was what Sony and Samsung TV is now,” said Nirmal Mohapatra, a retired government official who has owned three sets in his lifetime. He said Korean brands were unheard of during those days and TVs had strong wooden knobs instead of remote controls.

“We watched India win the World Cup (cricket) on a Konark TV. We sold it in the late 90s,” recalled Mohapatra.

Konark TV was an epitome of good quality and affordability during its time. However, it was mostly a white-labeling process, informed Umasankar Mishra, who used to be a dealer of TVs. He said that Konark TVs were imported from Korea and labelled here. The demand was so much that when colour TVs were initially introduced, some dealers used to sell them in the black market, he informed.

Konark TV ads were also as iconic as the brand. Some of the memorable ones include a comparison with a German luxury car and one with actress Deepika Chitkalia, who played Sita in the popular TV series Ramayana. There were many iterations of comparisons with the Konark Sun Temple as well.