Dhaka, March 15 -- Before Netflix turned watching TV into an individual activity, TV privileges couldn't be bought for $7.99 a month. No, like Thor's hammer, only the most worthy member of the household could hold the fabled remote control. And as the second youngest member of a TV-crazed family, I most definitely was not worthy.

But I knew better than to fight. Accepting my fate, I watched whatever my mother, grandmother, or older cousin chose to put on. Most of the time, their poison of choice was Hindi serials. And though I often pretended otherwise, I was equally hooked on the drama. Hindi serials had it all - arguments over washing laptops with dish soap to chases through the woods pursued by a gang of thugs.

As I grew older and go...