Every single review of Gram Chikitsalay, without fail, has compared this saucy, sassy, smart, and savvy series to that overrated satire on rural development Panchayat.

It’s like comparing City Of Joy with Do Bigha Zameen just because they are both about rural migration. In spirit, theme, and execution, Panchayat and Gram Chikitsalay are poles apart. At the risk of inviting furious frowns, I would say Gram Chikitsalay with its firm grip on the plot propulsion and characterizations, is leaps ahead of Panchayat, and if at all it has sought inspiration from the earlier village fable, then good: every work of art comes from a place of inspiration.

Not that Gram Chikitsalay is fully vaccinated against ailments. There are passages where the village folk take all the time in the world to get to the point. It’s okay for them. But for us to be subjected to their languorous...