How Twitter killed the blog star Or How Social Media affected the millennials

Well first off, it is fairly appalling I return to my blog after about a year and half however in the interim I have been dabbling in more corporate blogs on Linkedin and give out doses in shorter forms via Twitter ( Damn who thought 140 characters could be so addictive)

Coming to the topic on hand, honestly blogging as a medium has lost its shine but some things do bounce back so quick recap of social media trends and how we desi's responded over the years.

The fun of being a millennial ( born in the 1980s) really gave us a range of technologies to experience. you know VHS tapes, audio tapes (Side A and Side B), Floppy Disk and off-course Yahoo messenger

2000-2003

I guess most Indians got online and experienced hot mail, yahoo messenger on dial up connection ( the speed was nothing to speak about however the telephone bills escalated quite fast)

People still had secret identities so folks had email ids like loverboy_27 or angel16 as user names :)  and crumby desktops where you always had 2 fingers on the  "Alt-Tab" button to maintain your privacy

2004-2008

I know Facebook and Orkut released around the same time but Brazilians and Indians really took to Orkut like Fish to water, every one who had a net connection was on it and the things which mattered -  No of scraps, No of Fans and No of testis --- monials that it :P

Orkut was the first time people let their guard down, engage in private conversations on the scrap-book (wall for Facebook junkies) which really changed how one reacted to electronic medium ( the word social media didn't really catch on)

Yahoo Groups - By 2008, it was no longer cool to have secret identities and social discussions happened via groups.  It was a radical thing to share email forwards even at work.

Facebook was catching up but it was still for the cool kids ( NRIs, or MS students) not true blue desis who were seeking Fraanship

2009-2012

As smartphones began to evolve and better internet speeds + Wifi, the internet truly became personal , you didn't need to fight with a sibling to get online

Facebook got better and addictive, Google didnt do much for Orkut so it died. thankfully it was pretty fun having friends on Facebook, folks on Gtalk - ( This was Facebook before hyper fast news feeds and attack of Famville and Candy Crush requests)

This was the time every one had blogs and people who would religiously get and monitor comments :) - I quite liked that phase to be honest.

2012-2014

The attack of "Selfie" - This truly marked the Phase 3 of social media where the focus of interaction moved from one to one to actually one to many .... all emotions conveyed through sappy status messages, pics of self  (imagine a giant head with pimples and all with a small effiel tower in the background) and this is where the disconnect actually began.

People had more than "800-1000" friends on the network but would speak to less than 10 on a regular basis. since people keep broadcasting their lives on Twitter and Facebook, there was liite incentive to even catch-up

Blogs also a causality, then you get addicted to social media, you lose the urge to write in the long form, I really believe our future generation kids will be ADD (attention deficit disorder) because we are always online but not really connecting with people in the ways of the past.

Now people are so bored rather than communicate how they feel, i guess they did just post a "sad selfie" on Facebook or Snapchat.

2015 & beyond 

With the older folks (Parents, Uncles and neighbors) coming online and invading facebook, the youth are retreating to new technologies like Whatsapp, Viber etc.

Whatsapp groups are the new yahoo messengers and I am also seeing the resurgence of blogs on cooler sites like Medium / Quora and Tumbler.

Video is becoming a strong medium - Vine, Youtube, Meerkat & Periscope ( Video selfies - ugh :P )

The  "Dark Social" is pretty much Social Media Phase 1 on the mobile which only reinforces the fact - what goes around comes around.  
The only casualty in this evolution is the ability to communicate in long form - from letters, email chains and long chat conversations is becoming short form, statuses and pictures 

Aadmi Aadmi Party , Hobbits and an unexpected journey !

It has been a while I blogged and a greater crime is that I took over 10 years to finally watch the Lord of The Rings Trilogy and recently the 2 Hobbitt sequels. So only folks who had read the books or watched the movies might enjoy this post.

It is an interesting world of Middle Earth which has Orcs, Wizards, Trolls, Elves, Dwarfs who are much more capable, political and even have the ambition to rule Middle Earth, yet to overcome the Evil, its the hobbits who come forth to take the burden, a race of 4 ft tall beings who never want to venture out their comfortable town of Shire.

The Aam Aadmi or the Indian middle class are much like Hobbits, very content and self centered around their own life, eking out a simple living and hardly wanting to step out of the comfort zone and not involve themselves in politics and civil life. They did rather bribe a police man or govt. official than take a stand, forget about standing for elections, even voting was a luxury for this folk.

What changed all this, the rampant corruption and apathy of governments finally led to a breaking point, where Arvind Kejriwal & team ( i admit I was a skeptic) decided to take the plunge into electoral  politics  and actually won power in the very first time a party was formed. off course we can debate till the cows come home whether Arvind and team are any different from BJP and Congress but for that we need to give them time.

Coming back to Middle Earth analogy, although the Hobbits were creatures who punched much above their weight, they also had to bear the cross of "One Ring" which was evil and was always looking for every opportunity to lead him astray.

The post of Chief Minister is such a double edged sword - it offers power to Arvind and Team to make a difference or fall prey to power and perks to become just like politicians before them. I truly believe in the race to get power, the older political parties have become like "Gollum" obsessed with power and not really remember why they joined politics at all.

This Delhi govt led by AAP will be a true test if politics in 21st century can take a turn for good or bad, but kudos to the middle class in Delhi who opted for a change and gave a fledgling party a chance to rule.  The next 6 months before 2014 general elections will determine if this movement is a fire or mere flame based on their performance.

As JRR Tolkien wisely said it is foolish to expect one man can change the nation, may it be Modi, Rahul or Kejriwal it has to be the collective actions of the common folk each and every citizen to make a difference.

Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay - Gandalf ( The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey)

Censorship and abdication of the state !

It is off course old news, the ban on Kamal Hassan's movie and the outrage news media has moved on since to the VVIP helicopter scam, as of 24X7 is like a genie which needs new and new challenges and does not really have the time to linger on the past.

The spectacle of a movie cleared by the censor board and even released in other nations and states but is banned in the home state of TN because the CM says she does not have the security to guard each cinema hall.  In a clear abdication of her responsibilities  she goes on to give a mathematical calculation of the police constables available and she cannot protect 550+ theaters. By that logic none of 1 billion Indians excluding VVIPS and industrialists are safe in this country.

 In a country where a facebook status update can get you arrested or girl band can be bullied into submission by a fatwa and threats in social media and a government which does little to curb the fringe elements across religious lines only creates a social where the majority prefers to be silent and watch freedoms been curbed.

A society where law enforcement is limited, a police force which is intimidating and court cases which takes years to be taken to resolution, there is little hope but rather more cynicism and anger on the system. this was  seen in the aftermath of the Delhi gangrape case, instead of engaging the youth the government instead used water cannons and lathi charge on the crowds.

How curious is that, the government finds it easier to terrorize the slient majority than take action on the fringe elements. If a veteran actor like Kamal Hassan can be bullied into re-censoring a movie then what chance does the common man have ?

As it stands, there is little hope left, the middle class is so helpless, they are ready to follow any voice which will take on the system which can represent a radical change, i.e. earlier the support for Jan lokpal and now the fascination for the iron leader from Gujarat, in a way looking for a easy way out of the mess.

Every time we step back with a movie ban, facebook & twitter related arrest or remove paintings from a museum, we are only digging ourselves into a deeper and darker pit.

"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably - Star Trek TNG

The churn but just the beginning ...

The recent uprising of the Indian middle class especially the youth in protests against the Delhi gang rape case and earlier the Janlokpal movement shows an interesting shift in the social consciousness of modern India. Media pundits and sociologists are describing this as a final change in the typical Indian apathy driven mindset. If you are following Indian media and news papers reports, a lay man would form the following opinions:- 

• The Indian government has failed in the Indian state and there is complete breakdown in law and order, Indian women are not safe anywhere
• The Indian middle class has completely awakened and this is Indian equivalent of Arab Springs 
• The misogynistic views made by certain religious and political leaders are been condemned across the nation
• The accused should be given severe punishment like Arab nations or castration 

Although the above statements are true in partial measure, there are shades of grey in all aspects of the points discussed, although the Indian government has failed in protecting the victim in Delhi and many other cases, but unlike the Arab nations which deny many freedom particularly to women.

The Indian govt. definitely missed a great opportunity to connect with the youth and instead resorted to water cannons and lathi charges which only helped in reducing their already limited credibility to further shambles and in the current social media and sensationalist news media had a ready story in hand to exploit. 

Although the middle class has shown a change and shown signs of participation, it is still an urban camera friendly protests which only identifies with the causes close to its psyche and cannot identify with causes like caste discrimination and vast social inequality or even  crimes against women in rural India.

Although I cannot agree with most of Mohan Bhagwat's statements but definitely there is a Bharat and India emerging which share the same geography but heading towards different economic opportunities available to them. The misogynists and old age view held by many draconian minds will not change over night , it will require sustained focus by the people. 

The media has as an invested interest in the social protests and state of unrest, it gives them ready fuel and drama to run a 24X7 news channel and their true interest is only tapping into the unrest of the Indian masses and not in actually solving any real problems.

The churn in the youth has began which is encouraging but it still needs further direction and also reconciliation with the rural India to have an effective pan India movement which will drive true change. The Indian constitution has enough freedom and laws to enable this change but this requires a new kind of leadership needs to emerge from civil society and ordinary walk of life to make this happen. 

India's "Beta-cracy"

Just yesterday I was watching Karan Johar's latest movie Student of the Year starring the Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan the kids of Mahesh Bhatt and David Dhawan respectively. In this movie, there was another character who had a decent role, a chubby bespectacled kid Parsi boy who had pretty strong lines and scenes considering the usual scope of a supporting role like that of the hero's friend.  I felt happy at-least Kjo had a heart to give lines to a non-star kid. 

Turns out that Parsi kid is Kayoze Irani, the son of Boman Irani another star son launch. DAMN. 

It is not just Kjo giving an easy platform to the star kids, there are plenty of examples of Kapoors, Deols and  even Bhagnanis where it just matters what your surname is. Very few outsiders can even hope to break in the clique and even if they do they did need to work twice as hard to maintain their position.

Even looking beyond Bollywood, look in the corporate industry or politics, you will see several examples of seats been kept warm for the scions. Even in media you have several star sons and daughters, Barkha Dutt is the daughter of leading journalist Prabha Dutt. Rajdeep Sardesai is the son of cricketer of Dileep Sardesai. Sagarika Ghosh is the wife of Rajdeep. Prannoy Roy is the brother in law of Prakat Karat.  

There is not one field in India which are not run by select group of well-connected families. I remember reading in an article few years back, the Pakistan legislature is controlled by 200+ families, I suspect the Indian Parliament must also show similar trends.

The reverse question which people will raise is, if begin a star son a disqualification and speak about the services rendered by the previous generation and qualifications they have acquired. Whilst this is true, the fact is this, it is only a reflection of a feudal mindset where the masses give control of their lives to benevolent landowners or Kings.

Thats why even though I do not really endorse all the following people, I really appreciate the rise of Mamata Banerjee, Narendra Modi, Kejriwal, NRN, Arnab Goswami, John Abraham. India definitely needs change in all fields be it politics, business world, civil service, news media and entertainment.  There needs to be a clear break from the "Beta-cracy" which is plaguing our nation.

The question is will this makes a big difference, will the new blood which will replace the old guard make a difference or will it remain the same. 

The same fiery Bal Thackeray and Karunidhi who drove the Congress dynasty to the ground in the 60-70s are battling with a large dynasty of their own. The vicious circle of nepotism rears its ugly head. The un-holy nexus between politics, business and government is what leading the country to the un-heard of levels of corruptions. 

As the Joker says in The Dark Knight - " The city deserves a better class of criminals" 

Trouble in Eden !

There was once a magical land named Eden where the Demi-gods lived, where dreams came true, it was a place where wishes came true and for little efforts, rewards were huge. The Demi-Gods were kind and admitted the mortals freely and for devotion, mortals were rewarded with gold, plush houses.

The mortals from earth could come visit Eden and live for a few years, earn huge fortunes and go back to their land much wealthier and influential. The Demi-Gods just wanted the mortals to make statues and to glorify them.

As the story of the mortal artisans making the trips to Eden became more and more well known, the mortals realized this was an easy ticket to ride. Several schools to train and deploy artisans began to spring up. Other trades began to be ignored, the sole motive of mortals was securing a gateway to Eden.

Like all good things, the good times at Eden also had to come to an end. By the curse of the sages, Eden was struck by a series of natural calamities like quakes and storms. Suddenly the demi gods no longer had the luxury of entertaining the mortals.  Suddenly the demi-gods wanted the mortals out, they began to see the mortals as parasites feeding on their great society.

The mortals were concerned, and once the gateways to Eden began to close, politics and opportunism began to take over, it was no longer easy for people to reach Eden. The journey to the promised land of Eden has just become a nightmare, with thousands and thousands of mortal artisans waiting for their turn to enter Eden, life just got tougher.

As you might have guess, this story was a thinly veiled reference of the Indian IT services industry and the situation in the Western World. India was fortunate to have an army of English speaking programmers who could take on the Y2K problem. Any one who was lucky enough or smart enough to catch the IT wave became quite successful, however the same cannot be said for the young engineering graduate passing out of college today as circumstances have become much more challenging.

Where is the Ad Break Dude ??

Last week, I was seeing a program on CNN IBN - “The Greatest Indian” with the host Rajdeep Sardesai and his boss head of TV18 Raghav Bahl gushing about how Dhirubhai Ambani was a contender to be the greatest Indian and also how he shaped Indian economy and perhaps his achievements were even greater than JRD Tata. 

Although there is nothing wrong in this point of view, what we were not told explicitly, Mukesh Ambani and RIL recently acquired a large stake TV18 including CNN IBN. So how independent is the view taken by the channel. 

Going to more innocuous instances of paid or sponsored media, nothing which comes close was the garish Indian Premier League which successfully sliced ads into the sport itself. DLF Maximum, City Moment of Success and RGV style spider camera looming at different close up angles at the Volkswagen Vento. 

Although this is relatively acceptable, as this is quite direct advertising unlike the movie promotion campaigns. Notice when a big budget movie is going to hit the screens, you see lots of PR spin articles on the news papers, television and even radio. 

FM radio, I remember during the late 90's and early 2000 was a pleasurable experience, the Radio Jockey had a closer connect with the viewers and song selection was without agendas and less audio ads into the program. However cut to 2012, we have radio programs whose Radio Jockeys are screaming non-stop and songs which play which also tie in as promotions to the movie or the actor's previous movies which serve to drive you to the movie hall. 

Even corporates have a convenient relationship with media groups to get positive coverage, when I read newspapers its clear, press releases masquerading as “real news”. Lifestyle channels and news paper supplements all have product placements. 

A leading newspaper Times of India has taken advertising to the next level by accepting equity stake from companies instead of cash as remuneration .Can you imagine negative news ever coming on this newspapers regarding companies which in the media house has a stake in. This allows paid content even in editorial space. 

The most dangerous form of paid news media was exposed by a Press Council of India inquiry commission, during election times, newspapers both vernacular and English media charging candidates from 30-50 lakh rupees for news coverage and also positive spin.  So much for independent media.

I really wonder where's the ad break dude ? At least the advertisements is in the breaks is honest unlike the spin we are subjected to the regular programming. 

Trouble in BCCI Paradise

Today Feb 4^th was an awful day for BCCI / IPL with the withdrawal of Sahara India franchise from both the Pune franchise and Indian team sponsorship on the day of the IPL 5 auction. 

The collapse of the Kochi & Pune franchises, the cricket TV rights debacle with Nimbus and the waning form of the Indian cricket team overseas, BCCI is looking at both severe reverses in financial and cricketing fronts.

Just a year back, India winning the ODI world cup and humongous amounts which Kochi and Pune franchises paid for the slice of the IPL action.  

Need to phase out the legends

Indians have always been in awe of their cricketing Gods – they can never imagine them to age and retire on time. It is always a case, we ensure they overstay their welcome and give very few chances to blood new youngsters. It happens when it is too late. 

Cricket Australia has been quite ruthless to cut legends down to size when needed, be it Ian Healy, Mark Taylor or Steve Waugh. 

Over all fitness / intent

Forget the slow moving gentlemen like VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid, younger players like Zaheer Khan and Virendra Sehwag seem so tired and bored to take to the field.  

Easy IPL money

Ravindra Jadeja picking up 2 million $ is crazy for playing a domestic T-20 league to bowl 4 overs and slog the bat. The IPL is an unlikely villain which incentivizes slam bang cricket and further de-incentivize classic test cricketers on the lines of  Wasim Jaffer or Akash Chopra.

DRS obstinacy

One bad experience in Sri Lanka with the DRS, Indian cricket is ready to block DRS thus ensuring cricket games are no longer played in the same playing conditions. The chances of human error can be minimized but never eliminated. If cricket boards had played similar hard ball in the early 90’s we would never had the third umpire.

Neglect of other domestic tournaments

Apart from IPL, the older domestic tournaments like Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy are not getting crowds and even the performances in these games do not get the same visibility of an IPL.

We are creating a generation of T-20 focused cricketers ignoring the other formats of cricket. 

Overpriced business models

SET MAX, Neo and the IPL franchises have definitely over-invested and paid huge amounts, the number of meaningless games and waning interests in both cricket grounds and dropping TRPs is clear that the game is going to see tougher times ahead.

Is there Hope ? I don’t think so

Usually I conclude my posts on an optimistic note but I don’t see one here, a game which is run by business men and active politicians who have no love for the game, a cricket coach and selection committee who cannot take tough calls, this are only going to more bleak. I don’t see any conviction in the cricket administrators to make a change. 

Remember Sachin Tendulkar will retire soon one day, it is going to take some great magic to get the average Indian fan turn on his TV set for 5 am Test match versus Australia or buy a ticket for an IPL match.  

Sahara has seen the storm coming and there is trouble in paradise.

The Nouveau Rich India

The financial crisis triggered in 2008, which has led on an economic slowdown in the developed countries like the US and Europe while bringing emerging countries like India, China and Brazil with impressive growth rates are finally taking their place in the global table of power.

It is definitely encouraging to see the world is getting more democratized and the days of unipolar hegemony are getting numbered.  When President Obama visited to India and gave a speech that India is no longer an emerging superpower but India has indeed emerged.

The media and the growing middle class are trying their best to gloss over obvious gaps in our quest to recognized a super power (economic or strategic) there are things which India needs to fix before declaring itself a super power.

Crony Capitalism

Isn’t it for India’s first F1 race, govt. is providing subsidized fuel and undertaking land acquisition on behalf of corporates. The fracas in the Greater Noida and scams in CWG and 2G cases showing how dangerous is the collusion between corporate India and govt. to serve self-interests.

Is India a sporting nation beyond cricket?

While India is hosting big ticket events but we are not nourishing enough world beaters or even competitive athletes for world events.  Apart from large cities, there is not even access to basic infrastructure to allow young talent to be recognized and get due attention.

Sluggish Judiciary

The most horrific part of the Indian judicial system is the sluggish pace at which cases are disposed of. The thousands of people who are in jail waiting for trail is indeed shocking. The false accused in the Malegaon blasts spent 5 years in jail before been released as innocents. Before we call ourselves a superpower, judicial and police reforms are needed.

Crumbling Infrastructure

The biggest gripe, basic roads and public transport is a mirage. As IT companies are moving to suburbs beyond the major cities, like Pune, Chennai, the sluggish pace at which fly-overs and public transportation availability is been made is shocking.  A Mumbai-Pune journey (150 kms) AC bus ticket is Rs 320/- but 10 km ride from the IT park to Pune city costs Rs 250/- . Not to speak of heavy traffic jams.

A combination of local gunda-ism, corruption in infrastructure projects and general apathy by municipal authorities are making daily office commutes a nightmare.

Are we been Nouveau Rich?

Instead of focusing on real issues or trying to find solutions, India is operating on misplaced priorities, instead of looking at basics, we are trying to showcase to the world about its status as a superpower, the outward focus instead of working hard on solving problems for its own people.

Instead of aping the glitzy/easier symbols of the developed nations like a F-1 race or building large malls, we should look to strengthen our infrastructure, local governance and access to basic amenities of life.  

When there are so many people in India going without two square meals in a day or access to water and healthcare, the excessive focus on glitz seems a lot like French Queen Marie Antoinette “Let them eat cake” 

News Channels Today - Peddling Aspirations or Pure Denial ?

if you follow the news channels in India regularly apart from the politician bashing you will probably be seeing these headlines getting repeated over time with some small variations. 

China fixation / India Superpower
if you see experts in TV studios you would believe India is a superpower and developed nation which is just days from a permanent seat in UN security council. In its flight of fantasy it needs to match China in military prowess and pursue an aggressive foreign policy. 

 Pubs/Alcohol Age 

 If you followed the news about actor Imran Khan who is opposing the increased official age of drinking to 25 as an affront to the freedom of Indians ( I guess adding the right to booze to the Constitution is really the need of the hour) and the draconian laws in Bangalore pubs of shutting down too early.

 IIT / St Stephens fixation 

 Another key headline is the entire IIT debate of Narayan Murthy and Chetan Bhagat and about the quality of students from our premier institutions. Reams of news print and air time spend on discussing mostly Chetan Bhagat's point of view ( not by co-coincidence He is having a book launch soon ) Offcourse some or the other stories about St. Stephens, I am quite surprised that Mani Shankar Aiyer got away easy with his Hansraj BA pass remark on Sports Minister Ajay Makhan. 

 Exclusive Interviews with Actors 

 Another trend is the interviews with actors, its a win win because its easy TRPs and no efforts to research or report and for the actors like SRK, Ranbir Kapoor good marketing for their up coming releases. 

 Reading out Twitter Posts 

 Is it even a real journalist job, reading out twitter posts ?? Actually Twitter is the best thing which happened to 24X7 journalists, verified soundbytes ( 140 characters ) delivered on your smartphone by the celebs. 

 Over Simplification / News for Dummies 

 Even the issue of Rs 32 as the poverty line demarcator was taken as another opportunity to bash the political class but never little attempt made to understand the rationale or economics behind it. In case of the Anna Hazare campaign, some news channels were taking sides with the outraged middle class instead of an objective news analysis. 

 Always going soft on corporates 

 Of all talk of corruption in India, the media is deliberately soft on corporates because one negative report on the house of Tatas or a Reliance will result in massive drop in advertising revenues. Secondly to make the middle class comfortable that paying bribes is because of the system and off load own guilt by blaming only the netas and bureaucrats. 

 

 Is it a delibrate denial ?

Clearly the news and media channels are not naïve or blundering idiots to not having to pick up real issues and deleve deeper (expect CNN-IBN's Karan Tharpar show The Last Word and some shows on NDTV) rest of the News channels just want to indulge the Indian middle class fixation with institutions of higher education, the fantasy of India taking on China and fueling the need become a more materialistic consumerism driven society.

There is a clear whitewashing of the stories of the poor India, health care and rising inflation. For the new middle class paying 1000 Rs to a domestic help is much costly than spending the same at a spa or a pub is not a problem. The increasing hedonistic mindset of the affluent class whilst lack of sensitivity towards the less fortunate is indeed disturbing. The media shows us what we want to see rose tinted picture hiding all details 

that which can make us uncomfortable.

The role of news media has changed from enlightening and educating the viewers to engaging and entertaining but in the race for TRPs and showing quarterly profits, can we blame the media or do we as a society need to evolve as well.

Personal Branding in Public Life

All of us in India and the NRI diaspora witnessed the Anna Hazare phenomenon and in spite of a few detractors but Anna has gathered a cult following and a credibility not shared by his contemporaries in activism Do names like T.N Seshan (Former Chief Election Commissioner )  or G.R Khairnar ( Former Mumbai Municipal Commissioner)  even ring a bell now. 

If you think about it what differentiates an Abdul Kalam from K. Kasturiragan (ISRO), Nehru from Sadar Patel, Manmohan Singh from Pranab Mukerjee or an Atal Bihari Vajpayee from Narsimha Rao. It is the role of personal branding, showcasing an unique eccentricity or quality which differentiates an individual from the other.

Single Status

A person who chooses to stay un-married in political life always seems to have an upper hand in public life and greater acceptability may it be Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Narendra Modi, Anna Hazare or the lady brigade of Jaya, Mamta and Maya.

A distinct Look/Accessory

Be it Manmohan Singh's blue turban, Gandhi's Dhoti, Anna's Topi or Dr APJ Abdul Kalam's funky hair-do or Hilter's Chaplinesqe moustache, having a distinct look creates a lasting image in the minds of the people.

An Armed forces Background

I am sure in all the forwards which glorified Anna Hazare all of them began with the line “Anna Hazare was a solider in the Indian Army ( he was a driver but that's besides the point). George Bush also had a military background which he leveraged well in political campaigns. 

The notion of sacrificing one's life for the country instantly improves the personal brand quotient.

Catchy Slogans/Simple Messaging

The problem with intellectuals like P.V Narsimha Rao, T.N Seshan they speak too long and don't simplify  the message. People do not like to be burdened with the complexity of life, they want a quick fix which is easily understandable. 

• Anna Hazare – Jan lok pal, Anti Corruption
• Obama – Yes we can
• Sonia Gandhi – Aam Aadmi
• Narendra Modi – Gujrat Astima, Vibrant Gujrat

Every one loves an underdog - “Not so priveleged background”

People who come from a tough / poverty stricken or a socially disadvantaged background gain a lot from the sympathy. Any message from a leader from this category automatically gains more credibility vis-a-vis a candidate from a more affluent background.

The debate is already skewed toward the street smart vis-a-vis the Ivy League or the IITian from a middle or upper middle class background. 

Inheritance of a grand legacy

It is also helpful if you can lay claim to an illustrious legacy, the easiest way is off course being born into one like Rahul Gandhi or Omar Abdullah. But the smarter individuals are those who can appropriate them directly from another individual. 

• Jayalalitha – MGR legacy
• Anna Hazare – The Gandhian Way
• Mayawati – The Kanchi Ram/Lower Caste Mobilization
• Abdul Kalam – Success of the Pokhran Nuclear Tests

Intellectuals lose out because they look too much like PLU ( people like us)

Inherently people of India or people in general appreciate a mystical quality and a persona which is not common, so speaking slowly or dressing up in suits / formal clothing will never make the cut. 

Although we may not admit it but its all about the branding. 

Do not let Ajmal Kasab Win !

I swore to myself after the 13/7 bomb blasts in Mumbai, I would not write a post on this topic. People including myself experienced the deja vu feelings after 26/11 and I went on a rant on whats going wrong , there has been little progress but not good enough to prevent such an unfortunate incident.

People are enraged and even more cynical than ever, that is understandable. We want our government and police to do much more, we have all the rights to demand action. 

But instead of addressing the key issues of better policing, improving intelligence networks and how to isolate Pakistan in the international community and people are taking increasingly alarmist positions. 

Subramanium Swamy's Xenophobic views

Dr. Subramanium Swamy who claims to be the one who exposed the 2G scam and speaks of several credentials and a known Sonia Gandhi hater wrote on a piece in DNA  and suggested steps like declaring India as Hindu Rashtra and demolishing mosques as possible solutions to solving the problem.

This bigoted appoarch will create further cracks in our society and push India towards a horrific future.

Kasab and Madani enjoying in Jail

Another mischievous track which began in news papers and blogs is how Indians ( particularly Hindus) are suffering while elements like Kasab, Madani and Afzal Guru are having a great time in jail. Another carnard, sure there has been some delays some justified and some unjustified but instead of seeing Muslims in India as part of our own nation, isolating them is so unfair.

Migrants are the problem

Raj Thackeray playing to the gallery and trying to isolate Mumbai from the rest of the country, also the limited point that we need more policing and focus, there are enough criminal elements who have been born and bred in Maharashtra itself, there is no need to point fingers at northern states.

All Indians who attended Ghulam Nabi Fai's conferences are traitors

It has emerged recented that Mr. Ghulam Nabi Fai a lobbyist in Washington DC who organized conferences on Kashmir issue was on the pay roll of ISI to propogate Pakistan's agenda. Many number of Indian journalists and illuminaries attended such conferences, now an attempt is being made all of them colluded and hence guilty by association they are all traitors.

Shocking indeed, people are ready to buy into the Islamphobia and start dividing the country on religious lines again. No country which is ready to buy into an xenophobic theory cannot be going on the right path, as tommorrow people will even condole rights and ethitic cleansing/geocides.

I dont know when Ajmal Kasab will be even hanged, but I know the terrorists will win if we get divided and fall into the spiral of hate and fear. 

Dont let Ajmal Kasab win and dont let the multi cultural plurality of India get destroyed by the lunatic fringe elements. 

P.S: I recently read that the AIMPLB ( Muslim Body) is planning to protest the Indian Govt. proposal to make right to education a compulsory right and several Madrassas could get de-recognized as they dont have minimum facilities. I hope the government of India does not give into the pressure of vote bank politics. The standards how we judge religious intolerance must be the same for all. 

How Twitter killed the Movie Star

Once upon a time, we had film actors on a pedestal and people would buy film magazines like Film-fare and Star Dust to get the latest dope on them and there was just one channel Doordarshan which ran programs like Chaya-Geet, Chitrahaar and Rangoli which ran songs for half an hour once a week.  Movies ran for weeks and a movie was certified a hit on number of days at the box office. 

Film stars were exclusive in fact reclusive and people craved for attention and information. But that was the year 1991 and now it’s 2011. In the last 20 years, the business of movie making has changed its all about the first weekend and the multiplex audience.  There are so many pressures to market the movie on all traditional mediums and social media channels.


 It is like carpet bombing basically;you cannot miss the cast of the latest big blockbuster on telly, radio, new channels, news papers, TV shows and internet. 


A set of Twitter species has emerged from Bollywood in the new order. A sample below:- 

•  Out of Work Actor/Actresses: There are so many out of work actors/actresses who have precious little to do expect cut some ribbons and becoming good will ambassadors for some events. They keep tweeting about “Love NY”; “awesome Toronto” or "Go Deccan Chargers" to let people know they are still alive.

• Burned out directors/actors: There are 45+ year old burned out gentlemen who are born again social activists who support Anna Hazare and Ramdev in their fight against corruption and black money but won’t make a peep about the string of actresses getting caught in airports for customs violations

• PR junkies: There are unapologetic guileless actors/authors who wake up before a movie/book release and keep tweeting links, new coverage and tit-bits about their upcoming release. Cultivate a positive image to increase twitter followers count and keep advertising it. ( 100 K followers today, 400 K tomorrow)
• Pure Attention Seekers: There are some people who are so desperate for your attention and will tweet sensational junk. There is a director known for his underworld movies who said he will offer a movie to Maria Susiraj ( the girl involved in the Neeraj Grover case) and yesterday was using cuss words to praise Big B's latest movie.

One cannot really help but pity these people from the film industry;Twitter robs them of the sheen and the mystic they once had. You see them for what they really are, human beings just like us, insecure, petty, confused, biased, vain, hypocritical and mostly boring. 

Damn Twitter killed the movie star. I hate Twitter for that.

P.S: 1 Rajnikant has no Twitter account neither does he endorse any brands and doesn’t gives exclusive interviews. He is a bald 65 years old  man who seems mostly like the uncle next door but when he dons the grease paint he becomes and always will be the SUPER-STAR. 

P.S: 2   If you are regular on Twitter you will know whom I am talking about :) 

Why the Civil society must realise there are no quick fixes

As I write this post, the second indefinite fast to death has been started by Baba Ramdev Yoga guru and star of Aastha channel in his struggle against black money.Predictably there time around there is viewer fatigue as we just emerge from Anna Hazare's campaign against corruption took place in Jantar Mantar which was described by eager beaver journalists as India's Tahir Square moment and Anna Hazare as the next Mahatma.

Both eulogies are over exaggerations and India is a not a banana republic or run by despots like Murabarak or Saddam Hussein or Col. Gaddafi. I have read the Jan Lok Pal and it has some major naive assumptions and some cunning clauses to get permanent authority to civil society members without accountability. I doubt how many of us have really read the Jan lok pal draft before deciding to support Anna Hazare.


Points I disagree on the Jan Lok Pal Draft - full draft link

• Lokpal will collect 10% fine on each case of corruption detected and it goes to a Lok pal fund which will disbursed to improve Lokpal infrastructure - (undermine the financial/fiscal responsibility of the govt.) 
• Selection committee to include all Nobel laureates of Indian origin - ( why should people like V.S Naipaul, Prof Venkat Ramkrishnan and Dr. Amartya Sen who have long left India to pursue own interests aboard be allowed to part of such a key decision making process) 
• Selection committee to include Last 3 Magsaysay award winners - ( no surprises includeArvind Kejriwal, P. Sainath and Kiran Bedi amongst others) 
• Lokpal be a super cop, quasi judiciary and even hand out sentences demean all the Indian institutions.
• Section 27 – Protection where the Lok Pal will have complete judicial immunity for acts of good faith - (such a naive assumption Lok pal will be above aboard in such a so called corrupt nation) 

Points I disagree with Anna Hazare 

• Indian Constitution and institutions are so rotten that we need a new extra-constitutional body to be pointed by persons having external accreditation's from Nobel Prize and Magsaysay awards
• The assumption all our elected representatives are corrupt and Indian voters are not sensible enough to vote for the right candidate. Mr. Hazare said if he stood in an election he would lose his deposit
• His flip flops on Narendra Modi shows his lack of a consistent political view
• His left wing friends like Swami Agnivesh who is a known Maoist sympathizer and Medha Patkar a known anti dam/development activist who have agendas of their own

Points I disagree with Baba Ramdev List of Baba Ramdev's demands

• his bizarre demand to ban 500 and 1000 rupee notes, and to declare an ordinance on bringing back black money to India and promoting Hindi at the expense of English . With due respect he is no expert on economics.
• his clear right wing linkage with the RSS and people who were involved in the Ram janam bhoomi moment like Sadhvi Ritammbara 
• He is still to come clean on his source of wealth, his private jets and 18 crore 5 star satyagraha at Ram lila maidan. 

Points I disagree with Arundhati Roy

• her constant glorification of the Maoist moment knowing full well bloodshed is never a long term solution is mischievous and dangerous.
• her support to the Kashmiri separatist moment, in fact she seceded from the Indian republic and declared her self an independent mobile republic way back in 1998.

The cure worse than the disease ??
I agree government has been losing credibility and instead of an constructive opposition which can take on the govt. the fringe voices like Anna Hazare, Baba Ramdev and people like Arundhati Roy are getting even more footage and media space. My greatest fear is these misguided “civil society” members are wanting quick fixes and little accountability, and by targeting the political class institutions there are only creating anarchy in the nation.

I agree there is rampant accountability issues with the political class but the ballet gives us the opportunity to make a change. Democracy is still the best way forward.You need to toil and work closely on the ground, Mamata Banerjee's example of her diligent efforts to end the 34 years of the Left rule. Off course time will decide Mamata's legacy but for a woman with no god fathers and no corruption charges on her as of now yet she represents to me a glimmer of hope and trust on Indian democracy.

I strongly feel before we run out and start chasing any leader proposing a quick fix to nation problems and using anarchy instead of working to strengthen the Indian democracy we must question their motives and tactics as much as we distrust the political class.

With all respect I invite the leaders of the civil society to engage the Indian voters directly and enter the political system to gain authority and accountability of all Indians.It may take 10-20 years not a 5 day media circus to affect real change. 

 
Fasting for complex nations issues is not going to solve issues as quickly as eating fast food.

Pointless things people (even me) did on Orkut

Last week, I got a blast from the past; I received an orkut friend request from an old acquaintance, its been ages since I accessed orkut page much less connect with anyone. This made think about the old days when orkut was a rage and how Indians got the first taste of social networking ( it was simply called orkutting back then :P )

How many scraps do you have ??

People actually kept count of the scraps on their profile and cheered on when they hit land marks like 1000, 2000 etc. Any guy/gal with 5000 scraps was popular but someone with 10,000 scraps was a orkut super-star.

Profile visit kiya but scrap nahi kiya

The creepy feature of orkut allowed you to note people who visited your profile recently, and people took serious offense to not been scrapped when someone left their digital footprint on their profile.

Sugary sweet testimonials

the extension of the how many scraps syndrome was how many testimonials do I have, emotional blackmail and quid-pro-quo ensured. But on the other hand, it did make for cheap thoughtful birthday gifts ;) get it “on your birthday, I really wanna share ….”.

Increasing Fans on orkut

I know one particular friend of mine who would become fans of all people in the friend list, so that even 50% reciprocity would ensure he/she would become the most Fanned person.

Wanna be fraindship

as a guy, I wasn't so bothered but girls got hit on so often with unsolicited friendship requests from English murdering desis :)

Today, orkut has become a sort of relic, with facebook and twitter ruling the roost today, but orkut had its dream run in the days of clunky assembled desktops and seedy cyber cafes. Now we have neat 3G and GPRS smartphones. 

Cheers to the initial heady days of social networking!  

Who mourns for the little people ?

Few weeks back saw a 1962 B- movie Tarzan goes to India on HBO. It is set in 1920's and how the British Raj is building a dam which is going to destroy villages and destroy the natural habitat of 300 elephants and how Tarzan saves the day. With Feroz Khan and Simi Grewal playing the roles of loyal engineer and princess all the India stereotypes were firmly in place. But 2 points stood out for me in this movie,

• the villain says in large projects like these human life is the cheapest commodity.

• In the end Tarzan saves the elephants and also ensures the dam project is completed to ensure people doesn't suffer from famines in future.

Remarkable nothing has changed, the colonial power now has a corporate face in 2011.

Displacement is not easy; Imagine you have to vacate your home, your locality where you been lived for decades and made to push off to a new place, find new means of employment and resettle your children. The government will compensate you pittance (3-5 Lakhs) and the same place your house once stood will become a real estate gold mine because some automobile or IT company is going to set up shop there will make crores. your sleepy taluka becomes a noisy, bustling place with restaurants and discos to cater to young brats who will spend 5000 rupees for a new year's eve party and that is your monthly income after toiling in the sun in farms.

Economists and business journalists sit n judgment to say its easier to do business in China than in India. The fact is in China people are displaced discreetly without any bad press coverage. But India being the rambunctious democracy has its own unique challenges. Once trouble starts to brew NGOs and politicians who will make noise and draw mileage to themselves. Countless examples from Adarsh, Bangalore land grab by Yedurappa and sons and Narayan Rane clearly shows the connivance of the political class. As tribal rights are violated by mining and steel companies in states like Orissa and Jharkhand Naxalism will continue to rise its vicious head. Suddenly the government is at war against its own people and its a blame game between corporates and local political leaders.

This is battle between 2 Indias, one described by President Obama which are already 'emerged' and the other India which is still 'submerged' to get access to basics like clean water, education and medical care. Its is a battle of greed versus survival with corruption and political patronage suppressing the discordant voices. The difference is getting even starker with each big project may it be a new airport, nuclear power project or campus for new IT company.

There must stronger laws to protect the poor, as land grabbing has become an instrument for illegal wealth creation and politician patronage. While forced displacements for development and progress is inevitable but business houses and governments must eschew greed and arrive at an equitable solution which can take both Indias ahead.

Hoping in the years to come words like sustainability and corporate social responsibilities does not remain just embellished phrases on annual reports and translates into real action. Hoping for a geniune change in 2011.

Some Movie Gems which deserved better and some movies which could have been better !

One of my favorite passions is watching movies, I have a great threshold for pain, I can watch any B grade hindi potboiler or a dubbed southern movie for kicks. On a serious note, there have been some great movies which audiences never appreciated. Also some movies I seriously wished the directors had done a better job of since I watched them with so many expectations only to be led down.

Luck by Chance (Director Zoya Akhtar)

One of the most layered and character driven script written and executed in recent Hindi cinema, it is tale of 3 struggling actors and how each one makes individual choices with varying degrees of success in the film industry. The fickle relationships and ease with which star kids get a privileged entry into cinema is well treated. With a number of stars playing cameos Luck by Chance drives home a subtle message, success is not easy, one has to work for it and even if one is hard working, the ability to create visibility and networking is crucial only then does Luck favor you. Farhan Akhtar is aggressive attends film parties, builds contacts with producers and charms the star-kid co-star while his friend believes in honing his art and doing theater. It’s any one guess who succeeds in the end.

Mumbai Meri Jaan (Director Nishikant Kamat)

An ensemble cast of how people reacted to the July train blast in Mumbai, how an unemployed Hindu youth Kay Kay becomes a bigot, why a true blue Mumbaikar Madhavan cannot take a local train again, why a poor man Irfan Khan who is denied entry into malls makes fake phone calls to spread panic and fear. How Soha Ali Khan a journalist who loses her fiancé in the blast is exploited by own channel by asking the most obvious and vulgar question “Aap ko kaise lag raha hai ?”. The best performance belong to Paresh Rawal a police havaldar who has seen the old Mumbai where there was no fear and how he could go inside the airport with his wife to see the planes take off. That one line conveys how India and world were once at peace when terror and fear was not part of our daily lexicon.

Iruvar -the Duo (Director Mani Ratnam)

Fantastic biography of Tamil Nadu’s two popular chief ministers Karunanidhi and MGR, the tale of 2 friends who rose from obscurity in cinema and then made the leap to politics and finally ambition got the better of their friendship. The movie also highlighted the multiple affairs the men had and was not an air dashed eulogy. Predictably it was opposed by supporters of both political parties and it bombed at the box office. Ashwiarya Rai played the young Jayalalitha in the movie and years later when Simi Grewal interviewed Jayalalitha, she admitted she did like Ash to play her role in a biopic.

Anbe Sivam (Director C Sundar)

The tale of 2 men an atheist communist Kamal Hassan and a god fearing ad-man Madhavan and how they come to understand each other’s point of view over a course of journey from Bhubaneswar to Chennai. Instead of seeking God externally; one should realize that love and selflessness of a fellow human being is the true manifestation of God. In the climax when the henchman realizes his folly and does not kill Kamal as instructed, Kamal said he is no longer an atheist he just saw God in him.

Rocket Singh – Salesman of the Year (Shimit Amin)

Very few Indian movies focus on an office story and very few explore the life of a salesman. Rocket Singh was a take on why companies resort to corruption and fake promise instead of delivering genuine products and building lasting relationships. Towards the end of the movie, Ranbir Kapoor tells his nemesis and former boss, “You cannot run a company on numbers alone, you need the people to come along”. Although the movie is bit indulgent and has dialogues repetitive the authentic depiction of typical characters in an office and cynical bosses was very good.

Movies which didn’t work

There are some movies which I am sure when the director and script writers began with the concept it must have seemed fantastic on the story board but somewhere in execution the movie went for a toss. I feel with a bit more of control and focus on character development these movies could have been classics.

Raavan

When there is enough of blogs on the internet panning this movie, but the relationship between Beera (Abhishek) and Ragini (Ash) could have handled more maturely. It seems Mani Ratnam copped out from presenting a bold love story. Also there was no back story for either Ram and Ravaan characters or justification for the choices they make. Visually the movie was stunting but undone by the weak screen play.

London Dreams

The plot is about two best friends Ajay Devgan who is ambitious and hardworking whilst Salman is talented and easy going. The jealousy which Ajay experiences when faced with his own best friend Salman effortless success in his chosen field and his subsequent treachery was a nice premise which was squandered.

Tashan

The original B-Movie with outrageous heroes and villains set in lawless land. The movie was meant to be kitschy movie which of the 80’s &90’s like Tridev and Main Khiladi Tu Anari . Instead of been a parody or high octane action comedy instead it stuck to a very predictable plot franking boring. However action movies are back with hits like Ghanjini and Wanted doing well these days.

Salaam-e- Ishq

Remake of the extremely popular English movie Love-Actually, but it was led down terribly by weak subplots and predictable performances. Clearly Nikhil Advani proved to be one movie wonder after making a decent movie like Kal ho Na Ho, he delivered 2 flops back to back like Salaam-e-Ishq and Chandini Chowk to China.

White Knights in Peril !

On January 14^th 2010, a RTI Activist Satish Shetty was murdered on the streets on Pune when he was out on a morning walk. The reason, he dared to take on the Land Mafia and he exposed these scams by using the Right to Information Act. When I thought about this incident, I felt a sense of déjà-vu when previous honest and upright officials were killed like Satyendra Dubey and Manjunath were killed by groups whose interests lie in a corrupt rotting system. The cinematic parallel which I can draw to these incidents is from the Dark Knight, the district attorney Harvey Dent who is the White Knight, the revolutionary change agent who operates within the system is targeted and finally driven insane by the evil Joker even as Batman the dark knight outlawed vigilante is helpless to save Dent and his fiancé.

With death of such honest and upright activists and with little or no help coming forward for these brave men and women, when and how can we even hope that justice will be served one day and guilty will be punished for their crimes. People have selective memories and don’t really want to confront the ugly truth, all is not well but as long as it is not hitting me in the face it is fine, it is someone else’s problem not mine.

4 Reasons why it is so perilous to be a White Knight in today’s world.

Rotten Police System – Indian Police department must be one of the most inapproachable police forces in the world, there is so much fear in each reaction, for simple tasks for pass-port verification you have to grease their palms. My personal experience with a police sub-inspector when I wanted to report the pick-pocketing of my mobile phone, he forced me to report it as misplaced and saying does the pick-pocket have personal grudge to steal your phone, ( I mean which pick-pockets has personal grudges, ridiculous policing it is embarrassing to even think such a department functions )

Paralyzed Judiciary – The judiciary is considered to be one of more fair and robust legal systems, but look at the inordinate delays in getting justice, cases drag on for decades, the recent Ruchika molestation case took 19 years to conclude and the convict getting 6 months imprisonment. There are cases which have been benefited from the media coverage there are tonnes of cases which have been buried in paper work and delays.

Fickle Media Coverage – The media which claims be independent is today firmly focused on covering stories which will generate TRPs and responses on the websites, and smses alone. Although media honchos will lament on twitter about farmer suicides, on prime time he wants Saif and Kareena on air to make up the numbers. The way Satish Shetty murder case has received in main stream media is testament of how media works. Satish does not fit the urban profile of IIT/IIM grad or a glamorous movie-star, he was a brave man who used RTI to fight against Land Mafia, he is swept away like the stories of atrocities in the North-East or farmer issues, non glamorous and not-relatable to urban, elite upper middle class and so does not fit in.

Bureaucrats/Politicians – Less said the better, they are part of the problem not part of the solution.

The Cliché – Be the change you want to see

This is a quotation used in every situation and used to push a person down by putting the onus squarely on the shoulders of the individual, but in any kind of a change revolution you need a strong symbol of hope, that symbol must be strong and able to face the pressures, Mahatma Gandhi a leader whose personality was so towering that even the British were scared for him to come to harm. I believe this symbol can emerge only from either the elite class or the poor class. The elite class has enough power to defend what is theirs, and the poor classes have nothing to lose. The Indian middle class will always lament and indulgence in arm-chair criticisms (case in point this blog-post). It is not easy to stand up and be counted when you have lot to lose and little hope to win.

Hope and Faith

Faith is very critical for man to go on, once the faith in the system is lost, it is very difficult to motivate self to try to bring a change in the system. I agree it takes great courage to be a White Knight in this world. I salute the few brave who stand up in-spite of grave danger to property and self. Until, a powerful leader who can galvanize the system for a radical change the White Knights will be in peril.

From the fourth estate to becoming fourth rate !

Last year after the 26/11 attack, I had written a post on the 5 vultures which hound our nation today including politicians, bureaucrats, unfriendly neighbouring countries, media and the finally us the common public who have become apathetic to its surrounding environment.

The year 2009 has particularly one of the above mentioned to falling further from grace that is the media. The Indian media grappling with the new needs of a 24X7 news channel coverage has come to its wits end. The commercialization is so rampant that, they are forced to run feeds of reality shows at non prime time, run interviews of Saif and Kareena on prime time television and also talk about Ashwariya Rai bumping into her ex Salman and Vivek in great gusto.

Ridiculous programming

Apart from this, wild insane programming which talks about the end of the world by the CERN “Maha yantra” (India TV is convinced once the CERN Particle Accelerator is operational, KABOOM end of the world) and other ridiculous stories like Rakhi Sawant par Janta ki mukadama. If you ask the channel people they will say, we give what the people want and that’s what we are giving it to them. Especially the Hindi news channels are more guilty in selling out to cater to the lowest common denominator, but even the English media cannot be claim to be covering themselves in glory. The distinction between a general entertainment channel and a news channel is very little these days.

Anniversary Obsessions

The English media is now obsessed with date and anniversaries; it is an easy method of lazy news coverage, a 26/11, 7/11, 9/11, pull out archive footage, add some dramatic music and ta da … 3 hours of prime time coverage is ready. There is no real introspection of the event, just call politicians names, reopen old scars by asking a husband how he feels about his lost wife and recreate the fearful gloomy atmosphere for all. The coverage is getting elitist; Taj and Trident deaths get more coverage than the deaths at Cama Hospital or CST station. Where were the candle light processions when the July train blasts occurred? Surely some terrorist attacks are not more equal than others.

Crime shows

Crime is another favorite exploited genre which is milked for prime-time viewing; today we are talking about a police commissioner molesting a young tennis player, while the Arushi murder case was dissected to the maximum making the private lives of Dr Talwar n his wife a public mockery. I still remember the remorseless headline of television channel; “Daddy killed Arushi” which they retracted after some hours. This is the kind of irresponsible sensational media coverage we are subjected to these days. Crime coverage is voyeuristic, typical police bashing and case is only followed as long as the public memory lasts and then it becomes another footnote in the television history.

All the same

The argument which you shall get from the news channels is that, if you don’t like then don’t watch, you can surf ahead and watch something else, but then if the catch is its 10.30 all channels air sports content, on a weekend it will be Auto and Gadget shows at the same slot, so you hardly get an option to watch something else anyway. The airing of same content ensures the viewer has no choice but to either suffer through the same programming or switch off the TV.

Inadvertently promoting fringe violent groups

The fringe groups like Sri Ram Sena led by Promod Muthalik and MNS get undue coverage in the media which in fact incites them to take to violence as a weapon which gives them a larger audience using the media as a platform. These anti-social elements should be condemned for the law breaking not eulogized by getting “exclusive interviews”.

Abdication of Neutrality

Another recent blot on the media emerged in the current general elections, where the sections of print media were accused of selling the interview space to candidates for bribes. Apart from this we also see incidents of biased reporting, look at any US media reports on the Copenhagen climate summit, they paint India and China as villains, while the Indian media sees it a moral victory for our side. We cannot see to get an objective view which is honest and the truth.

Conclusion

I don’t paint the entire media in black but the fact is, as a watch-dog which passes sweeping judgments on the other estates such as politicians, bureaucrats, police; it must introspect more closely. The Fourth Estate has actually become a fourth-rate enterprise seeking TRPs alone as measure of success.

The illusion of reality ….

Surf any channel you shall find reality shows for every possible genre song, dance,comedy,eating insects and worms,staying locked for 90 days, romance and even swayambar of Rakhi Sawant an item girl turned adarsh bahu. The latest to add to that list is the controversial Sach ka Saamna which even sent the Parliament in a tizzy.

When the saas bahu K serials ruled the roost, slient prayers by youth across the country yearned for something new and something refreshing. The channel owners hit upon the magic formula of Reality television,

There are people who are increasing finding the shows becoming more voyeuristic and making a bad impact on young children watching these shows. There is a group of member who believe in the freedom of expression and abhor any kind of censorship.

Song/dance Shows Indian Idol/ Sa re Ga ma

The first few shows were the simple harmless song and dance shows, people sing and you the audience can decide the faith of these contestants. Slowly this genre degenerated into asking for votes from the people of your region. Slowly the North East began to assert their presence in India by en mass voting. Then the hosts themselves would mention Bengal ke Debojit needs your votes, Punjab ke Sandeep needs your support etc. If that wasnt enough people started doing melodrama, crying fighting in order to create an impression, talent is not a prerequiste, it is the likeability of a contestant that matters.

So you have hearts of talents crushed and talentless singers getting their 2 minutes of fame and then fading away faster than they even ascended to the stars.

Roadies / Spiltsvilla/Big Boss

Nothing can be more infruitating that a show which says it potrays the youth of the nation, so you have a classic stereotype, a delhite fake english accent, lots of gaalis, tantrums and flirting on the show. You have a bald man, who thinks he is god's gift to humanity and the only thing he loves is run people down. Put people in situations, people fight and say hurtful things with a lot of beeps. Put the show at 7 pm prime time and repeat shows throughout the clock. The host/makers say that they respect women but the tasks and contestants reduce women to mere sex objects. These shows can impact the thought of entire tween generation, the pre teens who are trying to grow up too fast.

The myth called free will....

When there are any calls for regulation on these reality shows, the simple answer the show makers tell us is you can switch off the television. Easier said than done. The same shows run at different times, similar shows exist across different channels. Children cannot be supervised all the time, and temptation and curosity to explore some new stimulus often gets the better of common sense. The kids today are growing up too fast and infact the information fed to them isnt objective. The vices are packaged as style statements, being rude/crass is shown to be cool attitude. The loss of innocene in the future generation is what disturbs me a lot.

I am afraid that choice has already been made for the next generation by the consistent bombardment of voyereutic, consumeristic lifestyle choices. I know I may seem a tad old fashioned in this post but when I look back in the days of Doordarshan, I watched Fun Time an one hour cartoon serial slot from 12.00 to 1.00 in the afternoon during summer vacations and went teary eyed when the show wound up with the end of summer vacations. Now, we have maybe 10 dedicated cartoon channels but the kids today watch Roadies/big Boss or Spiltsvilla.

The truth is complex and rarely simple – Oscar Wilde I think battle between regulation and freedom of expression is far from over !!