Media and India

         Towards the midnight of 15^th August, 1947 - It was when the entire nation was glued to their radios, so that they could hear Jawaharlal Nehru, making history while delivering the first speech of free India – The Tryst with Destiny. 1947 -2016, almost everything about this country has changed. Back then, radio was the only medium of live media, but today, we have hundreds of options at hand.

One of the most powerful and relied upon option, among hundreds is the News Channels on TV. This is evident by the fact that, during the counting of votes of the recently concluded Bihar polls, the mistake in the facts of one news channel, shook the entire country, right from the common man to the government. And, when this was rectified, it was devastating for some and a breath of life for the others. From news on the share market to the prices of daily food, weddings of stars to high profile scams – they have it all. This is just an example prove, how dependent we have become on these channels and their anchors.

        The question here is – Are these channels taking undue advantage of their viewers and their confidence? Are they delivering news or manufacturing them?

      Our news channels manage to cover all stories related to the so called high profile people, be it their parties or funerals. There is all of it on the news, though; none of this will make a difference in any of our lives, largely. Quite obviously, the population of the common man is way higher and so are the happenings in and around their life. So, both, the news channels and the audience should take interest in what could be of major importance to everyone, rather than just looking for the “star” factor everywhere.

      We tend to believe anything and everything that is shown, without even taking a second to think if proper ground work has been done or not. This does not mean that there is no research done. Of course it is, but, to what extent? What is the amount of adulteration, no one knows.

      This in no way means that the effort of all the teams involved in bringing news to us should not acknowledged or appreciated. The task is commendable in all ways. But at some point, we all need to stop looking at everything from a commercial aspect. We need to add a humane touch to our lives, become more empathetic and understanding, rather than just being sympathetic.

      There is yet another dimension to this – the ‘type’ of coverage rather than the coverage itself. In the recent times, floods have caused a lot of destruction in the country – Uttarakhand in 2013, Chennai, Cuddalore in December 2015. Certainly the entire nation knows about both of these disasters, thanks to the media coverage given to them. We could relate ourselves to the people affected, because during those periods, all that the news channels showed were happenings at the respective places. What we do not know or cannot relate to is; the flood that impacted 1.5 million Assamese in September this year. This is because when Assam was devastated, our media was busy in decoding the mystery behind a 3 year old murder.

The same calamity affected different states of our country, but our reactions were different each time. Uttarakhand got the attention of the entire nation whereas Tamil Nadu got the support of South India and few Northern states as well. But Assam? No one apart from them was bothered. This happened not only during the flood, but is happening time and time again. How can we become so insensitive and indifferent?

It is said, “Nazariya badlo, nazaare badlenge” meaning, change your perspective and see the world around you, changing. This is exactly the need of the hour. There are a lot of noteworthy and positive achievements happening all over. So, instead of just focussing on the bad and negative, we can actually try and give credit to the good doers around us.

Success - in my terms....

 7.3 billion – this is the population of the world that we live in. What is thought provoking and amazing is that, each person coming into this world has a purpose, which can only be solved by her/him. It all depends on when and how we identify that purpose and what we do in order to accomplish it.

No one wants to live an ordinary life. We all want to fall into that rich and famous category of successful people. But, is “rich and famous”, the only identity of a successful person? The obvious answer is a ‘no’. Success here does not refer to the fact that whole world recognizes you by your name. Because, if that is the case, then all notorious people, will be considered successful and that is not how it is. Success is an indicator of how happy you are with your life or happy your surrounding is, because of something that you have done. What is the point, if you have all money and fame, if it has cost you your happiness?

There are many professions in the world, which bring a person to the limelight and ultimately, they become rich and famous. But, the question here is, have they actually made a difference in that field of theirs, have they done something never done before, will they be remembered for doing something good? Of course, there are quite a few, who have impacted the world because of their work, but, what about the others? Is this success? There is also another dimension to this, where people become famous, because they are family to someone famous. But again, is this success? The choice is ours – get the limelight or earn the limelight or simply do things, which will be remembered.

It is not needed that we do great things, to attain great heights – practically it is not possible for each person on earth, to bring a revolution in the world. But, we can do small things that slowly but steadily bring a revolution in the lives of at least a few people around us. These small things could also work wonders. Who could be a better example for this, than Anne Sullivan, herself? Her dedicated work is the only reason that we all know Helen Keller today. Money or fame was not her goal, service was.

At the end, if there is even one whose life has been positively impacted by us, it is satisfaction – satisfaction of having ‘learned’ from the society, ‘earned’ because of the society and ‘returned’ something back to the society. And this satisfaction is what “success” is. No one, but you, is responsible for your success and happiness. So, identify the purpose of your life, work towards achieving it – fame, name and money will follow.

Angrez chale gaye par Angrezi chod gaye.. (The British left (India), but left the English (culture) behind)

        It has been many years that India became an Independent country. Yet, there is no part of the country that does not have the essence of being ruled by the British. The language, the way of living, the food that we eat, the sports that we play, the things that we do as a routine, everything has an English touch to it.

        Today, if there is common attire for the corporate, it is all thanks to the British. It is because of them that we have the board room decorum. And, the impact does not stop here. The clothes that we prefer to wear, the accessories that we carry – everything has a huge impression on people in all age groups, from all walks of life.

       Another most important thing is our eating habits. Despite having rich diversities in the traditional Indian food itself, English food and their dining etiquettes have managed to find a make a place here. Roti has been replaced by ‘double’ roti (bread) and aaloo parathas by corn flakes. Kadak chai (tea) has now become ‘green’ tea and pastries have replaced the famous Indian mithai.

There is another thing which the Angrez left behind - it is the Angrezi (English language) itself. English is one of the official languages of India and population wise; we are the second largest English speaking country, only after the United States. Ironically, we have left the Angrez behind as well.

        The biggest of all this is that one thing, which we play, not as a sport, but, worship as a religion – Cricket.

        Cricket is something which unites the entire nation, better than anything else. It is much more than just a sport for us. According to us, the playing eleven are those, who can never commit a mistake and the team is that, which can never lose. From the yesteryear veterans to the present day’s emerging players, our cricketers are the most influential people here. Slowly but steadily, this sport has now become an integral part of our lives, thanks to the entertainment rich leagues and the multiple fold increase in the number of matches played.

        But, for how long? It is high time that we acknowledge the other games and their players too. It is time that we shift from a “cricket loving country” to a “sport loving nation”, isn’t it? Think about it..!!

        India boasts of it having the oldest and the most diverse culture in the history of all other countries. Though open to diversity, we must make sure that we do not let go of our natural self. Otherwise, going at this rate, Indian Culture would be nothing but a piece of history.

Experience Indian Weddings..

     It is needless to say that a person who knows about the diverse cultures of the country that we live in – India, would definitely have a wish of being a part of at least one Indian Wedding. Why not? The grandeur, the glitz, the celebrations, everything about the rituals is worth it all. Starting from the rituals that confine to a tradition, to a culture, to a state, ceremonies today, have rituals that belong to only the customs of a family.
    The whole ambience is magical - dance, music, lively people, beautiful outfits and of course mouth-watering food. Amidst all this is the holy institution of marriage that unites not just two souls, but two families, two traditions, two customs and it is believed that this bond lasts for ever and ever.
    This is how a typical marvadi (Rajasthani) wedding takes place. It all starts with a betrothal, after a formal “yes” from the soon to be bride and groom. This ceremony can take place anywhere from a year to a month before the wedding. After this, come in a series of rituals, which are usually a week before the marriage. The first of them is moong-bikherna – this ceremony officially declares that the wedding rituals have begun. Next is haldi, in which the bride and groom are applied a paste of pious turmeric. Then come, mehandi and sangeet, where the actual party begins. Finally, after all warm-up ceremonies are over, it is time for the pheras, where the couple take their vows of spending the rest of their lives together, of standing by each other, no matter what. At the end is the emotional bidaai, where the bride bids farewell to her family and leaves for her new abode, with the hope of finding joy, happiness and abundance in that phase of life, which is just about to begin.

My First Post.

     Hello. This is my first blog post.  I would like to start off with the real concern of a woman which is about the disease spreading in our country at a rapid pace.  

    The Indian Subcontinent – right from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and Gujarat to Bengal, this place has all extremities that one geographical area could ever have. Be it the weather or the culture and religion of people, INDIA can very well boast of it being a diverse country, and win hands down as well. So much so, this diversity has penetrated deep into the minds of its citizens and reflects in their thoughts as well. What could be a better proof for this, that the fact that the Indian women do not feel safe in their own motherland? Yes, we live in a country, where celebrating Navratri, with pomp and show is considered as a mark of respect to the Goddess, but respecting a girl, a lady of your own family is designated unmanly. We respect our mothers and love our partners, but do not want daughters. Why is it so difficult for us to respect and honour the “second gender”? When a girl loses her dignity, she is blamed right away, for being provocative, but the actual person responsible, is not even questioned. At some point, it can be agreed, that there is no smoke without fire. But, for how long will we have to bear with this? How many more girls will have to become victims of mental torture, sexual assault, domestic violence or any other form of harassment? We need to take responsibility now. The law is doing what it is supposed to. So rather than playing the blame game, we need to become civilized and broad minded enough to accept reality and stand by it, no matter what.