Dedicating a short story as a tribute to big daddies of Media….we owe it to them!!

This blogger feels that it is time that we express our gratitude to media. When I say media I mean visual media that is TV Channels. Print media that is newspaper is almost obsolete- they might be selling but the impact is negligible, no one is regretting. Most people spend lot of time watching TV. Thankfully there are hundreds of Channels to choose from, and each not much different from other atleast in the Indian context. English Channels go with the pretension of ‘National’, the reality though is non English channels are more popular. The English channels are watched by very miniscule percentage of population. Most entertainment programs though are getting into standardized form (this blogger is a great fan of reality shows, I find it very funny. The desperation to find national superstar from each channel is touching. How about winners from each channel competing in a mega contest…probably that is the next big thing!!. I find the reality show where they evaluate the small inventions from participants quite interesting, I guess it comes in some Australian channel…geez there are too many to even to remember. This blogger is a random watcher of TV so doesn’t look at name of channel). English entertainment channels generally clones the Americans so mostly superficial with rare exception. Non English channels though are quite innovative (one of my favorite programs is “veritta kazchagal” which comes in one of the Malayalam channel. It is a brilliant program. Other channel could learn from these).

Many of the programs though are an embarrassment. It should upset us- the misuse of opportunities for crass commercial gain. Understand the context, the brilliant conception - from water to electricity to live video…it took hundreds of years. The Media has a responsibility; it is more than a business venture. The government needs to step in as some are becoming extremely irresponsible. An irresponsible media is as dangerous as censored media. I have nothing much against politicians there are some excellent people around (as also some corrupt and criminals) but corruption in Media is something this blogger is bothered about. An extra constitutional body with significant power and clout within an undemocratic framework is dangerous. Considering the deviation from the responsibility the Indian media probably is one of the most corrupt (of course exceptions are there)

Here is a short story “If you don’t have a view you are dead!!” I have posted (visit the Link my short stories or www.depalans.blogspot.com) I dedicate this to big daddies of media the guys who have set the trend namely Murdoch (Fox News is an enlightenment. It is a crusade!!. I love him for the amazing videos of macho white cops chasing black drug peddlers. Absolutely essential for international entertainment, the life of audience is now meaningful. Great work sirji (my regards also to slaves and foot soldiers. Good to know that Junior has taken over the family tradition!!). This is also for guys who control CNN, BBC, our very own NDTV(english), STAR, AAj tak (my hug for them), ZEE News..and other trendsetters, finally to all people who take part in discussion programs particularly on cricket (speaking about nothing is an art) . Hopefully my dedications (and suggestions within) will be inspiring!!! I am not against discussion programs it is good for young people as also great entertainment. Entertainment though has become a joke now, in the stampede they have become jokers!!

Small cars are wonderful

Small cars are the best thing to happen in recent times. This blogger though is not really fascinated about Cars or Bikes, the only thing I was passionate about were Aircrafts (at one point I could identify most of them, even the early fighter planes…flying is amazing). The recent launches of small cars by TATA (Rs one lakh car), Maruthi, Bajaj…has riveted me. Further these days I have been using my two-wheeler quite often, so when stuck in traffic jam I do get ample time to observe models of vehicles. They are getting bigger and intimidating!!. I am all for occupying less of public space. Further cheaper cars are step towards not only social equitability but a step towards public space sharing the benefits were till now accrued by one section of society. The aspirational gap is reducing at a tremendous speed thanks to technology. Small cars are wonderful it will inspire and empower lots of people. Most Lower middle class to Middle class people like to move as family unit cheaper cars are therefore welcomed ( I recall when I was around ten we bought a “Lambretta” scooter, I would be sitting on the “stepny”, in between someone would look back to check whether he is still there, it was gr8 fun!!).

With launch of smaller cars people are pointing to the issue of safety (the same were raised when Maruthi was introduced), also people might prefer second hand cars that are quite cheap, since the fuel efficiency of smaller cars is comparable. However the move is innovative and quite brave, and is definitely good for the consumers particularly those families who travel precariously on two-wheelers. This blogger though would have preferred if there was a competition in non fuel cars, battery replication of Carnot looks difficult (also it would be gr8 to have a Formula One kind of race of Non fuel cars. Formula One as it happens now is juvenile indulgence, these events need to be severely taxed. It is a luxury that demands minimum of competence). In last two years atleast 100 trees have been cut in the 5 Kms radius I stay for widening the road, think of what is happening around the country and world. This is not a statement against small cars but questioning the policy on transportation (single person traveling in a SUV or bigger cars during rush hour is a crime).

Then there is the issue of traffic etiquettes. It is a disaster, people could even kill each other!!. When I was in Delhi I thought of buying a two-wheeler, did some recce on friends bike bap re bap!!….you need two eyes on the back to keep track on Blue lines, invectives are as common. Driving two-wheelers in cities like Delhi is the most dangerous thing to do, it should come in the category of ‘danger sport’!!. Despite the risks involved two-wheelers are efficient way to commute in cities like Bangalore. You can slide through the traffic jams, quite effortlessly. The blogger is looking for more efficient and comfortable two-wheeler, maybe a lock key for 180 wheel rotation. Also some innovations (like pollution screen) in helmets are needed, it is the most neglected Market.

Today is the Greatest day …..

I would put today as one of the top 5 days of my life till date, and hopefully one of the most memorable till my last day.

The day began as any other day, crowded traffic, problems in breathing…..and so on. After a relatively hectic engagement (geez I hate to be busy) around 4:30pm I was on my way back home. On the Trinity Circle I took a wrong turn and instead of going to MG Road, found myself moving towards Airport Road, cursing and extremely irritated I finally could take a cut in front of Leela Palace Hotel. On the way to make sure I thought of asking someone. It was then that I saw this man who was trying to cross the road, so I stopped and enquired. He was an elderly man and took extreme care to guide (frankly it was quite refreshing) he explained the route I should take, systematically without any hurry (I love such people), and I too was looking at the road ahead and trying to comprehend (too many direction gets short circuited in my CPU!!). As I was thanking him he smiled. That’s when something clicked. “Now….now haven’t I seen your face somewhere before….i know you….yes I know you” as I blurted these my memory went almost three decades back, the year was 1984. The brilliant face of a young man talking to then PM Indira Gandhi from the Space came flashing. Mrs. Gandhi I recall quite distinctly, asked “apko vahan se Bharat kaisa nazar atha hai?” The young man replied in his characteristic exuberance-that we had so got used to those days “saare jahan se acha hindustan hamara !!”. He was the person most kids wanted to become those days. He was an icon. He defined asignificant moment in the country's history. Today when I extended my hands and tried to stand up from my two-wheeler, as an act of respect, the smile is just the same. “Yes I am Rakesh Sharma”, as if I needed confirmation. In the cacophony of horns and speeding vehicles it took me sometime to seep in the significance of having met a great man, the idol of a generation. He crossed the road and I too moved on. The unlikeliest of place to meet an amazing man.

So here I was enquring the direction from an astronaut!!. That is life for you!!!!

Monkey business in Sydney

‘Monkey’ as a racist term is something new to me, probably to most Indians who don’t know much about racism as is dealt in the international level. Frankly I have lost the count of being called a ‘monkey’ as a kid. It was never meant to be taken seriously, it was partly in jest ‘oye bandhar’ (in Hindi), ‘eda korenga’(in Malayalam)

is more common than probably ‘why you monkey?’. Also consider that monkeys are considered sacred. At one point I used to think monkeys are strongest and wisest animals!!. In my early teens just before exams I used to miss my lunch on Tuesdays (the day reserved for Hanuman-the monkey God, the way things are seen nowadays it does sound quite irreverent). I still can recite hanuman chalisa ‘jay hanuman gyan gunn sagar, jay kapis teeno log ujagar….!!. to recite these was real fun. In English these lines roughly translated mean…praise the lord of monkeys- the ocean of knowledge and character, praise the monkey the enlightener of three worlds!!. Beautiful lines these.

The globalised world of 21^st century is quite a different place. As cultures of different societies meet we need to acquaint the biases and prejudices prevalent in other parts of the world. Any transgression that brings out these fault lines should be dealt seriously. If the Indian player is found guilty of referring an Australian player as ‘monkey’ should be severely punished, I am sure the players are aware of the context and repercussions. That is of course if there is sufficient proof. The so called gentlemen’s game (endearment by colonial left over, a case of self justification) is nothing to do with any gentlemen, it is game of monkeys (I refer this in Indian context and not to be mistaken for Australian). The guy who is closest to monkey is an embarrassment going by the name Sreesanth (he is a living proof of Darwin's theory), our kid is market smart though. More exposure, better for you- a mediocre player’s day out, his histrionics is disgusting. Another budding gentleman in the block!!.

Frankly any kind of bad behavior (referred to as aggression by media) shouldn’t be tolerated, it is an excuse for incompetence. Uncivilized posturing cannot be packaged as ‘part of sport’. It might give armchair imbeciles some cud to chew or potency to dreary lives of commentators (Why dreary??...well what else when half your life you are talking about “condition of the ball”. Take a break dude!!).

Another rule in game of Gentlemen is that you don’t question the wrong- as part of conduct. The Britishers were quite strict on that, the minions have taken it to the heart. It is now part of the culture, there is also nostalgia of servility. I am told it also makes the game ‘interesting’. Don’t know about that but one thing is sure a bad decision is good for TRP. The nothing-much-to-do media is ecstatic, the boy with leaf growing out of his ears can wait. Just what the spin doctor prescribed. The same reason they are so euphoric about ‘aggression’, it meets all that they cherish- it is low brow, gives images that rivets and can be played again and again, most importantly there is a scope for some talk. Small talks are now referred to as discussion. Howzzat !!