Recently a photojournalist died while trying to take picture
of water train, he was attempting a high angle shot when he got electrocuted. While
the high end squatter saturated media take higher moral grounds in the comforts
of studios and columns, as they negotiate, arbitrate and bond in characteristic dexterity of words, ofcourse for the sake of nation, there are people who are underpaid,
exploited and neglected. They are also part of media. Meanwhile mainstream media infotainment
includes some amazingly third rate media controllers, stupidity of celebrities,
the movie cheapskates (indeed they also have intense gaze on US entertainers and
little degrading bits they offer is seen as high art) and the amazingly mediocre
cricketers. When asked to circumnavigate the world, Karthikeyan went about it
earnestly while wily Ganesha took a round of God Shiva and Parvathi. The interpretation
being parents are the world. The latch is on the cleverness, wiliness significant
part of narration while anger/celestial curse constant backdrop of godly
affairs (compare this with compassionate Jataka tales). The squatter degradation
is obvious, hence positioned as interpreters, the arthaarth leeway, is a licence to include any nonsense and assert their
disgusting ways in elaboration. While amazingly despicable elders are sought to be equated to gods and
asked to follow, that therefore seals, or will complicate, any dissent to these
ethical deviances that forms culture. This therefore acquires religious values
that percolates as family traditions and hence contribute to the putrefication
of society. The muck has centuries of making. The humble Pavlovian creatures of habit. Back to the story, like wily Ganesha, media too covers the world by taking the round of lawyers, politicians, mediocre actors/movies as art
while stupid game cricket as sports…as these frogs croaks in the well and
define, redefine the world they also wonder why such wonderful world is being
ignored by international community. So while people get ready to defecate along
the railway tracks and wherever the squatter saturated columnist defecate in
queen’s english (please Word NO CAPs FOR queen’s q, no way) and pat each other for
unheard nuances and turn of sentences. As they consolidate the degradations and
seek cosmopolitan ways.
The vulgar sight of wallowing in money reminds of maggots feasting on fatty carcass. Money is reduced to muck while some pedal all day to earn
few hundreds in crowded cities. No wonder people are so religious and superstitious,
while the elite section too are aware how precarious their claim is hence this miracle seeking
camaraderie. Having least of talent they even disseminate their personal secrets
and whatnots to salivating media as news, while the so called media -a clever business venture no doubt, degrades
itself to get its share in the raining fortune, sometime they snarl that is referred
to as debate. The kind of money they make by misusing and manipulating, what is
referred to as branding in higher echelons of decadence, is absurd. When scrutinised
this is nothing but unethical and serious moral breach that is constantly gnawing
into the fabric of decent ways. There is a serious gap between talent and
earning, so much gap that talent becomes abstract as they end up doing anything
from dancing to singing to acting to playing cricket (probably the only game
around that gives hope to even the worst of sportsperson, there are ofcourse
commentators and columnist who will pack and elevate this crudeness into olympian
levels of subtlety) as they hog in limelight for whatever reason and with
desultory ease multiply their money. Some have even monopolised the definition of
talent and are redefining it to the lowest possible denominators. That may look
enticing for common folks, and give feeling of hope, but these are strongly walled.
And yes those outsiders who do get in don’t
try to reform or be ethical but join the loot, indeed compete as vicious insiders
to grab as much the easy picks as possible. These lewd exaggerations must be
severely taxed as these are nothing but unearned income based on manipulation
they use business jargons but this is an open loot by louts. Will they severely
tax these unearned incomes?
I was reading an article by another photojournalist (Anand Shankar)
and is quite revealing…
The media loves to call itself the
watchdog. But it utterly neglects basic practices that other industries
rigorously follow as a routine. In my almost eight years in the media, not a
single supervisor of mine (or the human resources department, since that is the
fashion now) ever did a programme on occupational safety.
I remember the year was 2006, I was being
sent on an official assignment (junket) to Malaysia. The logistics of the
assignment was being paid for by a sponsor. I enquired whether they did the
travel insurance for journalists too. When the reply was negative, I knew that
the insurance had to be done. I went ahead and purchased it myself.
But I was in
for a shock when I asked my employer, a grand old newspaper from South India,
for a refund of the policy amount, since I was travelling on duty representing
the organisation. My employer refused to pay the insurance for its own
employee, a paltry Rs 700. What is the employee supposed to do if
taken ill or in an accident abroad?
Grand old
newspaper from South India?...aha and which one could that be? Despicable. I gather it is a sinking ship. Debauched tirupathi and intense camaraderie
worth tonnes of ill-gotten gold should produce long traditions of miracles!
