Remember those days when NDTV was THE definition of good media in India? Atleast for youngsters like us, it was definitely the hip thing since it was fancied and very westernized. Rajdeep Sardesai, Arnab Goswami, Shivraj Parshad, Maya Sharma, Barkha Dutt and so many more. Now I think NDTV and Indian media are paradigms of what I call "The Virtue of Idiocy". (Where I got the title from, will be explained later). "The Virtue of Idiocy"- the act of making sure that one is deemed idiotic constantly for their pleasure.
My American readers (if any) will not relate to this but thank you for reading anyway. The reason I am so bitter, if not evident, is due to the recent extensive/intensive and unwanted coverage of the "Aishwarya- Abhishek" marraige. She is a former Miss World, he is a Bollywood actor; son of a very famous Bollywood actor- never knew that this would be a cause for loathing their existence. So much is the hype, that a couple of my Biology labmates asked me whether the marriage was over or not, and whether she wore the sari she was supposed to wear or not- this coming from Americans sitting in Houston, Texas who in no way whatsoever should be affected by this asinine of a scenario.
The day after Virginia Tech went through their massacre, I went on to NDTV.com- like every other NRI to check upon news back home in India. And to my utter surprise (all pun intended), I found the exclusive on the intricate details of Aishwarya Rai's sari. To the side of it, apparently Top News, but evidently very small and easily overlooked, news about Minal Panchal missing. Why are we glorifying something that all of us know is not going to help us in the future or for that matter in the present? We are not entitled to that sort of vicarious pleasures either! So WHAT IS THE POINT? And then of course, we come to know about the horrifying scandal about human trafficking being conducted by an Indian politician, and that news also finds its place in the Top News section that again is blinded by the Exclusive News.
Why is it so hard for us to cover news that actually matter to the public in general? The gala affair, if not anything, portrays the ever increasing bridge between the rich and the poor and the fighting middle class in a forever developing country called India. The rich get to strut their stuff, the poor think why they are poor once again, and the middle class wonder how come they end up paying for all this, since it is after all a lot of taxes. Important news is hyped in India for exactly a week or even less for a while, and then boom its gone, and who do they blame- the judiciary system (Not that things here aren't the same, but not as bad, atleast I think that). What happened in Noida, is beyond human comprehension- a whole hype, outroar of what were the Police and the Politicians doing? Questions asked, answers demanded- the outcome- Moninder Singh, the prime accused in the gruesome killing and organ transfers of now god knows how many children is acquitted. On the other hand, his accomplice, the house keeper, is being charged for the murders allegedly committed by Moninder Singh. He doesn't have a political pull and he pays the price for it. Nandigram and Singur in West Bengal are potential threats to the Communist government in that state. It is an ultimate test of capitalism in a communist state. How many of us care? Not a whole lot because it doesn't effect us. But for some odd reason, Ash getting married to Abhishek does. Most of us have absolutely zilch idea of our foreign policy. Fine if that is too far out, we don't even know what is going on in the grass root level. Our justification to our ignorance- they are all corrupt. My suggestion- look into the mirror when you are by yourself in front of it. The whole concept of NETWORKING is a fancy way of saying that I know someone that can help me in the near future to get something important done- ring a bell, yes CORRUPTION again. Maybe not in the crude form, but superficially atleast. Ask an Indian kid what they think about the history of India and unmistakeably their response is -" That boring subject that we had to once write an exam for". That definitely should not be the attitude. Important days in history are overlooked by news agencies because it will most definitely increase their TRPs. What will is poll- poll if Sachin should play, if Ash should stay with the Bachans, if India should have two cricket teams, not if the MP should have been sacked, not what people think where India stands in the global market.
How long will something like this continue? We sit at home and nod our heads in sheer frustration of the ever falling and failing system, but what else can we do? We whine about these situations, but any step we take is stubbed by CORRUPT officials that do not want "things" exposed for fear of more unwanted news coming out. Where do we draw the line of tolerance? When do we cross that thin line? Or have we become so insensitive and self- absorbed that living vicariously off of someone else has become more pleasurable than finding ourselves in the real world?
Shreya
P.S The title was inspired by Ayn Rand's book The Virtue of Selfishness where she talks about how being selfish is not evil and is actualy worth one's while. A must read- she is the height of libertarian values- a little too radical though.
P.P.S I am not going to deny though that these problems exist in the media here too. But like I said, they seem to be transluscent here. I could be wrong.
My American readers (if any) will not relate to this but thank you for reading anyway. The reason I am so bitter, if not evident, is due to the recent extensive/intensive and unwanted coverage of the "Aishwarya- Abhishek" marraige. She is a former Miss World, he is a Bollywood actor; son of a very famous Bollywood actor- never knew that this would be a cause for loathing their existence. So much is the hype, that a couple of my Biology labmates asked me whether the marriage was over or not, and whether she wore the sari she was supposed to wear or not- this coming from Americans sitting in Houston, Texas who in no way whatsoever should be affected by this asinine of a scenario.
The day after Virginia Tech went through their massacre, I went on to NDTV.com- like every other NRI to check upon news back home in India. And to my utter surprise (all pun intended), I found the exclusive on the intricate details of Aishwarya Rai's sari. To the side of it, apparently Top News, but evidently very small and easily overlooked, news about Minal Panchal missing. Why are we glorifying something that all of us know is not going to help us in the future or for that matter in the present? We are not entitled to that sort of vicarious pleasures either! So WHAT IS THE POINT? And then of course, we come to know about the horrifying scandal about human trafficking being conducted by an Indian politician, and that news also finds its place in the Top News section that again is blinded by the Exclusive News.
Why is it so hard for us to cover news that actually matter to the public in general? The gala affair, if not anything, portrays the ever increasing bridge between the rich and the poor and the fighting middle class in a forever developing country called India. The rich get to strut their stuff, the poor think why they are poor once again, and the middle class wonder how come they end up paying for all this, since it is after all a lot of taxes. Important news is hyped in India for exactly a week or even less for a while, and then boom its gone, and who do they blame- the judiciary system (Not that things here aren't the same, but not as bad, atleast I think that). What happened in Noida, is beyond human comprehension- a whole hype, outroar of what were the Police and the Politicians doing? Questions asked, answers demanded- the outcome- Moninder Singh, the prime accused in the gruesome killing and organ transfers of now god knows how many children is acquitted. On the other hand, his accomplice, the house keeper, is being charged for the murders allegedly committed by Moninder Singh. He doesn't have a political pull and he pays the price for it. Nandigram and Singur in West Bengal are potential threats to the Communist government in that state. It is an ultimate test of capitalism in a communist state. How many of us care? Not a whole lot because it doesn't effect us. But for some odd reason, Ash getting married to Abhishek does. Most of us have absolutely zilch idea of our foreign policy. Fine if that is too far out, we don't even know what is going on in the grass root level. Our justification to our ignorance- they are all corrupt. My suggestion- look into the mirror when you are by yourself in front of it. The whole concept of NETWORKING is a fancy way of saying that I know someone that can help me in the near future to get something important done- ring a bell, yes CORRUPTION again. Maybe not in the crude form, but superficially atleast. Ask an Indian kid what they think about the history of India and unmistakeably their response is -" That boring subject that we had to once write an exam for". That definitely should not be the attitude. Important days in history are overlooked by news agencies because it will most definitely increase their TRPs. What will is poll- poll if Sachin should play, if Ash should stay with the Bachans, if India should have two cricket teams, not if the MP should have been sacked, not what people think where India stands in the global market.
How long will something like this continue? We sit at home and nod our heads in sheer frustration of the ever falling and failing system, but what else can we do? We whine about these situations, but any step we take is stubbed by CORRUPT officials that do not want "things" exposed for fear of more unwanted news coming out. Where do we draw the line of tolerance? When do we cross that thin line? Or have we become so insensitive and self- absorbed that living vicariously off of someone else has become more pleasurable than finding ourselves in the real world?
Shreya
P.S The title was inspired by Ayn Rand's book The Virtue of Selfishness where she talks about how being selfish is not evil and is actualy worth one's while. A must read- she is the height of libertarian values- a little too radical though.
P.P.S I am not going to deny though that these problems exist in the media here too. But like I said, they seem to be transluscent here. I could be wrong.
