"The Week That Was"
Remember this TV programme? As a kid, if you needed information about current events occurring across the country and globe, this was the programme every teacher and parent would swear by. A no non-sense programme conveyed brilliantly by Mr.Prannoy Roy.
That was then..the simpler times. Today, well, that's an entirely a different story. Journalism as we know it is more focussed on dirt, scandals and partisan views. Today, what underwear Katrina Kaif favours or what how many milligrams of mass Shilpa Shetty has developed on her belly is of more concern than Maoist insurgency or the Financial Budget. News agencies have forgotten to focus on state of affairs of national importance as fulcrum and treat these as and when they arise and forget all about it. One thing that stays on is bloody entertainment news, if one dares to call it that! Unfortunately, as a reader I am to blame as well. If titillating images are displayed to me right next to matters of home security, your guess is as good as mine as to where the little mouse pointer would go. As a two-way street, efforts from both ends needs to come. If given an option of pure, unadulterated news, I will very gladly soak it up.
This post will be mostly a medley of coherent and tangential thoughts. Bear with me...
Social Networking:
That's what everyone is apparently doing these days. Ever since the advent of Facebook, people are wanting to put themselves out there....literally!
Oh my God, I just farted...Status update
Oh my God, I just took a shit....Status update
Oh my God, I have a fucking bad head-ache...Need some coffee..like now!!...Status update
This is what we have come to being. Vanity is an inherent quality man possesses but keeps under check (well, most at least)! Now we have a medium to expose it. What is worse is hundred -million people replying to all status messages. Lots of constructive time and bandwidth into super productive use, really.
Tweet...Tweet...No no no..it's not Tweety, that cute little bird that kept us glued to TV sets. Twitter is here. I think everyone from Obama to Tharoor...from sexygirl765 to cooldude99..from the guy next to me to Batman, "tweets" (yes, another one to the Lexicon).Apparently, micro-news is macro-news today. Assimilation of text more than 140 characters is too much for the brain today. Looks like micro rather than macro brain is here to stay!
An interesting afterthought to this is the desire of man to submerge/indulge in what someone else is "up-to". Good point for discussion, that!
IPL:
Picture a scene where thirteen men dressed in whites occupy a ground playing cricket. Well, of course you can't! I'm a fool to paint this illusion. Today, what you see is thirteen men in snazzy outfits trying to play a power game. Of course, please let your mind wander to some girls clad in clothes that'll rip your fly apart.
The gentleman's game is dying. I am actually part of this revolution and it's not a good feeling. I probably will be part of the last generation of people talking about deft flicks, unimaginable late cuts, the art of loop and flight. More importantly, I will be one of the last people to watch Sachin Tendulkar or Rahul Dravid play test match cricket. Men, whose on-field revelry has scripted many a life!
Even with the cloud of controversy engulfing IPL, people will stick to it..Not for the game but for the celebrities frequenting matches and late night parties. Players are enticed with moolah never seen before..will the arrogance and cavalier attitudes be far behind? With players being fought over, used and abused like condoms, honour, pride, hard work, spirit of the game will be left far behind. Men of honour will be just merely photos on the wall and with them will die my memories and comfort zone.....
Legends of the past and present are crying out to save the unadulterated form but all I can hear is the "TWEET" of Mr.Franchisee and Mr. Politician....
Spirituality:
Ah, the tangent topic! I have been thinking about this for a bit and came up with this...
- A woman who travels 80 KM a day to wash dishes
- An old man who can't hear well chauffeuring and getting people home safe
- A man whose presence makes you feel secure
- A man who drives a van to feed the poor and homeless relinquishing a fat paycheck
- A social worker working with old neglected people, orphans and abandoned children
- A man who unites an entire nation each time he steps on the cricket ground
- The same man who takes the effort to meet with and seek the blessings of an elderly lady
- A man who raised an unimaginable amount of money purely on trust when up against the wall
- A mother who bestows altruistic love on her kid
This to me is spirituality and I have made my peace with that.
Water:
The most precious reserve. Dwindling away fast....Man's materialistic desires into foray once again in depleting water. I shall reserve my thoughts on this and instead request you to read the April 2010 issue of the National Geographic magazine.
I have rambled on for a bit here. A feeling of self-righteousness has engulfed every Indian away from his motherland. I am no exception. I liked being part of the system within the failure rather than wander away to point fingers at it, good or bad. I liked being in a comfort zone no matter how ruthless it appeared to be. I liked being part of a system where order and method was not a daily dose. I liked not to be faced with an identity crisis everyday.
Maybe, if I still were in India.....
Remember this TV programme? As a kid, if you needed information about current events occurring across the country and globe, this was the programme every teacher and parent would swear by. A no non-sense programme conveyed brilliantly by Mr.Prannoy Roy.
That was then..the simpler times. Today, well, that's an entirely a different story. Journalism as we know it is more focussed on dirt, scandals and partisan views. Today, what underwear Katrina Kaif favours or what how many milligrams of mass Shilpa Shetty has developed on her belly is of more concern than Maoist insurgency or the Financial Budget. News agencies have forgotten to focus on state of affairs of national importance as fulcrum and treat these as and when they arise and forget all about it. One thing that stays on is bloody entertainment news, if one dares to call it that! Unfortunately, as a reader I am to blame as well. If titillating images are displayed to me right next to matters of home security, your guess is as good as mine as to where the little mouse pointer would go. As a two-way street, efforts from both ends needs to come. If given an option of pure, unadulterated news, I will very gladly soak it up.
This post will be mostly a medley of coherent and tangential thoughts. Bear with me...
Social Networking:
That's what everyone is apparently doing these days. Ever since the advent of Facebook, people are wanting to put themselves out there....literally!
Oh my God, I just farted...Status update
Oh my God, I just took a shit....Status update
Oh my God, I have a fucking bad head-ache...Need some coffee..like now!!...Status update
This is what we have come to being. Vanity is an inherent quality man possesses but keeps under check (well, most at least)! Now we have a medium to expose it. What is worse is hundred -million people replying to all status messages. Lots of constructive time and bandwidth into super productive use, really.
Tweet...Tweet...No no no..it's not Tweety, that cute little bird that kept us glued to TV sets. Twitter is here. I think everyone from Obama to Tharoor...from sexygirl765 to cooldude99..from the guy next to me to Batman, "tweets" (yes, another one to the Lexicon).Apparently, micro-news is macro-news today. Assimilation of text more than 140 characters is too much for the brain today. Looks like micro rather than macro brain is here to stay!
An interesting afterthought to this is the desire of man to submerge/indulge in what someone else is "up-to". Good point for discussion, that!
IPL:
Picture a scene where thirteen men dressed in whites occupy a ground playing cricket. Well, of course you can't! I'm a fool to paint this illusion. Today, what you see is thirteen men in snazzy outfits trying to play a power game. Of course, please let your mind wander to some girls clad in clothes that'll rip your fly apart.
The gentleman's game is dying. I am actually part of this revolution and it's not a good feeling. I probably will be part of the last generation of people talking about deft flicks, unimaginable late cuts, the art of loop and flight. More importantly, I will be one of the last people to watch Sachin Tendulkar or Rahul Dravid play test match cricket. Men, whose on-field revelry has scripted many a life!
Even with the cloud of controversy engulfing IPL, people will stick to it..Not for the game but for the celebrities frequenting matches and late night parties. Players are enticed with moolah never seen before..will the arrogance and cavalier attitudes be far behind? With players being fought over, used and abused like condoms, honour, pride, hard work, spirit of the game will be left far behind. Men of honour will be just merely photos on the wall and with them will die my memories and comfort zone.....
Legends of the past and present are crying out to save the unadulterated form but all I can hear is the "TWEET" of Mr.Franchisee and Mr. Politician....
Spirituality:
Ah, the tangent topic! I have been thinking about this for a bit and came up with this...
- A woman who travels 80 KM a day to wash dishes
- An old man who can't hear well chauffeuring and getting people home safe
- A man whose presence makes you feel secure
- A man who drives a van to feed the poor and homeless relinquishing a fat paycheck
- A social worker working with old neglected people, orphans and abandoned children
- A man who unites an entire nation each time he steps on the cricket ground
- The same man who takes the effort to meet with and seek the blessings of an elderly lady
- A man who raised an unimaginable amount of money purely on trust when up against the wall
- A mother who bestows altruistic love on her kid
This to me is spirituality and I have made my peace with that.
Water:
The most precious reserve. Dwindling away fast....Man's materialistic desires into foray once again in depleting water. I shall reserve my thoughts on this and instead request you to read the April 2010 issue of the National Geographic magazine.
I have rambled on for a bit here. A feeling of self-righteousness has engulfed every Indian away from his motherland. I am no exception. I liked being part of the system within the failure rather than wander away to point fingers at it, good or bad. I liked being in a comfort zone no matter how ruthless it appeared to be. I liked being part of a system where order and method was not a daily dose. I liked not to be faced with an identity crisis everyday.
Maybe, if I still were in India.....
