Thought for the day
"Every truth has two sides; it is as well to look at both,
before we commit ourselves to either."
-
Aesop (Greek, 620-560BC)
Word for the day
Fritter (v)
To squander or
disperse piecemeal; waste little by little (usually followed by away)
(Source: Dictionary.com)
Teaser for the day
Reports suggest Congress party has told Delhi assembly candidates to
manage their election expenses from personal resources.
The logical next step would be auctioning of tickets in Bihar, WB and UP
assembly elections!
Whatsapp GIMMs
Since announcement of general elections early last year there
has been overwhelming media coverage of the random utterances of some leaders
who are mostly irrelevant in national picture and often derided as religious
fundamentalist in media.
The coverage has become more intense and frivolous in equal
measure since the Narendra Modi led NDA government has assumed office.
Without delving into myriad of conspiracy theories discussed
with brilliant alacrity at prime time TV and social media, I must admit that it
has certainly added another wrinkle on the already tense brows of investors.
To ascertain how much this trend should concern investors I
decided to use my Christmas vacation for visiting some key pilgrimages and
centers of learning in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and
Uttrakhand.
Despite excruciating weather conditions, I was relieved to
discover that all hoopla is confined to customary Indian discussion over tea
(Chai pe Charcha) and no one is really losing sleep over it. Trust me it has no
socio-economic relevance at all.
In my view, the media discussion over the issue of India being
in danger of dissipating into a sanctimonious state is nothing more than an
extension of guilt inducing morning messages (GIMMs) we receive on our social
media accounts, more so on Whatsapp. These messages mock us for not caring
enough for our families, elders, friends, society, soldiers, poor, sick,
environment, country, et. al., ignoring our health, and falling prey to the
hideous designs of MNCs poisoning our food plates etc.
Most of these messages also contain a standard solution for
overriding the guilt induced by the message - "make everyone you know also
feel guilty by forwarding the message"! We are therefore redeemed of our
guilt almost as quickly as we finish reading the message. Of late, of course
many users have started ignoring GIMMs altogether.
So I assure the investors and businesses not to worry a bit
about this. This changes nothing.
More specifically, I would like to share the following:
(a) The people like
Sakshi Maharaj and Sadhavi Niranjan Jyoti have been saying these things since
eternity. There is nothing new there. The only thing that has changed is that
they are getting national media coverage now because of change in their
political status.
In fact, I
discovered that both of them have done commendable work for upliftment of the
most unprivileged and neglected section of the society. They have worked hard
and selflessly for their empowerment and elevation with reasonable degree of
success.
The problem as I
perceive is the communication and perception gap.
The national
media that mostly works from the confines of plush studios in Delhi and Mumbai,
perhaps does not fully appreciate the local context and language or does not
find it exciting enough for their audience. On the other hand, these parochial
leaders who are firmly rooted in their constituencies may not be articulate
enough to put their views across to the national audience in a secular manner.
The best and
happy part is that leaders' constituency is fully in sync with them. The
media's audience is also intelligent enough not to take its frivolities much
seriously. The guilt inducing prime time TV discussions are relevant only till the
time viewer decides to flip the channel.
(b) Since May 2014
verdict, the competition to get entry into mainstream BJP has intensified
multifold. Not only the leaders from the affiliated organizations are now more
eager to join mainstream politics, many local leaders of opposition parties are
showing interest; and some religious leaders are also keen to gain proximity
with the seat of power.
This intensity
of competition is prompting a lot of local leaders to use radical means to gain
immediate recognition & acceptance with national leadership. I suspect that
most miscellaneous agitations, like the one against movie "PK", are
strategic moves towards this goal.
Fortunately,
scholars and politically indifferent religious leaders (who form 99.9% of the
total) do not see issues like "love -Jihad", "PK",
"ghar vapsi" etc. as a serious threat to the religion or the State.
(c) In Varanasi,
Allahabad, Ujjain, Haridwar & Rishikesh, I could find no buyer amongst
youth, children and their parents for Sanskrit as a compulsory subject. The fan
club is limited to some elite and mostly redundant. Even Pandas of Haridwar
want their children to study English & computers.
I would also like to misuse this opportunity to express my views
about the movie "PK", since I was forced to watch it (against my
wish), to understand the agitation against the film.
I found the movie a poor work of art. To me it appeared a
incoherent collage of Whatsapp GIMMs and jokes with no story. The social
message which the makers of the film ostensibly intend to convey is totally
uninspiring and cliché.
If the previous film of Mr. Hirani "3 Idiots" was most
overrated, "PK" beats that hands down, regardless of the money it collects.
The fact that it has earned record money is in itself a justification of the
phenomenon this film seeks to denounce, i.e., gullibility of common Indian
citizenry. Otherwise, Nirmal Baba, Asaram, Satpal Maharaj et. al. and Indo-Pak
love stories have already been filmed and discussed at length in all media.
This films brings out nothing new.
Surprisingly, No One protested against Amir Khan (brand
ambassador for India Tourism) defacing the wall of historic Red Fort and
urinating on it or mocking Bhojpuri language.
I could not understand what the filmmaker wants to convey by
suggesting that it is innocuous to steal from people who "dance" in
their vehicles.
Insofar as the controversial Lord Shiva depiction is concerned, I would
suggest Mr. Hirani to watch the Mahabharat parody in Jane Bhi Do Yarron.
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