The 400-crore yacht, among other things - Part 5/5

The capitalist messengers
All forms of media have been criticized and rightfully so, but being more of the business ventures (and less of informers to the public) that they've become, they've taken even that criticism and turned them inside out. So while the print media came out with defense articles (see above), the TV stations held debates upholding the rights and functions of the news channels. As if we didn't see uncensored shots of blood being flashed on the screen, and the constant "breaking news" being used to push hours-old headlines, and the live coverage of a terror tragedy as if this was the one and only chance for the news channels to compete with their sports counterparts.

And when it comes to debates and discussions, instead of providing a forum, these shows and in particular the anchors forget that their roles should be limited to being that of unbiased moderators who have an informed view of the subject being talked about. Like Joey Tribbiani once famously said, "You don't put words in people's mouths! You put turkey in people's mouths!" These "journalists" already seem to have a fixed view on things and will not acknowledge the other view. Capitalist mouthpieces, through their editorials, are shunning a very realistic analysis (and one which came to my mind long back) - why is it so difficult to digest that our increasing friendship with the West is a possible root cause? Just because the person who suggested so differs radically from you in terms of economic policies? And the fact that the owners of such news networks are collaborating with industrial barons and diversifying to celebrate the "good life of shining India" obviously means that they've turned a blind eye to - and here I shamefully use a term used by a prominent Leftist who was the only person talking any sense on a show on one of the very channels I'm overtly criticizing - "suffering India", which unless we choose to live in our urban cocoon we have to admit is the real India, and is not confined to the rural belt, but is also co-existing with us in the cities.

Thank God, then, for the re-opening of the Taj Mahal Tower and the Trident. Sorry, not God. Thank the pseudo-celebrities and the professional socialites for showcasing their resilience, expressing solidarity and making yet another stand against terror. As for me, I'm just sad that I wasn't there to pose for the cameras and eat without paying at a five-star. Who said there's no such thing as a free lunch?

(concluded)

The 400-crore yacht, among other things - Part 4/5

Rich man's blood splashed on a rich man's lens
I'm sure most of you must have read at least one of the articles in the print media with the common title, 'Don't Shoot The Messenger'. By various authors, all try to defend the media, using the very example that has been cited most often as an example of the media's irresponsibility - of commandoes landing on a roof during the Nariman House siege. I personally would like to think that though that example is obviously flawed (even if the event was shown live - and there's considerable debate on that as well - given the noise a chopper makes, there couldn't have been much stealth involved), the argument isn't, and that's something I've already covered in my previous posts. Just to recall one incident that particularly comes to my mind, a reporter given access to the backside of the Oberoi/Trident complex accidentally spilled out the location of the commandos closing in on the terrorists.

But what's more of a concern to me is the 'why' and 'how' of this particular strike being the watershed. This very city has seen a spate of such gruesome attacks, and I happened to be stuck in office when a series of bombs went off in the local trains. Now, I wasn't going to be on those trains but my colleagues possibly would have, but thankfully weren't since it was issue-closing time. The marketing people came back from hastily terminated meetings and told us about the carnage they saw. People were desperately trying to get in touch with their families. We saw streams of people walking the 20-odd kms. home due to the suspension of train services and clogging of roads. I finally got home past 1am.

Interestingly, the news that followed focused on the spirit of the city (yes, that very cliche) being visibly shaken. Even more interestingly, even though just about a month back, there were candlelight vigils, peace marches, human chains and signature campaigns as a part of the massive anti-reservation protests (which I would like to attribute to that year's first hit Rang De Basanti), there was nothing of that sort after the blasts which seemed to suggest that people had had enough and wanted change. Maybe because Obama wasn't around back then. Of course, the entire coverage had its focus on the Taj and the Oberoi/Trident. Nariman House (which, it was reported by the international press on the very first day, houses an extremely orthodox sect of Jews) was completely ignored till the time our local media checked the international response and realized that it's not just some random building in the crowded bylanes of a not-so-upmarket part of south Bombay.

All the reactions have been from the showbiz and P3 fraternity, and not suprisingly, each and every one of them claims that the Taj was like their second home. Maybe they actually can afford five-stars on a regular basis; maybe they need to give such an impression for reasons known only to them. All I know is that I can't - heck, even Leopold was a place I went to when I felt I could afford to splurge - and happened to be in a mood to tolerate the differential treatment meted out to people with coloured skin. All I know is forget five-stars or even lesser luxuries - most of my compatriots can't afford to have 2 square meals a day, and who are yet to experience the things we've been taking for granted ever since we were young - telephone, television, electricity.

This is not the first time people have died such tragic deaths. Earlier, the targets were public transportation systems and such middle-class infrastructure; even this time, scores lost their lives in Victoria Terminus, a few each in Cama Hospital (imagine the kind of headlines one of those high-profile private hospitals would have made) and at Mazgaon docks, Vile Parle and Metro Circle. From the looks of things, these people were clearly lesser victims whose blood is meant to be shed. Granted that the people with the riches are the only ones in positions powerful enough to force a response, but what good does it do to talk in vague circles? And how is a rich man's blood any more precious than a poor man's?

Such stake-outs and seiges have been happening on a regular basis, but in troubled hotspots which are away from the media glare, most notably Kashmir and the North-East. No one gives a damn when that happens. The very people who are out on the streets now never gave a damn when the common man was blown apart again and again and again in the very city who ordinary citizens they now claim to be. And at the same time, they are hypocritical enough to say on camera that "earlier, these things used to happen at markets, trains and buses which are places we never went to, but now it's as if they've entered our homes. We thought that we, the elite, are untouchable but clearly even we're not safe." This shameful comment of a socialite was one of the many ones in a similar vein aired by one of the most respected 24-hour English news channels of our country.

(to be continued)

The 400-crore yacht, among other things - Part 3/5

We, the people, suck
There is a huge disconnect between different strata of the society within the limits of a metropolis, and one needn't look further than the city which is always in the limelight, and quite often for tragic reasons - Bombay. Now there's a city which has seen strife not only recently, not only during the serial bomb blasts of '93, '03 and '06 (among many other such sporadic incidents), not only during the flash flood of '05, not only during the riots of '84 & '92 and not only during the on-and-off bashing of minorities and outsiders ever since the Shiv Sena was founded in the mid 60s, till date (with its breakaway faction MNS joining in).

Bombay isn't a unique case but is definitely a classic example of the undeniable fact that we, the people, are already divided on numerous counts, whether we like to admit it or not. There are people for whom religion is of utmost importance; for some, there are castes; for others, there are regions. For my fellow youngsters, it is increasingly becoming "cool" to shun religion and denounce the caste system while citing both as an example to deride our elders and emphasise the importance of our generation (augmented by the random percentage figures of our population under a certain age), but given the urban setting that we are growing up in, we are unbelievably divided socio-economically, and by our very own logic, are no better than our seniors.

It is so easy for us to blame the politicians for dividing us, whereas we are an inherently divided people and they are simply taking advantage of this fact. The fact that the Sena (and now, the MNS) survive is because they have a substantial enough support base. A reader who on the lines of the chain SMS wrote about non-Marathi commandos vis-a-vis "Marathi kids playing cricket on the empty streets" was lampooned by other readers, who in venting their ire came out in support of those 2 parties, their leaders and their beliefs. Then again, a politician who voiced the first thing that came into my mind when I heard that the ATS chief who was a key figure in the Malegaon investigations had been killed ("how convenient") and who could have done without saying so given that he is a Union Minister is being ostracized by what is emerging to be a potent combine - showbiz and media. And the urban populace is firmly with this non-political coalition.

(to be continued)

Well done Pranjal!

This one's for Mr. Wagh. A Rational Mind has been awarded - Ms. Gauri Gharpure bestowed it upon me, and I feel that the founder of this blog is the deserving recipient. So this post is a notification of the award, as well as me passing it on to my benevolent teammate, and also to my main blog. Congrats - now we need to pass this on to other deserving blog and their authors.