A Response to the Times (Now)!

Yesterday, I had the misfortune of tuning into TimesNow, which I believe is definitely sponsored by some right-wing, casteistic, anti-people, anti-woman party. It’s one channel, besides of course CNN and NDTV, that strives consistently to remain true to upper-class aspirations. Be it Australian attacks, the Indian cricket team’s deplorable behavior in other countries, or naxalism (latest in their kitty), TimesNow and its journalist Arnab Goswani have shown to the world where their real interests lie, what they want to promote, and whose shoes they lick! All that they care about is just money! And, they go no holds barred to achieve their sinister goals by spreading lies, lies, and lies!

Yesterday’s debate (well, that’s what the channel called it) on naxalism (the new threat to internal security) left me hopping mad! Not only because of the hollowness or the stupidity of the debate, but also in the manner in which a TV channel, claiming to be the media, conducted itself! They just sunk to levels lower than what can be comprehended as the behavior of a demented and deranged mind! It seemed like a circus in which a drunken, illiterate monkey was doing a salsa with its own reflection! Of course, for some funny reason, there were the most radical of the dissendent voices on the debate, but what was undeniable is how the entire debate seemed just like a farce! I couldn’t quite put my finger on what I was seeing; why should a clearly pro-establishment, highly regressive news channel appear to have a free and fair debate!

The following quote of Chomsky came to my mind as the actual reason for this farce:

"The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum - even encourage the more critical and dissident views. That gives people the sense that there's free thinking going on, while all the time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the range of the debate."

Now to the event that triggered off this great, informed debate that this demented psycho kicked off. Even before the debate can take off, he looks all sad and deep into the camera and clears his throat and goes on and on about how naxals are terrorists and that they have resorted to Taliban style killing; well, I didn’t know the channel hired people who were experts on Taliban; it makes me wonder if Taliban actually trained these people! The point here is a TV channel seems to declare ‘truths’, even without proper investigation of proof! Of course, you can always resort to a tame apology the following day when the world has already been poisoned enough! This brings me to the next question: what does the channel and its monkey actually want! A country that is intolerant to any kind of dissent and people who condone extra judicial killings in cold blood. Isn’t it incumbent upon the media to play the role of a devil’s advocate? Why do the hell do we need a media like this? They are even worse than the state itself! They are already pronouncing judgments even when the cases on people are sub-judice! What do we, as sane people, do? I couldn’t find a more fitting call for all of us; interestingly the call has been sounding for over a century!

Only through the people's highest intellectual maturity and inexhaustible idealism can it (society) be brought safely through all storms and find its way to port.

Rosa Luxemborg.

Money, Money, Money!

In the last few weeks, one has been subjected to teasers and promotions of yet another reality show: Sach ka Saamna. It’s a program inspired by the very popular western show, The Moment of Truth. The promotion includes very provocative slogans like, can your truth tear asunder your marriage, your family! Can you face the truth!

Another popular reality show is the much publicized Rakhi Sawant ki Swayanvar, in which Rakhi Sawant (who needs no introduction) chooses her groom from a list of wannabes who go through multiple rounds of qualification, including a horoscope-matching round (or something similar with a Brahmin priest going through the palms of the guys and Rakhi).

Both these programs will undoubtedly have an enormous number of viewers and hence will prove to be great money spinners! And, that’s all that matters to the producers, to the actors, and everyone involved in this despicable attempt at entertainment!

Let’s look Sach Ka Saamna first. What does it promote? Or, what does it exploit? One word that comes to my mind is voyeurism. The perverted pleasure that a person experiences by being privy to the intimate lives of other people! So far, we have been told not to read other people’s letters, diaries, and ask ‘personal’ questions even to partners! And, here, you go before the whole world and talk about your ‘affairs,’ and also go through a lie detector for some money! Are the participants of this show so hard up on cash? Then, the viewers! What kind of mind will want to watch such crap? Or, have we all really lost touch with our real selves? Pornography is still banned, but Sach ka Saamna is aired on prime time! So, it’s all about money! More and more and more money! It’s really scary beyond point; where are we all headed at this rate?

Next, Rakhi Sawant ki Swayanvar. Here’s a young woman who wants to get married, and wants to make money in the process of her selecting her better half, after subjecting him through multiple rounds of tests! I have heard some flippant talk about this being feministic! It’s one of most ridiculous things I have heard in the recent past. Just because a woman comes on screen, shoots off her mouth, wears skimpy clothes, and declares her wish to go through a traditional, Hindu marriage, does it make her a feminist? Or, should it be considered as a victory for the woman’s movement? I really would like to hear what the women groups have to say about the Rita bahuguna’s anti-woman and anti-dalit statements! Coming back to Rakhi Sawant: one is subjected to the processes involved in a traditional Hindu marriage, which in itself is highly derogatory to women, preceded by equally despicable ways in which Rakhi chooses her groom! In one of the episodes, the wannabe groom’s are made to write and read their ‘love’ for Rakhi! And, Rakhi evaluates each one on the basis of how she feels about each of them! Now, I really don’t know why one should choose a TV program to talk about such things! All for money! In the face of money, everything ceases to remain sacred or even human! Only the following came to mind as a fitting end to this story.

The bourgeoisie has stripped of its halo every occupation hitherto honoured and looked up to with reverent awe. It has converted the physician, the lawyer, the priest, the poet, the man of science, into its paid wage labourers.
The bourgeoisie has torn away from the family its sentimental veil, and has reduced the family relation to a mere money relation.--- The Communist Manifesto

Neeya Naana…give me a break!

I am really curious to know who are the producers of this really horrible program called neeya nana, which is hosted by some dim wit of a guy on Vijay TV! This program is aired on Sundays between 9:00 and 9:30 PM, perhaps with a 100 reruns of the same episode. The topics are usually provoking, well don’t expect if the discussions would be on neo-liberal policies or coalition politics or live-in relationships or domestic violence; it’s usually on something as inane as love vs. arranged marriages or something equally insulting the modest standards of human intelligence. Ok, the discussion that is happening tonight has sunk to an all-time low, which would have stirred or psyched even the traditionalists of the dark ages!

The discussion is between ‘businessman vs. wives–are they happy.’ Firstly, the title: people, business can be done by both sexes and people who do not adhere to any one sex as well. What gave you the right to assume a gender identity for a profession? Nextly, wives! Was this a place where women (well the business wives) could rant their rather indulgent anger on their business husbands? What was it? Were the producers or directors looking at the emergence of any possible domestic violence cases? Or, were they looking at alleviating the ‘misery’ of these ‘housewives?’ Or, was it a sneak, voyeuristic peek into these upper middle class homes? What was the whole point of the title? Didn’t it even strike them that there could be several thousands of business women in this progressive state of Tamil Nadu? What was really amusing was an ad in between that went on list the big women achievers! Was that a miss? Or, were you guys so out of sync with what you were doing? This one was just too obvious to miss!

Next, the panelists: most of the women wore a sindur. This is an interesting point, because this sindur thing is rather new in Tamil Nadu. Perhaps, thanks to Ekta kapoor’s serials, our women, from the land of Periyar and Bharatiyar (who openly declared war on casteism and chauvinism and called a woman who challenged the traditional mores of patriarchy a real woman), have so happily lapped up regressive practices that even their grandmoms didn’t have!

And, all the women continued to simply talk about how the husband wouldn’t pay ‘any’ attention to the household; of course, why would he, if you more than readily, perhaps gave up your career for marriage or the child, or didn’t study so that your parents may not be able to find a suitable groom for you? That’s not enough, there have been love marriages in which the women have done everything to ensure that the man becomes something ‘worthy.’ But, my question is, why didn’t the women do anything for themselves? And, you just find one vague TV program to share your rants or experiences? The men’s responses: typical! Oh yeah, we are so busy, you see; well, who are ‘we’ struggling for? It’s for the family!

My question: what was new about this whole exchange? Is this truly the reality? How come I see something very different? How come in my 7-8 years of working, I have had always had women bosses, except a couple of them? And, how come the corporate board rooms are filled with women? How come big political parties have women leaders? How do I reconcile with the fact that very soon, India might have an Obama moment: when a dalit woman becomes the prime minister? Especially, when I am assaulted with crap like this on prime time? I understand if it were these fictitious, gycerline-dependent serials, because I can just dismiss them at least on principle, especially with their disclaimer and all! Here, you have real people talking terrible stuff! Yeah, all the men are talking about how it is great to hear the child’s first word or how the child plays and the usual the home-bound nonsense! Yes men, that’s what we have always been telling! The women have had ENOUGH of hearing the babies and perfecting the art of creating new recipes, face packs (so that they are beautiful for you and your friends), pickles, home decoration, and all the prescribed stuff. Why don’t the men take over here for a change, after all, it’s the men who have been romanticizing the ‘woman’s job.’

Vijay TV’s program just left me hopping mad about this horribly antiwoman show! Somehow, it feels like the woman has no role to play in her life than just crib about her husband’s attention! Doesn’t she have anything to do? Is she just there to run the homestead for the businessman? And, mind you, the labor is unpaid, and she does not have any job security, she can get thrown out any time, she can be shortchanged, she does not any leave (PL/CL/SL), and every day she works overtime! It left a terrible taste in my mouth… where are we headed…