Channel surfer
By
Randeep
Wadehra
Kaun banega rashtrapati? This question has suddenly assumed
more importance than it normally should. Generally it has been a given that the
ruling party’s nominee would get elected – although VV Giri had upstaged Neelam
Sanjiva Reddy in 1969, courtesy Indira Gandhi. When Mamata Banerjee and Mulayam
Singh Yadav decided to “defy” the Congress Party Headlines Today could not hide
its glee – as if the NDA had won the Presidential election stakes. On Times Now
different experts tied themselves in knots while trying to infer new
developments like Manmohan Singh’s name being proposed, along with that of
Somnath Chatterrjee and APJ Abdul Kalam. NDTV, too, seemed to have been
flummoxed by the cropping up of these names. Obviously, till the time of this
piece’s submission, no one was sure about who would get the final nod –
although most of the experts were inclined towards Pranab Mukherjee becoming
the UPA’s – or whatever is left of it – candidate. Nonetheless, mathematical
equations were still being computed to guess whether NDA would be able to trump
UPA.
Satyamev Jayate’s 10 June
episode (Star Plus, Doordarshan etc) focused on a marginalized stratum of the
society, viz., the physically challenged. Certain pertinent points were made,
viz., the country’s disabled populations wait endlessly for enabling gestures
from the government; India has pegged the disabled population at 2% of the
total while USA and UK have 5% to 9%! The gods have apparently been
particularly kind towards us Indians. One point was not made: neither town
planning nor building architecture is disabled-friendly. As for employers, the
less said the better. However, the show lauded one Captain Brar, who considers
his disabled employees as asset, and not beneficiaries of his meharbaanee.
How will it affect lovers? This
question followed the Venus’s transit across the sun on TV and astrologers vied
with astronomers for airtime. In real life love stands eclipsed by harsh
realities wherein distrust, betrayal and violence rule supreme. Various talk
shows had their own takes on love and relationships. Satyamev Jayate
took on Haryana’s formidable Khaaps while discussing love-marriage related
issues. The invited Khaap elders expressed their abhorrence for love-marriages
because these are driven by “vaasna (passion or lust)”, and mumbled
something about parampara. One really wishes the show had not confined
itself to merely debunking the old system but had focused on suggesting a
viable alternative instead. The society has to function according to certain
rules, which ought to be in tune with changing social scenarios. Let us not
forget that gotra based marriages have certain positive aspects too,
viz., they ensure prevention of inbreeding and incest. Perhaps, this message
could be delivered through moral suasion rather than coercion? Unfortunately,
Amir Khan’s smart one-liners and lighthearted rejoinders nixed an opportunity for
serious deliberations on such matters.
Meanwhile, more than one invitee
sang paeans to love as if it is available in abundance in its most innocent and
authentic form, ignoring the possibility that love also can have some unsavory
aspects. Recall these lines from Milton’s Paradise Lost, “Of Man’s
first disobedience, and the fruit/Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste/Brought
death into the World, and all our woe...” And woes have been dogging a
veteran politician for quite some time now. The N.D. Tiwari case was hanging
between the sleazy and the seriocomic when the Supreme Court’s orders nudged it
into a saner direction. But, the case has unleashed mirthfest on TV. On The
Week That Wasn’t (CNN-IBN) there were a whole lot of persons whose DNA tests
“proved” that they had a common father.
What would a child know of love
and marriage? However, quoting from the Shariat laws of 1937 and 1939 vintage,
the Delhi High Court recently upheld a 15 year old girl’s marriage as valid.
Some of the panelists on The Buck Stops Here (NDTV) wondered whether
such laws ought not be amended and brought in tune with the changing times as
well as the country’s Constitution. Then followed the news of young girls’ travails
in Haryana’s Apna Ghar; the perpetrators should be reminded of these words from
W.H. Auden’s A Certain World, “All sin tends to be addictive, and the
terminal point of addiction is what is called damnation”.
The edited version published
in The Tribune dated June 24, 2012
No comments:
Post a Comment