The Ground Reality

I was in a cab driving by the Dadar area of Mumbai and came to halt at a signal called Prabhodhankar Thackeray chowk named after Bal Thackeray's father. My cabbie threw a look at the statue of the man and commented that his two grandsons have gone to great lengths to assert their lineage - one put up an umbrella over the statue and the other his party flag. Of course, he was referring to Uddhav and Raj. More out of courtesy (to acknowledge his observation) than curiosity, I asked him if the MNS can survive on its own. And that got him talking.

He was intrigued that in this day and age, we have separatist politics when we should be drawing inspiration from migrants who put in insane hours of work. He felt this strategy may have worked 10 years ago when leaders were demigods. Now, people are wiser. He then wondered who is a Mumbaikar anyway? Is he the one that speaks Marathi, then how is he different from a Marathi Manoos and others that have learnt the language? Is he the one that is born here? But then migrant kids are born here too. Do people who own land and property in Mumbai should be considered Mumbaikars? Not only do a lot of migrants qualify, but a number of natives will be left out. The conversation was cut short as I reached my destination, but he closed out saying he is a Maharastrian himself and finds this whole thing comical. Worryingly though, he said his line of reasoning is not popular when he talks to fellow cabbies and others in his circle.

So it seems the Sena and MNS will have enough to go on. And I wish they do, at least verbally. The barbs traded by political parties on Mumbai and IPL issues are sheer delight. Modi wondered if a letter in Italian might stem price rise whereas the Sena politely declared that even in the extreme case of Mumbai being thrown open to Indians, Italians are still unwelcome. What sense of humor! Thankfully, the clashes havent gotten physical, and I hope they dont. It'll be a shame for this entertainment to stop. And Rahul Gandhi is gladly obliging with one faux pas after the other, and for once, I am egging him on.

The reality of reality shows

Have you noticed that entertainment channels are big on reality, whereas the reality channels (news) are big on entertainment? I wonder if this is an inevitable side-effect of globalization, internet revolution, the fusing of different media, and Thomas Friedman's flat world. When I grew up, TV was an escape from reality. In a typical middle-class household, the man back from a day's toil, the woman exhausted after household chores, the kids finished with their homework and studies get together in front of the TV to let go of their everyday woes and immerse themselves into the world of the protagonist of a soap opera. Of course, shows of this genre are still popular. In fact, it is plentifully available, albeit stretched beyond the wildest imagination of a sensible human being. Yet, they can be pardoned for they continue to provide viewers a respite from their daily routines.

But how does one explain reality shows? It is the cheapest form of entertainment and caters to one emotion and one emotion only – schadenfreude. (I admit I looked the word up when writing this post.) It means enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others, which is exactly what we get out of reality shows. One might mistakenly conclude that shows such as Zee Saregama or even Indian Idol are different, for they unearth hidden talent. Have you seen episodes where they play the auditions? If the motive was to find the best, why waste airtime on showing the worst? And even in the main competition, you cheer for someone you like, and pray the other guys lose. You go thru the same feelings when watching a soap opera, you root for the bahu and hate the saas or vice-versa. That's good for an artificial show with artificial characters – you switch off the TV and they disappear. But reality shows have real people in them whom you hardly know but are loving or hating them. And your decisions – such as voting - change their life forever. Do we realize this responsibility? What we get from watching shows such as Sach ka Saamna, Big Boss etc should now be obvious.

Are quiz shows, KBCs and Dus ka Dam different? Only slightly. Lesser of the evils, if you want to call them that. I have watched innumerable BQC episodes where I was filled with glee as teams from Chennai got a drubbing. Why? Just because I didn't care much for that city. I am sure we have similar reasons for rooting for or hating a contestant on KBC or any such show.