POSERS TO THE MEDIA

Media plays a role in changing perceptions on issues that confront us on a day to day basis. It is small wonder then that a person of the stature of Winston Churchill remarked that there was nothing called public opinion and only published opinion existed. Take the recent events which have hogged the limelight and prime time of most television channels and one would wonder as to what extent media could descend in its endeavour to establish its influence over the executive and the judiciary.

The 26/11 was the watershed when the people noticed the clamour of the media on the need to send a strong message to the world at large. Months before laymen had borne the brunt of the violence and had been dubbed as the spirit of the respective cities merely because the victims were mere mortals - equality means some are more equal than others.

Move over to the Prathiba case. The judgement came as a shocker to the culprit. The noose would have been better on amy day. The sentence of imprisonment till death with no option for even commutation would send shivers down the spine of any person who desires or lusts in future. Imagine the torture of leading a life in a cell lifelong and compare it to the trauma of a few days hallucinating the noose and ending with a noose. This was truly a case of Daniel having come to judgement. Understandably the kin of the respective persons were moved by the emotions on their own counts but where did the media end up in this debate?

The trauma of this victim is no less to that of that of other such victims. Has the media played a positive role in bringing to book the culprits in cases which involve lesser mortals? Should they not be taking this responsibility? Should they not be highlighting the excellent work done by some in their respecive fields while baying for the blood of the culprits? Questions which media should sit and ponder over.

SEASONS AND THEIR PLAY

Seasons of time and seasons of life have been eternally intertwined by illustrious poets. The day was one of remembrance of the Father of the nation. October second had dawned and even as I had just finished my breakfast with a sweet to top it, the telephone rang incessantly. As I diligently picked the receiver, I found the young man at the other end having mixed feelings of joy as well as expectations. He enquired about me and sought an assurance that I would not laugh at the news he was about to share. There was an inkling that this young man who had been married for about 10 months would in all probability be telling me that he would soon be a father. However, I chose caution over valour and handed him the solemn assurance.

Even as the assurance was handed over, he laughed and said that may be I was aware but still he would share the news with me on first person count. The news was he had become a father the previous afternoon. Apparently, he was bestowed with a healthy boy though the mother had to go through a caesarian. As I was sharing his joy, I could hear the buzz of another person trying to reach me. But I did not wish to cut short the joy and pleasure of a young father all of 26 years far from his young wife and newborn son as well as his parents. After a good half an hour of drenching in the joy of this young lad, I felt that the sweet of the morning had been well served.

Another call came in from my fried informing me that he had changed his schedule for the day and he would not be able to meet me. Empathising with his needs I deferred to his wishes and placed the receiver back.

The telephone rang again. I was a bit annoyed at the invention. Days of peace were lost, I thought to myself as I raised the receiver. It was a call from a sister of my old class mate. ( If yours truly can be old then his classmate would be no lesser ain't it?) Even as I settled down for a long chat, she reprimanded me on long telephonic chats and got down to business. She informed me that the ailing father of our mutual friend had just breathed his last and I should be by his side. Understanding the enormity of the issue I rushed to the home to offer my tributes and condolences.

The friend of ours was in an inconsolable state while his mother was in shock. I refrained from offering any words and motioned to his wife for a few words of succour. After the passage of a few minutes I found him giving vent to his grief and regrets. Taking charge, I subtly told him that he should be the pillar of strength for his bereaved mother. Soon relatives and friends came in and I left the family in their hands.

Trekking back home, I realised that nature had taught me the best lesson of the birth and death cycle. Fatherhood for one and the loss of father's shadow for another. Few days later, I found myself in a good positon to handle a delicate issue of emotions with less ado. It is obviously that the proverbs and adages were written by experienced souls.
Spring and autumn mired themselves at my place and nature had its last say for this emotional fool.

CRISIS TO SUCCESS

The print media and electronic media have spent hours at end and reams of papers to highlight the mess at the Commonwealth Games. The same people spent some more time on the enchanting opening ceremony. It was interesting to note that this had the familiar ring tones of the early nineties when the country's economy was in the doldrums followed by a spectacular rise to bring home the mortgaged gold as well as prepay some debts. The eerie feeling of a clampdown economically in the early seventies and the early part of this century was another reminder too. The common trait of both was the epicentre being Pokhran. Did not people predict the fall of the Railway monolith only to later be awed by its profitability?

Yes the Indian seismograph always means a quake is followed by a grand event. A crisis always precedes a successful endeavour. These musings only reminded me of a tale oft quoted by my friend. According to him, an American, a Japanese and an Indian represented by the legendary Sardar were being interviewed for handing over a project. After a lot of minute details being spelt out by the panel, the American sought two years to complete the project with costs in US dollars of course!!! The Japanese twittered his fingers shrinked his nostrils made airy calculations and spelt out a time of an year to complete the project at half the cost to be paid in Japanese yen. The panel had decided that the contract would be bagged by the Japanese but for ethical considerations placed the facts before the Sardar. Imagine the expressions on the face of the panel members when the Sardar posed a question instead of responding with a time frame. His answer was " What is the deadline and what is your budget?" The panel members after regaining composure queried the Sardar what he meant by this response. The Sardar non chalantly replied we Indians gear up once a deadline is nearing and can give you the same for any budget that suits you. The quality would vary according to your budget that's all.

The contract was bagged by the Sardar for two months with a shoe string budget. At the end of one month nothing had commenced. At the end of another fortnight work was picking pace. Soon the panel members hiked the budget but would not waive the time line. The contract was executed to perfection in Indian Rupees which was much lesser than any other budget. Yes given a crisis we outperform anyone.

Anyone disagreeing please reminiscence a marriage scene - if everything is fine then a crisis is created to instil the thrill but imagine the scene of a tragedy the crisis is already there and the best comes out. We have now again exhibited this trait and soon we will do so by hosting the Olympics.