May 13, 2011 was a Friday- simply put as Friday the 13th. It is really God's truth and a Kindergarten fact that Friday the 13th is associated with bad omen, definite to bring ill luck, a day which usually is not eagerly awaited by the superstitious sect of people at-least. (The fear of Friday the 13th is Friggatriskaidekaphobia- don't waste your precious time trying to pronounce this word, as such you are wasting quite a bit reading this post. Much appreciated.)
#12 usually is seen as the 'complete' number (12 months in a year, 12 hours in a clock,12 apostles of Jesus etc.) on the other hand, its successor, #13 is 'considered' irregular, transgressing the completeness- this consideration totally correlates with 13th may 2011 with respect to 3 Indian states that went to polls and an expected irregular result in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. All the credulous people out there can party hard.
The state elections this time was not devoid of any drama. A huge thanks to the Indian News and Regional Channels. What better entertainment and way to kill time exists than watching the Idiot Box on D-day!?? More fun guaranteed than a Source Code or Tamil film. Especially once people in Tamil Nadu saw trailers of actor Vijay's much awaited movie "Velayutham" it was joy unbound for all- the fans (including myself - Illayathalapathi rocks!) and the anti- Vijay group of people who are waiting for the slightest openings possible to criticize him and make sure that he is described worse than a Sam Anderson. The entertainment is also brought to us LIVE by various group of self proclaimed great political minds who honestly are nothing but a bunch of people entre deux distinct age groups of 40- 58, either bald or barbigerous, who discuss the same point over and over and over again that after a point one tends to feel if its a recorded program and that the instantaneous-real time video display in built relay buffering system has gone for a holiday. Except for 5 or 6 experts, the rest of the 20 odd distributed in different channels came up a cropper. A real test of patience is not sitting through a reality show (Big Boss etc.) or a T.R / R.G.V movie, but these kind of shows.
If these are in one hand targeting the Eenglees speaking Indians, there is the regional channels on the other. These channels are so naive and out dated that they invite guest speakers on the show depending on the initial results got. If its favorable to the party that backs the channel, a special guest is introduced in the most despicable manner and seems as though he is paid to speak in praise of a party. Talks range from cheap points to highly obnoxious reality. It makes a typical "Peter person" go - Dude! get a grip on yourself man!.
( Sample- Thiru Kalaignar avargalin aatchiyil, ponathai adakkam seivadhil irundhu, b(P)alli mittai varai oozhal thalai virithu aadugiradhu! *Laughter* - It is supposed to be an alliteration with letter 'P', that explains the laughter. Appreciate the spontaneity and sense of humor people! ). He also goes to tell as if corruption is a dust on the floor that can be cleaned by one big sweep by Amma - excuse the pun.
Mind you,the perfect example of Anti thesis are the 2 regional channels. At exactly the same time, Ch1 shows Party a- 133, party d- 36 seats. Ch 2 shows party a- 146, party d- 19 seats (!!) and the English news channels are uniform in showing a fluctuation between 113 and 120 for party-a, proving they cared less or they forgot to update.
By this time, the M factor( Maa, Mati, Manush) worked wonders in West Bengal and a wave of green swept over the Red soil of Bengal. The winner, a lady, gave a wonderful interview like true Indians who speaks English in their mother tongue. Anyone thinking God alone is omnipresent and nothing else can come close, can change their mind. Three different channels broad-casted her interview LIVE simultaneously- guess 3G makes it possible. And the reason why the ruling party lost in such a humiliating manner in Bengal is due to a secret clause in the manifesto of TMC- bringing back Saurav Ganguly to Kolkata Knight Riders.
Back to regional channels, I almost fell out of my chair laughing when I saw the words "party d 'munnilai'" scrolling sidewards in Ch 1, when clearly party-dd had over taken them.Though I prefer English News channels, not that I am a highly intellectual person or anything, but it is the hatred I have developed towards the too much usage of pseudo names and titles- amma, puratchi thalaivi, doctor, mutamizh aringyar, kalaignar etc. (they make my college chairman, and director look like no hopers when it comes to proclamations.)
So, first Times Now. I am a huge Arnab fan. Simple reason that he is dynamic, sarcastic, merciless and most important- he thinks he is an Hero. He sits with a panel of 4 people through the day ( do these people have a chance to pee at all!?) and discusses the scenarios which are so dynamic, that they are an exact opposite to the discussion. I don't blame anyone if they are unable to hear the panelists speak, but you cannot miss the evergreen Arnab, with a pen in his hand say, " It has been a historic day for Indian democracy, for the first time ever in Indian democracy, a huge break through moment in the history of Indian democracy as we celebrate Women's day yet again...sorry to interrupt, but we have a breaking news story coming in right now at Times Now..."
Next, NDTV. Mr. Roy, is by far the most decent, seasoned, matured and soft spoken host of Indian television. It was sad to see him play second fiddle to a bloated Bharka who apparently is trying to look beautiful and goes about saying- "The d party has put up a brave face now, not succumbing to the media criticism or the mandate by saying they overlooked a few minor crucial points like the 2G scam in their pre poll meetings and also points out that one can see for themselves that there has been a change in the ruling party every 5 years.. On the other hand, the whole of Bengal has been painted green after a landslide victory..". Even after I change channels, I can hear her voice.
The 3rd channel is Cnn-Ibn. The special is hosted by Mr. Sirdesai, very intimidating and irritating at times to the panelists who quite has his head at the right place along with Ms.Ghosh who wears a sleeveless jacket adding the 'much' needed glamor quotient. (duh uh!). " To our viewers who have just joined in, our relaible sources are telling that party-a spearheaded by Dr.J are on the verge of a landslide victory, by getting their tactics right, make party-d bite the dust, single handedly turning the tables, playing the hard way, devising a fatal blow to Mr. KK, shuts the door hard, breaks the shackles, kicks reality hard enough... " and many more phrases come out of his gob as I switch to the next channel.
Headlines Today, is possibly the best gossip channel, better than Zoom or E24, that functions under the pseudo category of a News channel. What better to call a channel that dedicates a 30 minute program to Katrina's lingerie and Kareena's wardrobe!? (Bliss!!? ;-] ) . The election special is hosted by one Mr. Rahul who doesn't give anyone one on his show, the chance to finish what they started. He is your ideal Jam master.
The best part in these shows is the arrival of spokespersons. Especially that of UPA , Mr. A.M Singhvi or Mr. M. Tiwary. I was disappointed not to see Mr.Singhvi, guess he has taken a sabbatical or quit his job after the tirade against him during the Anna Hazare movement. Mr.Tiwary is your typical defensive spokesperson (He went to the extent of threatening people of filing a defamation suit if they offended him by passing comments even through twitter. You are free to call him what you want.) but a Rockstar nevertheless, simply because of his choice of words that makes even the panel members wonder why is he showing of his vocabulary skill when his party is down in the drains. Its about time that parties that lose elections underwent a spine implant surgery and showed some character.
Battles in few key constituencies were won hands down, a see-saw affair in few places, but still this coverage of D-day was not up to the mark.Two vital reasons are :
1. The captions associated with the news channels were as pathetic as slogan of Arasan's soap. Fancy these- Chennai Super Queen, Heavy weight of TN politics return. I can understand the intended puns in the above samples but "Its Go Green in TN and WB" !!?? More creativity please. Even Facebook statuses and Tweets had much more interesting one liners to offer!
2. No channel even bothered or spoke about one Mr. Vadivelu.
PS: If anyone finds this post offensive - kindly call me at 1800-kiss-my-a**.
#12 usually is seen as the 'complete' number (12 months in a year, 12 hours in a clock,12 apostles of Jesus etc.) on the other hand, its successor, #13 is 'considered' irregular, transgressing the completeness- this consideration totally correlates with 13th may 2011 with respect to 3 Indian states that went to polls and an expected irregular result in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. All the credulous people out there can party hard.
The state elections this time was not devoid of any drama. A huge thanks to the Indian News and Regional Channels. What better entertainment and way to kill time exists than watching the Idiot Box on D-day!?? More fun guaranteed than a Source Code or Tamil film. Especially once people in Tamil Nadu saw trailers of actor Vijay's much awaited movie "Velayutham" it was joy unbound for all- the fans (including myself - Illayathalapathi rocks!) and the anti- Vijay group of people who are waiting for the slightest openings possible to criticize him and make sure that he is described worse than a Sam Anderson. The entertainment is also brought to us LIVE by various group of self proclaimed great political minds who honestly are nothing but a bunch of people entre deux distinct age groups of 40- 58, either bald or barbigerous, who discuss the same point over and over and over again that after a point one tends to feel if its a recorded program and that the instantaneous-real time video display in built relay buffering system has gone for a holiday. Except for 5 or 6 experts, the rest of the 20 odd distributed in different channels came up a cropper. A real test of patience is not sitting through a reality show (Big Boss etc.) or a T.R / R.G.V movie, but these kind of shows.
If these are in one hand targeting the Eenglees speaking Indians, there is the regional channels on the other. These channels are so naive and out dated that they invite guest speakers on the show depending on the initial results got. If its favorable to the party that backs the channel, a special guest is introduced in the most despicable manner and seems as though he is paid to speak in praise of a party. Talks range from cheap points to highly obnoxious reality. It makes a typical "Peter person" go - Dude! get a grip on yourself man!.
( Sample- Thiru Kalaignar avargalin aatchiyil, ponathai adakkam seivadhil irundhu, b(P)alli mittai varai oozhal thalai virithu aadugiradhu! *Laughter* - It is supposed to be an alliteration with letter 'P', that explains the laughter. Appreciate the spontaneity and sense of humor people! ). He also goes to tell as if corruption is a dust on the floor that can be cleaned by one big sweep by Amma - excuse the pun.
Mind you,the perfect example of Anti thesis are the 2 regional channels. At exactly the same time, Ch1 shows Party a- 133, party d- 36 seats. Ch 2 shows party a- 146, party d- 19 seats (!!) and the English news channels are uniform in showing a fluctuation between 113 and 120 for party-a, proving they cared less or they forgot to update.
By this time, the M factor( Maa, Mati, Manush) worked wonders in West Bengal and a wave of green swept over the Red soil of Bengal. The winner, a lady, gave a wonderful interview like true Indians who speaks English in their mother tongue. Anyone thinking God alone is omnipresent and nothing else can come close, can change their mind. Three different channels broad-casted her interview LIVE simultaneously- guess 3G makes it possible. And the reason why the ruling party lost in such a humiliating manner in Bengal is due to a secret clause in the manifesto of TMC- bringing back Saurav Ganguly to Kolkata Knight Riders.
Back to regional channels, I almost fell out of my chair laughing when I saw the words "party d 'munnilai'" scrolling sidewards in Ch 1, when clearly party-dd had over taken them.Though I prefer English News channels, not that I am a highly intellectual person or anything, but it is the hatred I have developed towards the too much usage of pseudo names and titles- amma, puratchi thalaivi, doctor, mutamizh aringyar, kalaignar etc. (they make my college chairman, and director look like no hopers when it comes to proclamations.)
So, first Times Now. I am a huge Arnab fan. Simple reason that he is dynamic, sarcastic, merciless and most important- he thinks he is an Hero. He sits with a panel of 4 people through the day ( do these people have a chance to pee at all!?) and discusses the scenarios which are so dynamic, that they are an exact opposite to the discussion. I don't blame anyone if they are unable to hear the panelists speak, but you cannot miss the evergreen Arnab, with a pen in his hand say, " It has been a historic day for Indian democracy, for the first time ever in Indian democracy, a huge break through moment in the history of Indian democracy as we celebrate Women's day yet again...sorry to interrupt, but we have a breaking news story coming in right now at Times Now..."
Next, NDTV. Mr. Roy, is by far the most decent, seasoned, matured and soft spoken host of Indian television. It was sad to see him play second fiddle to a bloated Bharka who apparently is trying to look beautiful and goes about saying- "The d party has put up a brave face now, not succumbing to the media criticism or the mandate by saying they overlooked a few minor crucial points like the 2G scam in their pre poll meetings and also points out that one can see for themselves that there has been a change in the ruling party every 5 years.. On the other hand, the whole of Bengal has been painted green after a landslide victory..". Even after I change channels, I can hear her voice.
The 3rd channel is Cnn-Ibn. The special is hosted by Mr. Sirdesai, very intimidating and irritating at times to the panelists who quite has his head at the right place along with Ms.Ghosh who wears a sleeveless jacket adding the 'much' needed glamor quotient. (duh uh!). " To our viewers who have just joined in, our relaible sources are telling that party-a spearheaded by Dr.J are on the verge of a landslide victory, by getting their tactics right, make party-d bite the dust, single handedly turning the tables, playing the hard way, devising a fatal blow to Mr. KK, shuts the door hard, breaks the shackles, kicks reality hard enough... " and many more phrases come out of his gob as I switch to the next channel.
Headlines Today, is possibly the best gossip channel, better than Zoom or E24, that functions under the pseudo category of a News channel. What better to call a channel that dedicates a 30 minute program to Katrina's lingerie and Kareena's wardrobe!? (Bliss!!? ;-] ) . The election special is hosted by one Mr. Rahul who doesn't give anyone one on his show, the chance to finish what they started. He is your ideal Jam master.
The best part in these shows is the arrival of spokespersons. Especially that of UPA , Mr. A.M Singhvi or Mr. M. Tiwary. I was disappointed not to see Mr.Singhvi, guess he has taken a sabbatical or quit his job after the tirade against him during the Anna Hazare movement. Mr.Tiwary is your typical defensive spokesperson (He went to the extent of threatening people of filing a defamation suit if they offended him by passing comments even through twitter. You are free to call him what you want.) but a Rockstar nevertheless, simply because of his choice of words that makes even the panel members wonder why is he showing of his vocabulary skill when his party is down in the drains. Its about time that parties that lose elections underwent a spine implant surgery and showed some character.
Battles in few key constituencies were won hands down, a see-saw affair in few places, but still this coverage of D-day was not up to the mark.Two vital reasons are :
1. The captions associated with the news channels were as pathetic as slogan of Arasan's soap. Fancy these- Chennai Super Queen, Heavy weight of TN politics return. I can understand the intended puns in the above samples but "Its Go Green in TN and WB" !!?? More creativity please. Even Facebook statuses and Tweets had much more interesting one liners to offer!
2. No channel even bothered or spoke about one Mr. Vadivelu.
PS: If anyone finds this post offensive - kindly call me at 1800-kiss-my-a**.
ha ha ha @@ absolutely true!! headlines today , the time they dedicate towards cinema stuffs , its absolutely foolish! even at the time of announcing the results @ch 1 : party 1 leads!! and they start praising tat particular party by a bunch of jobless so called politicians!! at the same time wen u switch ti @ch 2 : the scene is just the opposite!!! "how foolish" if they cheat and confuse ppl in this simple , cheap matters , how do expect them to manage the govt of tamil nadu!! the highly prestigious post of "chief minister" has lost its value!! its now in the web of dirty politicians!! i pity the situation of my state! :( oly solution to this would be to bring "KO" movie to reality and make it happen!!edit the "ajmal" stuff!!:D :D i m talking abt "siragugal"!!! but tats oly a dream and it will stay as a dream for ever!!
ReplyDeleteLol :D Good one! :) Btw I think you forgot to mention about Khusboo :D
ReplyDeleteSK, it needn't stay a dream. We can make the change happen :D .. Proper age, mindset is what one requires, and the will. Hope for the best :)
ReplyDeleteOh!! Yeah.. Khushboo, the CP(M) leader Raja with his broken Englees. Forgot! :(
ReplyDeleteI actually like the way cnn ibn conducts the poll predictions....they do lack the dynamicity of a times now (who i believe are crude sensationalists) ,but they got their analysis right and their points regarding the poll were highly justifiable.Moreover i thought the other channels had an excessive no. of panelists. Completely agree with ur views on the regional channels though...On a personal front it is a huge problem when ur father is a fanatic of one party u know...
ReplyDelete