Enemies in the newsroom

Watching a news channel is very risky affair, you run the risk of believing something that may not be true at all. It is quite surprising that agencies of repute in the print media have allowed their news channels to distort and sensationalize every bit of information available in their hand. Small issues are blown out of proportion, unconnected people are interviewed, public views are being solicited without any reason, with footages repeating time and again, the same stories being told and retold several times and public figures are repeatedly misinterpreted to create news.

All of this is only until something else comes their way and the next sensation is created. I sometimes, wonder that all of what is shown, spoken about, exaggerated becomes so worthless, just because there is something else to talk about. I also keep thinking about some of those topics that were "breaking news" sometime ago, such as the Arushi murder case, Nithari killings, Swine Flu epidemic , IPL scams etc., which have already been archived by news channels.

Well, the media is not interested any more because, those issues may not evoke any interest in the viewers. But if someone choses to sensationalize a new finding in those old issues and there is a chance to enhance the TRP, why not? Suddenly, it starts making sense. Isn't all this indicating the fall of the responsible media and the rise of selfish, greedy, insensitive media with a goal of making money and nothing else?

I saw an advertisement in Times of India, " Arnab Goswami in conversation with Kalmadi on the truth of CWG ". Many may not find anything wrong in it , but to me, it symbolizes a sense of vicarious pleasure the media draws by putting public figures in front of the people, just to be mangled intellectually by misbehaving interviewers. And by advertising, we all are invited to witness an ugly display of the ill-gotten power of the media in the name of news.

The news personalities are the ones who create news. If a big name in the industry tells the story, it is bigger than truth. A recent movie " Rann" highlights the same issue in very minute details. I have validated some truths from the friends in the industry and found them to be true.

People of India are very unfortunate. In an era , where there is a hope to bring equality and promote responsibility amongst its people, media is acting irresponsibly. I wonder sometimes, whom do we really have in our newsrooms, friends or enemies?

Genius Gulzar

If there is a master of using ambiguity as a stylistic-aid and abstractism in mainstream poetry , he can be none other than “Gulzar”. A genius and a poet par excellence. Oftentimes, his poetry follows a style that incorporates the use of simple, real or imaginative events that you and I can relate to, for specific metaphoric representation.

There are many examples that prove that, especially “ Hazaar Rahen” from the Rajesh Khanna starrer “thodi si bewafai’ remains my favorite from Gulzar’s treasure

“जहाँ से तुम मोड़ मुड गए थे , वोह मोड़ अब भी वहीँ पड़े हैं ,
हम अपने पैरों में जाने कितने , भंवर लपेटे खड़े हुये हैं".

His poetry has given rise to a new style of rhyming in the contemporary stanza structure. Some of his poems also display a certain level of incoherency or arcane imagery. The song “Chappa Chappa Charkha Chale” from Maachis is one such masterpiece.

There are many others enchanting works of his which are unforgettable and enthralling. His style is unique and his language simple, yet the thought is deep. The metaphors transcend you into an imaginative world, yet keeping you close to real life.

Madhushala

हरिवंशराय बच्चन के महाकाव्य "मधुशाला" की कुछ पंक्तियाँ प्रस्तुत हैं, जो मुझे बहुत पसंद हैं। राष्ट्र-कवी 'बच्चन', ने मधुशाला की समानता इस जगत के साथ, और मधु अथवा हाला की जीवन के सफलताओं अथवा मोक्ष के साथ कर, मनुष्य के जीवन से जुड़े सभी सन्दर्भों का दार्शनिक वर्णन किया है।

"लिखी भाग्य में जितनी बस उतनी ही पाएगा हाला,
लिखा भाग्य में जैसा बस वैसा ही पाएगा प्याला,
लाख पटक तू हाथ पाँव, पर इससे कब कुछ होने का,
लिखी भाग्य में जो तेरे बस वही मिलेगी मधुशाला"।

"अपने युग में सबको अनुपम ज्ञात हुई अपनी हाला,
अपने युग में सबको अदभुत ज्ञात हुआ अपना प्याला,
फिर भी वृद्धों से जब पूछा एक यही उत्तर पाया,
-अब न रहे वे पीनेवाले, अब न रही वह मधुशाला!"।

अमिताभ बच्चन के स्वर में 'मधुशाला' की कुछ पंक्तियाँ इस विशेष प्रस्तुति में:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO_2Ypeq6KM

Remembering Salil Chowdhury

Salil Da, as he is known, is a musical genius. Many of his compositions were a mystical blend of the Indian and Western classical music. He always said that his genre is one which will transcend borders and will be emphatic. He was an equally good poet and a story writer and also very good music arranger, a rare combination, which he confessed, confused him many a time.

Salil Da’s love for Western classical started when he was a young boy living in the tea gardens of Assam. The source being, a large number of records and gramophone of an Irish doctor. The song “ Mausam Beeta Jaye” from his maiden hindi film “Do Bigha Zameen” was based on the famous red army marching song. Another famous composition “Itna Na Mujhse Tu Pyaar Badha” from the film “Chhaya” was based on Mozart’s Symphony No. 40.

Salil Da’s mastery over the Indian classical & folk music was remarkable. Compositions for the 1958 Dilip Kumar starrer “ Madhumati” are easily the most breathtaking music ever created in the history of Indian cinema. The rare gems of his melodious creations in Maaya, Kabuliwala, Rajnigandha, Anand and Mausam are some of my favorites. One of them being a song from film Maya “Ja Re Udhja Re Panchhi” , which remains to be my all time favorite. None other than Lata Mangeshkar, could have done justice to that composition.

Salil Da’s Genre was unique and has left a lasting impression on the people of his generation and beyond.

Pragmatism or Values

In a recent employee engagement activity, a discussion on the topic “Pragmatism or Values”, ended in a debate on whether pragmatism, necessarily means compromise with your value system.

For many, pragmatism meant a deviation from the ethical practice to reach one’s goals. I argued that both the terms, ‘pragmatism & values’, have a deeper meaning to them and are related, but are not mutually exclusive. The presence of one doesn’t necessarily mean the absence of the other.

Collin's dictionary defines pragmatism as “the doctrine that, the content of a concept consists only in its practical applicability and that truth consists not in correspondence with the facts but in successful coherence with experience”. To simplify, it means a practical “fact of the matter” approach towards taking action that leads to known consequences or those experienced in the past.

The term 'Values', on the other hand, has been defined as “the generally accepted mode of conduct and the set of norms, goals, and beliefs binding any social group for determining what is desirable or undesirable , which serve as a frame of reference for the individual or the group in their pursuits”.

In essence, one can be pragmatic in one’s approach while being within the boundaries of one’s value system. I would lay special emphasis on the word ‘generally accepted’, which means such a belief or norm must comply with the social and legal system as well.

In our day-to-day lives, we make many such decisions based on our knowledge of the possible consequences without breaching the limits of the values that drive us.

IPL..vision for the future

A game of cricket might have been won, but the credibility of IPL and the people behind is lost. While the investigations and judgements will take their own course, it is time that we, as Indians, and for the love of cricket, demand a fair and transparent administration of this sport. I have a suggestion to end the current crisis and would like to share that with you.

As an immediate measure to put a method to this madness, each franchisee must be incorporated as a public limited company where 60% of the shares must be offered to the public via the IPO route and 40% can remain with Franchisee owners as promoters of the company. In such a case the future market cap or valuation will be decided by the stock market, which I am sure is quite sensitive to the industry fundamentals.

I can see two huge benefits. One, The administration of the IPL will be carried out under the well established regulatory and governance mechanism put in place by Govt bodies such as SEBI, ICAI, Dept of Company Affairs etc. And Second, it converges India's biggest passion (cricket) with its economic engine i.e the stock market and allows people to share wealth while they cheer for their favorite team. Additionally, the menace of illegal betting can be reduced as people will prefer to derive benefits via the stock market rather than the illegitimate means.

Just think, what is getting created here.....A situation which is referred by the economists as " Consumer surplus" where you enjoy your favorite sport and make money too.

Most organizations in the modern world stress upon being passionate towards goals, customers needs, values and ethics that the organization stands for. The organization I was working for a few years ago, was no different. The whole atmosphere was so charged up and it was difficult to escape. After a few years, it was incomprehensible to have a day at work without passion to excel and exceed all expectations.

I was pursuing some of the hardest tasks, many of them unheard of, before. I was taking on challenges that stretched my thought and mind. I was discovering new things about myself everyday. Every time a task was accomplished, I experienced a rare feeling of pride and pleasure. With time, I was deeply in love with those accomplishments and was flying high. So much so, that they became a need for me and I developed an addiction to everything around me and now before I could realize I was obsessed with perfection and the feeling of being the winner always.

But not everyday is yours. With one stroke of failure, things began to change. The usual things started to fail. It was like a chain reaction. One after another, all my good work turned inept and I was just wondering why? It took a while for me to understand what was going on and really needed to fight back. I gathered courage and opened this topic with a senior HR colleague. He heard me for a good 45 minutes, looked into my eyes and said in a deep voice, “You are too involved” Detach!” There was a silence in his room for about thirty seconds, before a phone call breached it and got us moving in different directions.

We could never discuss this topic again, but I was left with a thousand questions in my mind. I introspected and learnt that my mind was working tirelessly on finding ways to manage perception. It was not willing to accept that I had actually failed and overlooked the pertinent need to do small things differently. I was actually in a spiral. My colleague's words resonated in my mind. He was mentioning about detaching from my favorite pass-time of that time, ‘thinking about myself’. I chose to go with him.

I pushed myself to stay objective on the task on hand and do what it demands. I tried to stay focused and not worry about how any action could help or harm me. I just started doing what I felt was right. I felt lighter and less stressed. Gradually, things were back to where they were a few months ago. I felt the change.

My colleague’s advice probably made the most profound impact on my thinking. I started to understand how important it was to nurture a deep passion for our goals, for our customers and values to make us successful, but at the same time, we must also allow our mind to keep us steady, away from prejudice and fear.

Who wants to be a teacher

In a society where we are taught that the ‘guru’ or the teacher is god, we have reduced teaching to a mere profession that is no longer treated with the respect and reverence that it deserves. In the era of the right to education, there is much to be debated and much to be done as we go along.

Imparting education to one and all will need a committed and dedicated effort from all segments of our society. And more so, from our teachers. But do we have the teachers who can do this for us? Perhaps, this is the biggest worry of our HRD minister. The need for good and capable teachers could never be bigger than what it is today. Do we have them? Can we create them?

Without meaning any offence to our teachers, teaching as a profession doesn’t attract the most bright and capable. It is known that students who have other choices don’t want to make their careers in teaching because it is neither monetarily attractive, nor does it offer the challenge that other professions do. The general thinking is, if they did, it will be more of social work than a choice in normal course.

Teachers are also responsible for the current state of affairs. We keep witnessing instances where teachers have stooped so low and breached the trust placed on them, often disregarding the moral values and causing irrepairable damage to the general demeanor of a teacher. How unfortunate is such a society? Teachers, not only should act morally, but they also should conduct themselves in a manner that they appear moral and as role models to others.

In a country where 93% education is imparted by Government Schools, it would be difficult for the HRD minister to get the new generation to agree to become teachers in schools that lack basic infrastructure, integrity and discipline and are governed by set of rules that have never kept pace with changing face of India.

When we set ourselves to bring a big change or transformation, we must have a deep appreciation of the constraints and factors that can fail us. The lack of good teachers can be one of them and can dampen our enthusiasm. It time to take the right steps and make an effort to change the image of teachers in our society, make the profession more challenging and rewarding both monetarily and philosophically and make it a career of choice and not an altruistic act of social work.

With the Right to Education Act, a new era begins. In the uphill task of ensuring every child enjoys this right, the role of the society is immense and deep. The Minister of HRD rightly points out that unless the society acts, demands and questions, any such transformation will not bring the desired results.