Dear Prannoy Babu....

Dear God,

I have been looking up options to get this letter to Prannoy Roy. Twitter and FB give me only so much space. See if you can do something.

Thanks much!


Dear Prannoy Babu,


For the record, I started following 24X7 because your newscasters/scroller didn't yell at me. 24X7 provided the escape route from your competition whose USP is scream to open headlines, scream Breaking news and most importantly, thrust views on the audience. Worse still, at the end of the 9 o'clock broadcast, the head honcho of one of the leading news channels spells out his expert (read useless) advice on the topic that was covered. Yet another channel pits clowns from various quarters, gets them to fight and hurl epithets while the opinionated facilitator would mouth "Why can't you be honest?"


Now your channel did two things initially which attracted my patronage - did not sell news/opinions to me and most importantly, didn't yell at me. Also, you reserved your services for genuine exclusives.


It is with regret now though that I write to you about the failing standards at 24X7 too. Hitherto, your trump card is where my disgust starts. She seems to think of herself as the conscience keeper of the nation. We the people are mighty frustrated with an opinionated facilitator who derides panelists if their thoughts are not populist and who compulsively opines after every panelist's/participant's statement. In-a-sense is oft abused especially when her statements open and close with it. Her style of reporting is passe and cliched at best. Take for instance, her show on Robert Vadra. The questions asked were based on fictitious ideas. Hardly researched, it is inconsequential to the audience if he is ready to join politics yet or what his wife, mom-in-law and brother-in-law think of his foray. Throughout the course of the show, she kept pressing on questions based purely on conjectures and media's imagination. Or that episode covering 10 years of Godhra - she wipes tears while empathizing with the victim and family. Reporting ethics! Hello!?!?!


All of your newscasters are stylized on the aforementioned she, 'in-a-sense'. So much so that I have observed that some of your newscasters openly mimic her statements and posture on various shows. Highly distracting to say the least, I lose focus on news items and/or the panelists' views. 


Sir, a lot of stress is being laid on content, material and self-restraint. While that continues to be a challenge across most leading news channels in our country, I feel that is still secondary to the standard of newscasters. Barring a noteworthy few (Keshulay Bhattacharjee, Nidhi Razdan, Radhika Iyer, Priyanka Kakodkar and Pallav Bagla), I am afraid the rest are either clones or just dumb bimbettes with no prior contextual knowledge of a subject. Pronunciations, especially regional, sound pathetic coming from some of these clowns. A few of the newscasters leave long interludes between two words leaving one to wonder if they were choked. A few others lay unnecessary stress on words that hardly need any. Let's reserve content for another day. But may I interest you with an earlier precis here and a fellow blogger's thoughts here


A generation has grown up watching a classy Prannoy casting news in a manner exclusive to him alone. That be the case, is it unfair to expect his channel to be modelled after him? I do not know of your interest in day-to-day operations but if you take feedback seriously and would like to champion the cause of journalism (in its truest form), it is time for you to sit up, take notice and bring about a change in your system


I remain, yours sincerely.

Eat it!

Dear God,

It was such a treat watching Mani Shanker Aiyar devouring Nirmala Seetharaman on last evening's episode of 'Left, Right and Center'.

In his words, "If we don't come to power, which is highly unlikely.....but Nirmala will continue to air her views from your studios" and "I can understand the opposition to the NAC but can't understand Nirmala's ignorance on the subject".

I am afraid I am becoming a fan of his. Hard nosed and snotty individuals deserve this treatment. Maybe I am perceptive and opinionated, but I don't appreciate the way Nirmala speaks. She is highly irritating.

Another name that I truly respect is Manish Tiwari. Amazing diction and what command over the language! His duels with Ravishankar Prasad are a treat. There is always some new phrase, idiom or a word to pick from his statements.

Advantage Tennis

Dear God,

Regardless of the result, Sunday will witness History being made at Center Court.

All of Switzerland and perhaps all of Center Court will hope for a Champion to equal a record. Metaphorically, Federer will therefore walk toe-to-toe with his predecessor, the great Sampras. My generation will witness a hallmark event in the sport, a phenomenon that may not be destined for the less fortunate subsequent. So much so, Federer may become synecdochial to Tennis.

On the other hand, Britannia will hope that its favourite child and No.1 will persuade a shift in how the world views England's contributions. Will Sunday be kind to a nation that has been oppressed in most forms of sport - Cricket, Tennis, Football alike? Given his recent form (esp the adorable drop shots and court coverage), Murray looks most able.

As you are aware, I am not a big fan of numbers, stats or trends. Performance on a given day supersedes all else. With Murray, though, I have an emotional connect. A side to me wants Murray to win, not only for the grandeur but also for Britannia's redemption (after 76 years!).

I will, however, let the outcome (irrespective) override the emotion.

Play!

What's in a name?

Dear God,

A certain computer manufacturer has named their next, 'Envy'. Nice, don't be surprised if you see products being named after the other deadly sins too!

Sample these -

1. Floating Tongues for an Ice cream parlour!!! (thankfully, that building was recently torn down). I'd hate walking past a joint named as such.

2. 4Play for a bargain basement. Come on! what were they thinking?!?!


Exactly what the idea is behind such macabre and sick naming conventions, is beyond me! I guess we simply have to resign to the brazen times we live in. 


What's in a name? Ho ho ho, a whole lot!

Senicide

Dear God,

A recent discussion led to forced euthanasia in India, predominantly practiced in the villages of Tamil Nadu. Thalaikoothal, a barbaric and a stone-age practice is the killing of the elderly who are now a burden on the family. It involves an early morning oil-bath followed by a diet of just coconut water. The victim is not given anything else to eat or drink. The result is high fever and death in 2 days. I gathered that some others have also been fed mud, congesting the alimentary canal and therefore leading to death....

I believe this practice exists, or did at one point, in many parts of the world. In ancient Japan, the elderly were taken to the mountains and abandoned to die of starvation! The impacted section - aged 70 or above.

A Tehelka sting brings to light the plight of one who escapes certain death by overhearing the scheming family in time. Yet, she doesn't whine or ire over her plight. Instead, she empathizes with the family's hardships and inability to take care of her. Another elderly would also have been a certain victim had he not run away from his family in time. Tehelka notes that this practice is endemic to the poverty-stricken villages in TN.


This is the treatment meted out to the bearers of a glorious past, to the ones who have handed down our culture, values and systems, and to the ones who may have sacrificed so much for what we are today. This, in a country that prides on respect for elders and attributes well-being and good fortune to the presence of elders in the family.

While on this, I read about a Japanese movie from 1983 - a moving tale of a mother being led to her fate by her son. En route, she leaves twigs so her son can find his way back. Truly moving! Cares for her offspring even during the last journey.

What can I say!

A beautiful problem

Dear God,

As I draft this account, all's well (or so it seems) with Tennis nominations for the upcoming Olympics. At the onset of the controversy, it appeared that there were four camps - Mahesh and Rohan (who seemed to have mutually agreed to maintain their dissent partnering Paes), Sania Mirza (who needed her 15 seconds to fame, she played the 'chauvinism' card and got the 15 secs), Leander Paes (who seemed to be bent upon partnering with none but Mahesh) and the AITA (clueless!).

I have no clue who's right and continue to believe what turns out in the media - print or TV. Nonetheless, from being a nation that barely knew the sport, to this day that's witnessing bitter debates over the nominations is saying a lot of the increasing awareness of the game and the immense talent we have been able to nurture. Needless to mention, for a change, Cricket is not the talking point.

Most certainly, very positive times in the sports arena.