2008 - Nothing new about it

The new year started off in a very innocuous way. I mean, nobody could have imagined that the initial days will be loaded with so many negative incidents that stare at us in our face and ask us "Where in the hell are you?"

First, there was this ugly incident in Mumbai about a newly married couple getting roughed up by an unruly crowd. The small group of people wanted to have a taste of new year celebration in India but they ended up being immediately surrounded by the wrong group of people. Whatever happened in Mumbai on that new year night, can bring any Indian to shame.

The couple were right in refusing to come back to Mumbai for the identification parade of the suspects ...the police should be congratulated for allowing them the privacy they wanted post the trauma.. what was more deplorable were the photos of molestation being splashed across the pages of most papers and news web sites the next day. Do we need to see graphic details of a young woman being molested by an unruly crowd to know the news? What kind of guys can sit and select suitably exposed photos to accompany a story on molestation? That is really sad indeed. Talk about respecting individuals and granting their right to dignity.

Then, the channels were awash with images of a class ten student gunning down a class 8 student over an unknown issue within a month of another such incidence in a Delhi School earlier. What are our schools turning out? How can the parents be so careless about how they store weapons at home allowing free access to children? Who taught these kids to use a gun?

Then there was this murder inside Shantiniketan...this one seemed to be a case of settling personal score but guys, do you realise that the name of the Institution stands for such a respectable tradition and is almost respected like a temple by the whole world? To let such incidents happen inside a University of such repute is itself a shame on our system.

And now, whatever channel one turns to, there is this cricketing controversy involving the India & Aussie teams. Anyone who is someone is in the news on some channel or the other giving verdicts and throwing free advice to BCCI, ICC or anyone about how they should run the business. There were city wise, and (Sic!) Genderwise polls about what should the BCCI do - most people said India should pull out of the tour and come back to India immediately. How unfortunate. I don't think so. Surprisingly, the Australian media had turned agianst Ponting's behaviour and 61% of Australian respondents said they want him sacked.

I liked Sanjay Manjrekar's view that the Indians should rather reply through their game rather than any other means. Play them and defeat them at their own game in a straight forward game. He said that will bring them to their knees more than an orchestrated settlement or revokement of sentences by match refree. By end of the day the world got to learn that Bucknor is out, Bhajji is in, Hogg is in the red light for verbal abuse, the series will go on and Bhajji can play but the verdict on him is pending and what not...Gentlemen, can a sport be played like a sport, please ?

And, by the way, don't we have any thing more important to analyse on TV shows?

Sincerely, the way TVs sensationalise daily events is taking more and more of comic proportions than real value.

What a beginning to a new year :---( ( a long, long very long face .)