MSD and Hounds of Mediavilles

(My younger sister is a big fan of Mahender Singh Dhoni and she has him on “Google alert”. She forwarded me the necessary links on Media coverage of MSD’s marriage based on which I am making my opinion here. Also, out of curiosity I made special efforts to watch some of that drama on various channels. Otherwise, I completely stay away from Hindi news channels. Though I understand a couple of regional languages but I don’t torture myself by watching any of them.)

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Even if – I’m simply making an assumption here - MSD hasn’t read Sherlock Holmes’ spy adventure in Baskervilles, yet he would have easily identified the surrounding hounds of Mediavilles during his marriage! In those “Doon” days the Indian paparazzi phenomenon acquired a new proportion the face of which was pretty ugly. Thankfully the English News channels (I vouch for Times Now, NDTV and CNN-IBN only) maintained their balance otherwise the Hindi ones resembled one big consortium all out on a big game safari! Not that the print was any far behind in the crazy game! And, crazy it was - to use a mild expression!

MSD “faulted” in wanting to have some peaceful and personal moments with his immediate family and close friends during his marriage. Media’s “fault” was it could not digest the fact that in today’s 24x7 news environment it had to lose out on “live” coverage of a “big ticket” event like marriage of the Indian cricket team’s captain. After all, Media is used to getting all-details-provided “special invites” to such celebrities’ weddings.

The funniest part – which was not funny at all - of the whole drama during MSD’s marriage days was the erroneous reporting being indulged into by the Media. Every reporter seemed to have manufactured on-the-spot his or her own version of MSD-Sakshi love story – their childhood, their meeting, their dating and their marriage – their life in totality. Nobody seemed to have any knowledge about most of the things. Still every channel was trying to outdo others by resorting to never-seen-before tactics on television. The “surround scribes effect” was quite hilarious!

I am sure no other “Breaking News” – the “real” ones of big magnitude - would have succeeded in “Breaking” the series of “Breaking News” on MSD’s marriage rituals. The “accuracy” of ritual timings being flashed – ‘broken’ – on the television screen gave an impression as if one was witnessing Olympics sporting events! So what if every channel had a different timing for the same ritual! Every channel was claiming precision of the timings as if they were being fed with updated tweets by MSD himself!

But the biggest problem I had with Media’s “intrusive” journalism – at its worst, I must say! – in those “Doon” days was the “divisive” reportage they had adopted plainly out of revenge. The Media was unabashedly trying to forge a permanent divide between MSD and his team members – all those “unfortunate” and “uninvited” ones. Media’s “divide & rule” policy was certainly unpardonable. The arrogance of the Media was repulsive.

Also laughable was the “response” of a few cricketers to Media’s bait i.e. provocative questioning – Gautam Gambhir in particular. Sadly, though our national cricket team members are exposed to the international sporting ambience, they are yet to graduate to being truly international – global – in their attitude. They are yet to break free from their “Indian” mentality – of being Deewana in Begani shaadi!

Our esteemed cricketers and the esteemed Media need to be made to understand the difference between “personal” and “professional” aspects of one’s life, even if it involves a fellow cricketer or a celebrity. They also need to be regularly updated on the international stature personalities’ weddings: that how those are held, who all are invited and “not” invited, and how the rest of the world – Media included – reacts to a particular occasion.

In fact, today is a big learning day for our Media, and cricketers: The only daughter of the ex-president of the United States of America is getting married. And not every president/prime minister – ex-/current – of all countries, UN officials included, and every diplomat he probably shook hands with on this earth has been invited for Chelsea’s marriage; the entire bunch of current US senators perhaps has also not been invited. And, all hell is not going to break loose on Bill and Hillary Clinton for keeping their daughter’s wedding a private affair and away from the prying eyes of the omnipresent Media.

Even if the western media paparazzi is quite infamous for their extreme brand of “intrusive” journalism, by tomorrow morning the world will know that the “reaction” of the world Media hasn’t been over-the-board even if they were not invited in full numbers: in contrast to the Indian Media’s outrage and outrageous behaviour during and post MSD’s marriage.

In conclusion: Even though the Indian news market and thus the news channels (I have same advice for the print media) have evolved but in numbers only; the Indian Media has to evolve in its conduct as well: from being “hounds” to “humble and sensible”.

Till then: MSD, you did the right thing by keeping the intrusive elements out of your personal celebrations. You are a “public” figure but you are fully entitled to a “private” life and your “personal” life is nobody’s business. Hopefully other celebrities will learn from you. … Congratulations, to you and Sakshi :)

India-US-Pak Triangle and My Umbrella

I was watching Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the over-the-top Foreign Minister of Pakistan at his theatrical best during the joint press conference with his US counterpart recently that the memories of my childhood’s multi-coloured umbrella came rushing in! I smiled, and soon started laughing! It was such a sweet memory, after all :)

I remember I had just started going to school. My parents gifted me a beautiful multi-coloured umbrella. And I instantly fell in love with it. My attachment became so ardent with that little piece of my initial few possessions that it almost became a part of me, my identity. And, if my mother did not bring that umbrella to the near-by bus stop, rain-or-no-rain, sun-or-no-sun, I would stubbornly refuse to walk back home. My obsession with my umbrella soon spread far and wide!

And my umbrella's story reached the ears of my self-styled competitor – yes, a trait so rare at that tender age! - in our immediate neighbourhood where lived a girl little elder to me. That girl had to have everything – yes, everything – which I had: be it dresses or toys or books or … yes, you guessed it right … an umbrella, too!

That girl created a huge fuss and pressured her parents in to buying almost a same umbrella for her! …

So, now you understand why I remembered my beautiful childhood umbrella watching Shah Mehmood Qureshi at his theatrical best in the US?

Well, while S. M. Qureshi’s attempts were quite hilarious and with his antics he had apparently succeeded in amusing Hillary Clinton – though only superficially - the Pakistani Foreign Minister was desperately trying to appease Madame Secretary for getting America to agree to an India-like civil nuclear deal for Pakistan too.

Now you see the connection between the India-US-Pakistan triangular relationship and my childhood umbrella?

In the not-so-easy geopolitical equations between India-US-Pakistan, Pakistan is that little spoilt girl from my neighbourhood who wanted everything that I had as a child, including an umbrella!

Well, on an adult-like serious note, I am sure that the Obama administration is not so naïve to give in to the obsessive demands of Pakistan, ranging from F-16s to military arsenals to monetary aids to civil nuclear deal; anyway, most of which are likely to be aimed against India in all probability. The US establishment understands all too well that Pakistan is a rogue state and is the epicenter of spread of terrorism in the world today. Howsoever crucial Pakistan’s role the US may deem to be in resolving the ever escalating Afghanistan conflict as an important component of its Af-Pak strategy for the crisis-ridden region, it will not let an almost failed nation get access to nuclear energy technology whose usage – abuse – it cannot guarantee for civil purposes exclusively. It would be akin to giving WMDs in hands of a Demon! Pakistan’s repeated proclaims of not being in control of its non-state actors – terrorists, extremists, fundamentalists – go absolutely against its own arguments to secure a favourable nuclear deal – India-like - from its otherwise old ally, the United States of America.

Therefore, India need not worry at all.

Nevertheless, at the end, I must thank Mr. Qureshi for taking me back on my memory lane and let me cherish in my thoughts my beautiful little multi-coloured umbrella!

(The umbrella is still secured at home – though now tattered and faded – along with few other valuables from my childhood.)

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Watching Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s theatrics also reminded me of an age-old adage about “Politics Being the Theatre of the Absurd”! He for sure was an absurdist personified that afternoon!