REALITY SHOWS

I have been  watching “FEMINA MISS INDIA -the making “ on Zoom. Couple of days back I was following DANCE INDIA DANCE on Zee Tv. Sony TV is busy showcasing INDIAN IDOL these days like each year. Colors channel gained good TRPs with KHATRON KE KHILAADI and India’s got talent.TV channels have been bustling with unlimited reality shows and surprisingly people watch it whole heartedly inspite knowing the reality behind the scenes. Ah! that holds true for me too!! I loved Dance India Dance . India’s got talent inspired me to learn contemporary dance. Every reality show holds a special importance in everybody’s life. My friend Sid participated in Indian Idol-1 but was shown the exit during the initial screening. Still he watches Indian Idol without fail! My ex-colleague Swati was a part of MTV Roadies who watches the series with equal enthusiasm till date despite being voted out so heartlessly. She definitely cherishes the moments of adventure and fun.

But what makes the reality shows so exciting for everybody? Why do people watch these with so much interest and charm? Why do people flock to the gates of the auditions when they know they are not well trained? Well, there could be many reasons. Everybody wants to be in limelight, famous and be in news for some reason. One never knows where does the luck factor works or who knows the judges might like somebody instantly. There are many testimonials to this fact in end number of reality shows.  Indian Idol, Fame Gurukul etc are few shows to begin with the list of examples.(Of course I don’t want to name the participants on this social networking site lest their fans should outburst against me and write venomous messages for me!!)

All the ideas are copied from the western reality shows, none of Indian origin… anyway who cares!! !!! Big Boss , was one pathetic  reality I ever watched and hate it from the bottom of my heart( Fans please don’t kill me!!) I hated “Is Jungle se Mujhey Bachao” where the participants were asked to consume mixture of animal spleen, liver, testicles, do all sorts of crazy things in a so called jungle and crown the winner for the jungle mania!! (By the way, what was Mankea Gandhi doing then? I shouldn’t be saying this..I am a member of People for animals after all. Ok , don’t jump to conclusions before I say anything. The animals were domesticated ones which are nor endangered and are consumed in daily lives.) Whatever, I simply hated this horrible reality show of the jungle mess, the celebrity tantrums and the loosely written script.

Ya…reality shows are scripted, don’t be surprised. Even the results are pre-decided. Public voting just occupies the public and huge income for the telecom giants. A participant from a particular community, caste or tribe attracts audience from the same social circle who pleads for votes. No wonders why do people glue to these reality shows to vote for their “favorite” participant. No offences meant, my mom does that each time! A Bengali participant occupies a special place in my mom’s heart always…be it a singing show or dance competition.

Want to see real footage? Switch to National geographic or discovery yaar!!At least they make some sense!

A lost friend

He would have been a grown up man today, probably working in an MNC or running his business. Or may be pursuing some professional course -of his choice, of something which he liked. But what did he like? What was he passionate about? Let me think….uh!! to hard to recollect..it was a long time back that I remember anything apart from his shy smile and dark eyes. And we were too young .  Students of second standard, Prashant and I were classmates and next door neighbours. I was a frequent visitor to his place to catch up on my missed class work or to play with him at times. His younger bro Ankush and a cute sister Gudiya were adorable siblings. Prashant was a quiet child and very shy, to such an extent that he refused to go to anybody’s place for school work or notes. His mom used to call me to their place and that’s how I became a regular visit at Prashant Singhal’s place. We became best childhood buddies , used to play often and do our home work together.

Singhals were a happy family. A happy go lucky family of our neighbourhood, as a child I had always seen them smiling and enjoying each moment of their lives till that unlucky day. I still don’t remember  the date..after all I was young. So was Prashant. I have the faded picture of his in my mind when I had saw him last evening. Well, actually the last evening of his life.

He loved cycling. That evening too, he went on his bicycle to enjoy the evening. (I think now I recollect one of his hobbies-Cycling. But how irrelevant is it now, I suppose). His grand mom felt quite restless when he did not return till late. His mom went crying to the police station with his dad to report Prashant’s missing from the place where he had gone cycling. The whole night saw a tensed Singhal family, probably for the first time. I remember my mom worrying about him and peeping into the Singhal house every fifteen minutes. Prashant’s father was frantically wandering on the streets with his scooter to search for his eldest son. It was a terrible night for everybody.

And the news arrived, the next morning..of what I guess most of them had anticipated. Prashant’s body was fished out from the manhole right outside the construction site of their new house. Time of death- late evening.Last remains- his slipper in the right foot and his cycle outside the house. What pushed him to his death was the reason that he was not accompanied by anybody to the construction site where the open manhole invited his death while he was jumping over it, all by himself. Days passed mourning and wailing in the Singhal house grieving over the irreparable loss of the eldest son of the family.

Soon, things started turning normal and Prashant started fading from the memories of everybody. Yesterday when I was talking to my brother Tarun (catch him at tarunisblogging.blogspot.com) he sounded upset. He too was grieving over the loss of his facebook friend whom he had befriended three days ago. Consoling him, suddenly Prashant’s thought struck me. Had he been alive, he would have been somebody like me.

I can’t say I miss Prashant, however I do feel that every human life is meant for something, lives for a purpose and creates a void after he leaves. I was too young to feel that void, but I do feel bad that he left the world much before he could see anything.

God bless your soul my friend.

This was an ode to Prashant Singhal.

A day in life of anybody

I like my boss, she is supportive, but my job profile sucks.

I love the job, but I have b#%@ colleagues.

My workplace is too far from my residence, which drains all my energy while commuting.

My job pays me well, but I hate the work.

Seems, people keep cribbing each day with new excuses yet they go to work. Why? Coz life has to move on. Simple! Sometimes its money which stops you from changing your job, at times u have no other job in hand. U hurl abuses at ur boss or ur job profile, u still come to work every morning to make a living for urself.

Even the fingers of our hands are not equal, so how can life be a smooth ride? Impulsive people like me leave their jobs without keeping an option in hand. Others create a job opportunity and then make a move. But atleast I don’t crib! Haha…I was at peace of mind for few days before I began job hunting again.

I remember I continued to work in a BPO unwillingly since I had to take care of my MBA course fee.I had the worst boss on this planet, I hated my work but thankfully I got colleagues who were angels for me. I could endure all the pain at work because of the good companions whom I had befriended at the workplace. Nidhi, Tarun, Vikram still continue to be my good friends long after we quit that organization.Its important to have supportive colleague at workplace I guess. Bless you guys.

We get good education to grow and earn in life, have a family to support, money keeps u running and perform the responsibilities. No what bogged down u feel at work, no matter how demotivated u feel, u still have a reason to keep going. Correct me if m wrong. U might be fighting at home and vent it in office and in return bring the frustration back home, the cycle still keeps going. U ought to think positive and move ahead.

God hate me, so he has piled up all problems for me only…….Love life screwed up. At office boss insults me, To add to the deep wounds I don’t get a conveyance to commute and miss my meals too. My appraisals are on hold, my colleagues mock at me and I vent it all at my child or family member.I had a fight with my best friend and fought with the autowala too. At night I shed tears and pray to god to help me.(Funny,nobody prays to God when one is happy). Anyway, that’s a typical diary of a common man whose level of frustration is getting high each day. Yet he dosen’t quit hopes and continues to struggle…..because there are no gains without pains.We should be thankful to god that we have the physical ability to work. Think of the ones who are visually or physically impaired. Think about those “special children” whose parents cry each day and leave no stone unturned to give them a normal life.

Life is not a cakewalk.U need to be tough and prove ur mettle in every step,lest one should overpower u. Be thankful be gratified and keep moving ahead gradually.