|
 |
|
Going by the hype in the air, it would seem that everybody wants to be entertained, one way or the other. Entertainment with a big E. Look at a daily’s front page, switch on the telly, and the world seems to be full of colour: colour of films, colour of the cheerleaders’ dresses in the IPL matches (some call it a circus). But what’s the problem? You’d be told on the face if you squirm at the overdose of it all. Cricket? But that’s entertainment! Films, but that’s only for entertainment! And so important that news of Bollywood divas and their quarrels/ loves/ dresses, or the cricketers’ affairs with them, their spats and even slapping /abusing someone in the fraternity get top spot. Never mind problems of water-shortage, food- shortage which is, of course, a global phenomenon now, poor not getting admission in government hospitals and dying on the footpath, a woman giving birth in a cab because the doctors are on strike in Mumbai, etc. These, to some, seem like blots spoiling this happy, happy mood. Better to concentrate on the megabucks earned by ‘some of our countrymen’ and getting into the world’s richest list , or Saif Ali Khan’s tattoo on his sleeve pledging eternal love to Kareena.
Entertainment is all right, it’s part of our lives. But the disturbing thing is the hype and hoopla around non issues, and the tendency to ignore issues affecting the major section of the people in this so-called pursuit of happiness. As foreign brands make a beeline to India singed by a recession-hit West, an impression is created as if ‘we have arrived.’ Nothing could be further from the truth if you look at it eyeball to eyeball. Look at the roads, the healthcare centres, the appalling education scenario beyond the urban-centric middle-class dominated one, and you’d know the distance between the haves- accepted, that’s an unfashionable word these days, and underprivileged is no less prominent as in the past. In fact, the gap could be even more today than in our older generation’s time.
True, they make depressing news. One way is to avoid recognising it and ignore altogether for own peace of mind. Another way is to do something about it. That’s why when we see ‘Real Heroes” recently featured in a CNN-IBN initiative, recognising people who are out there, doing something more than just talking, persons moving from high-profile jobs abroad to rural India to touch peoples’ lives with hope for a better tomorrow, it feels so nice. At least there is a world beyond the madness around ‘feel good’ via entertainment’.
That’s why these heroes should be in the front page, not relegated to an inside one purportedly because Andrew Symond’s spat with Bhajii is more important as also Salman Rushdie’s latest model-girlfriend (to be denied a few days later by the author and again hogging prime space). But then, we know it’s not to be. Viva la entertainment!
|
){kind=link}