True influence

Context:
I engaged in small talk after lunch with friends in office one day, and before I realized, we were talking of investment. “One tends to invest in properties that have either been highly recommended or where more than two friends decide to go it or where you have close ones. Mind you, your close ones are invariably your in-laws, your wife’s relatives.” I couldn’t avoid a laugh. It might have been derisively stated, but it is true as Hailey’s comet. Simply put, this is the ‘True influence’ in a man’s life.

Backdrop:
Man is a simple being with not so simple needs. Hence most of the times men find themselves out of sorts with real life situations. We want to keep really complicated things very simple. “Simple --- isn’t it?” is the way to conclude a really complicated discussion. We like to arrive at conclusions and we like to believe “Yes we did it. It was challenging, but what are challenges when faced with the whole of I-me-myself!” In a nutshell men are complicatedly simple.
Women are the exact opposite --- they are simply complicated. Complications are a part of a woman’s simplicity. In this labyrinth of simply complex compartments that constitute a women’s mental setup, is housed a closely guarded perimeter. This is her “my family” section. Most men find the definition of this “my family” difficult to understand. Well most men spend their lifetime attempting to understand it. Those who do manage to crack the riddle spend their lifetime attempting to qualify as family.
A marriage is depictive of this unnatural agreement that men and women give into, out hope for reaching sync for posterity. Never seen that happen though! While much has been spoken of the man woman mental composition, I for one am a big fan of this subject, who likes to revisit it time and again. Simple as I am, I like to derive simple pleasure out of indigenous analysis. An analysis that holds men at a higher pedestal as God’s creation vis-à-vis women. Not really conceited, eh!
M.C.P. was the word that friends and foes used to describe me and I hold no grudges to that. I grant every human the freedom of thoughts and expression, even at the cost of defame. With time and age, I have gained experience, rare experience that has gone into building my M.C.P-ness further and more precise.
Out of a 100 married friends that I studied as part of my “post nuptial arrangement”, I can safely say that over 85 can be easily be classified as “wife driven”. While it may not be a bad idea to be wife driven, it certainly comes across as feeble. Many smart men voluntarily fall under this category, after definitive planning. “Doing so keeps the arrangement going, as well as feeds the vanity of the partner!” is what they say. So the man’s world shifts from his home, parents and relations to his wife’s within a few years of marriage. Kids are the final nail in a man’s “my life-my priority” coffin. Kids have a definitive bend towards the maternal side with a serious disconnect towards the paternal side. This is true for the whopping majority of married friends I have observed, so far.

Analysis:
Remember the term “home maker”? A very informative piece of nomenclature, it is. Women are the ones who run the show at home. With the proliferation of the micro-family syndrome in urban India, they are left with their own devices to manage and optimize? Given a lack of association with the husband’s side (read parents) in the initial stages, the lady perseveres to take charge of not just her own but her husband’s and her kids’ lives. Very soon, all the effort hits a crescendo and falls in perfect harmony. Not all women are accommodative, well even men aren’t, so altering the way things are done, suddenly, is added challenge that they grapple with, in excess of the already pledged task of taking care of the (useless) husband and kids. Symptomatically husbands forget to introduce the lady to his side of the world, so the handshake seldom happens, leading to the much discussed situation. After all, if you didn’t help her when she was struggling in the initial stages, you can ill afford to advise her, once things are streamlined. That is so “not done”!

Remedy:
I invite one and all to share with me “panacea” for this widespread malady!

Death by Media

One burning issue; one topic that has the nation engaged and hooked on to television and radio. One bit that has spawn new presenters, announcers and anchors! Superstars and celebrities, in the making. What talking style and what impressive presentation, how immaculate was the grey of the suite and how impeccable was the tie matching the polka-dot shirt. 1.3 Billion to quote and a good 20% catchment over viewership, albeit spread across the plethora of old and new, performing and new-concept kind of News channels. Being part of media is by no way a mean feat.
Remember the epic of yore, “The World this week” presented and anchored by Pronnoy Roy, a program that etched a permanent place in young minds and mended opinions. Are we witnessing the culmination of that movement called “media” into a well orchestrated symphony that leads to instant stardom? Probably we are and why not, every focussed and farsighted struggle fetches apt rewards, if not immediately, then at the opportune moment. The way that program “The World this week” connected with the TG, it was a hit the moment it broke into prime-time broadcast.
Point that I very humbly want to bring up for consideration is that despite the high pedestal that India media enjoys, does it live up to that level of Social responsibility? High visibility calls for high integrity on the part of professionals representing media. After all who wouldn’t want the highest rated in-house channels incessantly ranting about your feat as a leader, Business, Social or Political? Has the “Truth shall prevail” kind of foundation, shifted towards a “Truth may get mired” kind of a stance? Incredible India with its breathtaking 7% plus GDP growth in the face of huge economic downturns in the developed world, offers that kind of opportunity, however sad, to those who want to make the most of it.
Broadly speaking News follows the following three stages of coverage over its period of life and broadcast………
Phase 1: Investigate; Unearth; Bring to the fore and hog footage
Phase 2: Analyze; Get experts talking; Hold a discussion forum and establish an opinion
Phase 3: Conclude and establish a valid point of view, YOUR point of view.
Every issue gets picked up; highlighted and played repeatedly till they leave an impression. Here howsoever hard I attempt to look back and rake my memory for want of one story that saw all the three phases, I can quote none. Is this a short term memory loss I am condemned to or do I see concurrence! The Anti graft uproar that the entire nation witnessed, last week ended on a high note. It was a high note for a celebrating nation and a frenzied mass that enjoys emoting. While everybody was happy to see a broad parliamentary consensus, and empathy towards implementation of Lokpal, Indian media left the story high and dry. While it is certainly too early to establish inadequacy of the media to seeing this episode to its end, but the hype and hoopla has for sure fizzed out from the channels. My best wished to Anna Hazare and his bastion of Lokpal supporters, for they can ill afford the truancy in News channels.
Media these days with all the glitz and glam leaves easy marks on impressionable minds and has trendy TRP ratings to validate the viewership of every prime-time broadcast. Well where is the synthesis of all that jazz? Covering Social sparks, Political unrest and coalition upheavals, celebrity gossip is by no means easy. But you can’t just let go of the most crucial story of yesterday, only because there is no further masala to exploit and leverage on the mass euphoria covering the issue. My big question is “Well what do you stand for?” Barring a noted Political bend displayed by leading Channels , and a full house of “available on the call” speakers, noted personalities from a wide cross section of public domains, Channels have obliterated any other position they stand for. “This story was first brought to you by our channel”, is the high pitched cry we hear. Fair enough, as this leads to corporate coffers and wealth for the Channel.
One can’t ask media to abstain from earning easy bucks, especially in these hard times. Is asking them to pursue their prime job really wrong?