Comfort television

Whoever said that humankind cannot bear very much of reality meant we cannot bear too much of harsh reality.

Whoever said that humankind cannot bear very much of reality meant we cannot bear too much of harsh reality. It needs to be balanced by more or less happiness. Which perhaps explains why when there is an agitation in Jammu, protests in Kashmir, cross-border attacks, a hostage shoot-out in Jammu, a stand-off at the Tata plant in Singur, sectarian clashes in Orissa and a raging river running wild in Bihar, television news channels are busy applauding the Indian cricket team8217;s taming of the marauding Mendis.

On Wednesday night, at approximately the same time DD News revelled in Dhoni8217;s less than dhamaakedaar performers defeating Jayawardene8217;s under-performers, the 18-hour Jammu hostage situation ended. Even as you were dismayed by the perceived lack of sensitivity is this any time for self-congratulation?, you remembered that the entire day had been spent in a suspenseful vigil before TV sets as the news channels telecast the shoot-out between the militants and the security forces. Perhaps we did need a break from it, after all.

The next time you are bewildered by a Hindi news channel providing tips on how to improve your day, your love life, your fortunes with singing kings or other extraordinary sights men hanging out of moving cars at high speed just for a lark will you abuse the TV or think that we all need some good news to distract us from the 8216;news8217; which is always bad or it wouldn8217;t be news? Don8217;t know the answer but certainly it8217;s part of the formula that is working so successfully for India TV or Aaj Tak.

One of the hazards of real hardcore news is that it treads on treacherous territory. Horoscopes, forgive the pun, are far more predictable. Take the hostage crisis. On Wednesday night at 11.10 pm, CNN-IBN said the three militants had been killed. Zee News said a woman hostage had been freed. At 11.15pm: NDTV 24215;7 said one militant was still holed up inside and Times Now, the only one to go live immediately to Jammu, said all hostages were safe, the third militant injured, a woman hostage freed by security forces and one civilian body recovered. At 11. 30 pm: CNN-IBN said the crisis was reportedly over, the third militant was killed but the fate of hostages was not yet known. NDTV said two terrorists were killed, and the encounter was still on. See how urgency to be first with the news misses vital details as accuracy falls victim to competition.

Since the Kosi breached its embankment, the media has been at its most responsible. Moving pictures try to convey a displaced humanity searching for succour and loved ones. We see the tears of a middle-aged man crying out for his aged missing mother NDTV India; we have seen children, dry-eyed, waist high in water News 24. For all the coverage, the response on the ground has been what it was previously 8212; slack. So has the media made a difference? Isn8217;t it better off visiting cricket in Sri Lanka? CNN spent Monday tracking the advance of Hurricane Gustav with continuous satellite weather/hurricane updates and warnings to ensure that Katrina is never repeated. While Kosi is an altogether different case, isn8217;t it time governments in India state, central and scientific expertise combine to use television/radio more effectively in such situations?

Revisited CID Sony. Was comforted to find everyone exactly as we8217;d left them a year ago. This is an immutable world where crime never pays and offenders leave helpful clues for inevitable detection 8212; where everything remains the same except for the colour of the actors8217; hair. Jai Shri Krishna Colors has two of the sweetest babies you could wish to gaze upon. Balram and Krishna lie side by side, in plump smugness. nbsp;So cute, that is until they embark on an internal dialogue 8212; in adult voices. The gods truly work in mysterious ways.