Elections, made for TV

Elections results and television are like dal-chawal. Or shoes and socks. One without the other is incomplete. Thus, vote counting for the J...

Elections results and television are like dal-chawal. Or shoes and socks. One without the other is incomplete. Thus, vote counting for the J038;K state assembly was TV8217;s finest hour. Barely had you swallowed breakfast and you were digesting the National Conference8217;s defeat. More than the immediacy, it8217;s the numbers8217; game which teases and grips you. It8217;s like a day at the stock market: the seat shares fluctuate erratically before settling at a final tally. At 9.30 a.m. Zee projected Congress winning 30, National Conference 22, PDP 15. By 1.45 p.m., it gave Congress 17, NC 25 and PDP 16. It8217;s this snakes and ladders that pumps the blood and the mind8217;s muscles.

Happily, TV coverage has matured. The obsession with psephology 8212; those swings and Opposition unity and endless pizza pies 8212; has abated. There were some delightful and colorful graphics but the focus was on discussion. And where better to discuss than by the banks of a misty Dal Lake on an autumnal morning? Small wonder Barkha Dutt8217;s face was one shimmering smile as she made the Congress Azad publicly embrace the PDP Beg. If this was the 8216;8216;shot of the elections8217;8217; as Prannoy Roy called it, Prabhu Chawla had the punniest pun: he wanted to know whether the state Congress leader was now Ghulam or Azad.

Mercifully, each channel8217;s approach was different: Star concentrated on outdoor interviews and indoor analysis, Aaj Tak on outdoor interviews and indoor political debate, while DD and Zee mixed and matched the two.

A few words about a some key broadcasters:

Sardesai Star and Ashutosh Aaj Tak spoke rapidly, stringing words too tightly together, mistaking them for pearls of wisdom?. Chawla Aaj Tak and Dutt Star News grinned, ceaselessly, as if the entire event was a huge joke. Conversely, DD8217;s anchors were funereal in dress and demeanour and Alka Saxena Zee News coiffed and coutured for a Presidential banquet.

And since we8217;ve decided to be nice for a change, let8217;s thank DD for the Commonwealth Games, Davis Cup and Asian Games 8212; events private sports channels avoid as Saddam Hussain would George Bush if they were in the same room. Doubtless, DD8217;s commentary often leaves you bemused the Chinese 5,000 metre athlete was 8216;8216;lapping and lapping and lapping8217;8217;?! but we8217;ve witnessed some sterling Indian performances, courtesy DD. Hopefully, the coverage of victories will enhance sponsorship for sports 8212; other than cricket.

Amitabh Bachchan8217;s 60th. birthday was celebrated excessively?: interviews, live coverage, clips from his films. Zee News wished him happy birthday all day, Aaj Tak watched him leave home and Star News had Sunil Sethi 8216;8216;covering8217;8217; events. Bachchan remained phlegmatic, taking the adulation in his long stride. Asked by Sahara what kind of person he was, he rightly referred the question to others. And about the very media which showers him with attention: it merely did the job of a 8216;8216;postman8217;8217; .

Sidelights: Television sometimes delights in the irrelevant: Aaj Tak8217;s item on Salman Khan remaining in jail, ended thus: 8216;8216;8230; and on account of not shaving, his beard has grown8217;8217;.

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Or here8217;s Robert Redford squared-jawed Steve Coll BBC World: 8216;8216;If there is a hung Pakistan parliament does the President have any role?8217;8217; he asked colleague his Lyse Doucet in Islamabad. She smiled pityingly: 8216;8216;Of course he has a role8230;8217;8217; Doucet went onto explain patiently with a look which said: haven8217;t you been listening to a word I8217;ve said in the last three days?