Predictions, predilections

After tsunami, whenever the weather report appears on the screen with the map of South or South East Asia and those graphic ocean or wind mo...

After tsunami, whenever the weather report appears on the screen with the map of South or South East Asia and those graphic ocean or wind movements swirl about, it sends a shiver down the spine: what lies beneath? Post-tsunami, the cheery women or men who announce the next day8217;s weather with such fluent conviction seem rather naive 8212; it8217;s not their fault 8212; because, suddenly, we have become tragically aware that it is vanity to suppose we can predict the ways of nature.

Naivety is not the weather woman8217;s preserve. On Secrets of the Psyche Revealed Star World, the entire audience 8216;8216;oohed8217;8217; over the magical powers of the 8216;8216;psychic8217;8217;. In a series of fascinating exposes, the show reveals the fraudulence of the psychic and the gullibility of human beings. For instance, the 8216;8216;psychic8217;8217;, in a piece of atrocious acting, correctly imagines a woman8217;s house merely by holding her hand: 8216;8216;There8217;s a long porch8230; hedges8230; a blue car8230; a symbol about you on the front door? A bell! A bell!8217;8217; And something with JB on her kitchen counter 8212; yes, she nods happily, a James Bond mug! As the lady goes into shock and awe, we8217;re shown the accomplice of the 8216;8216;psychic8217;8217; visiting the woman8217;s home earlier under guise. Learn of similar duplicitous dealings which fool most of us most of the time.

Nobody was fooled by the intentions of those who released select portions of the Kanchi Shankaracharya8217;s police interrogation video to the news channels. The attempt to further discredit the seer was so palpable you felt like the psychic holding that lady8217;s hand. Sun TV and Aaj Tak replayed the excerpts furiously on Wednesday but that did not make it any less a 8216;8216;plant8217;8217;. Star News had a video that may have been 8216;8216;exclusive8217;8217; here we go again as the anchor unfailingly reminded us after every two minutes, showing scenes at the Mutt before the Junior Acharya8217;s arrest, 8216;8216;he is praying8230; he is praying8217;8217; 8212; just as well since his arrest was imminent. People hung about, the police arrived and the Junior left. Hum-ho.

Indian Idol Sony could do with better public judgement. Unfailingly, the SMS wizards vote out the better singers. Is this out of pure devilry? Last week, listening to Rahul, Mukesh, Harish and Ravinder, you couldn8217;t believe they are the best India can sing. The democratic selection raises questions about the premise of the show: is this about quality or quantity if some of the best performers have been voted out despite the judges8217; vote of approval? Also, how do we know that Rahul8217;s, Mukesh8217;s, Abhijeet8217;s or Aditi8217;s entire village, city, state is not voting en masse for him/ her? Or that the SMS lines are overloaded, leaving out voters? Silly, but possible. Oh yes, Juhi Chawla graced last week8217;s show, sweet-looking as she was kind but what other purpose do celebrity judges serve?

Hoorah for Star Sports8217; telecast of the PHL. The hockey may not be heady but at least it8217;s an attempt to be easier on the eye. And we8217;re not referring just to the cheerleaders. The players look dashing in their new clothes, the 17-minute quarters are more viewer-friendly and the interviews by the invisible Priyanka adds a dimension to the commentary.

C8217;mon sponsors8230;

Hard Talk BBC World was just that for India8217;s High Commissioner to Britain, Kamalesh Sharma, as the lady interviewer pinned him down and hammered away: wasn8217;t India arrogant and churlish not to accept foreign aid, why was it offering aid to neighbours when it could not sufficiently assist its own tsunami victims, wasn8217;t it using the catastrophe to be a regional superpower, to garner support for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council? Sharma, manfully, repeated one mantra: India possessed the capability to look after its own and offer assistance to others. He would have been well served by providing facts and figures of our 8216;8216;capabiliity8217;8217;. Oddly, he didn8217;t know Kofi Annan had been refused a visit to tsunami areas. Still, the lady was unnecessarily harsh on him 8212; he8217;s a bureaucrat not Osama bin Laden.