Baba Ramdev and Sushil Kumar battled for domination of television news over the past week
Sunday had two faces: the first was framed by long,curly locks,a flowing beard,the other by short back and sides and a morning after bristle. The first gentleman was draped in a saffron dhoti that never entirely covered his torso; the other wore no more than a singlet and still managed to hide his. The first was full of sound and fury,the second a silent stalker. The first was after (black) money,the second after gold. Baba Ramdev vs Sushil Kumar,who would win the battle of the box?
Why are they meeting? ABPs news anchor shouted at the correspondent who promptly shouted back: Cant say [but he still said it,could be to chalk out future plans. Then,Headlines Todays correspondent at the Ramlila Maidan whooped with anticipation: Ramdev had arrived. But still no announcement. We are hoping [? V.K. Singh comes and he will make a big announcement, he yelled above the cacophony. On Monday,as Ramdev took us on a guided tour of Delhi with his raucous supporters,you could barely understand a word the media said. TV news people seem to believe they can shout above a crowd of 10,000 and still be heard or,that if they speak rapidly,speed will travel faster than sound.
The rest of Sunday belonged to Sushil Kumar and clairvoyant TV news channels. With Ramdevs jingoistic words perhaps ringing in their ears,the reporters sang the national anthem before his first bout. They also hounded Kumars parents,invaded their home where family and friends sat on a double bed before a TV set,and drove the mike into their mouths. Kya hoga? demanded a correspondent of Kumars mother after he had won his first bout. Not being a wrestling expert but a mother,she turned to God and her country: With Gods blessings he will win the gold medal for his flag. A viewer from Coorg on Headlines Today,agreed: I want to hear the national anthem, to which you were tempted to reply,Wait for August 15. Gaurav from Behrampur was more personal:
I wish him all the best and wish him gold.
IBN7 was on the same wavelength. It advised its correspondent at Kumars home to remain there,jab tak woh gold nahin jeetate hain. We want gold, demanded Boria Majumdar from London (Times Now). You got it,replied wrestler Sehdev Singh : 1.2 crore peoples wishes are with him,he will definitely win [gold.
Zee News and India TV had,meanwhile,acquired the services of two muscular men and a wrestling coach to demonstrate how Kumar could win gold an imaginative way to occupy our time between bouts.
Sushil Kumar went on to enter the semi-finals: Lagta hai gold jeet gaya, announced NDTV India. He will definitely win gold, said Randhir Singh,General secretary,IOA,I congratulate everyone (CNN-IBN). You should be celebrating, Boria M commanded. On cue,everyone on all the channels began congratulating Sushil Kumar,his family,the country. Clearly it was time to paint the town red,so we,the naïve and patriotic viewers,did as Boria Majumdar had advised us to: we celebrated.
Sushil Kumar did not win a gold medal. He won silver. One of the more endearing traits of TV news is that it has the memory of a nanosecond. No sooner had he lost gold,they were celebrating silver. But not before they had garlanded Kumars poor mother with microphones the minute the bout had ended and heard his fathers angry reaction. Like us,he had been promised a gold medal.
On the morning after Independence Day,lets end with a question: if the media can devote an entire day to Sushil Kumars gold rush,if it can spend days at Annas and Ramdevs fasts,why cant it devote more time to the refugee camps in Assam,where thousands of people are eking out a miserable existence? It would make for stunning TV,if nothing else.
shailaja.bajpai@expressindia.com
