A man is a hero, capable of no mistakes and is infallible, that is if he makes no mistakes. But the moment he strays astray, a small blip, he's fallible, he is no longer capable or neither worthy . I'm not saying this, but unfortunately the media is doing this & unfortunately people like you & me believe the same and lead a chorus of unfounded criticism.
The media have always been a powerful medium for a group of intellects to promote their ideas, to voice their opinion and hence sway the publice. They've always been an important medium all through history and consequently presses have taken advantage of this power to sway opinions, often to aid a political party or nationalistic cause driven by a party.
Today, the situation is far worse. With so many news channels and news mediums, the competition is so stiff that they resort to drastic tactics to bring out news and that too "Breaking News". So what better targets and sources of news than, the news relating to our prominent faces in public, i.e Politicians, sportsmen, musicians, etc. Every single word, every single step is analyzed beyond belief, insights to why he or she did so and so or what he or she meant or implied. To what music the star listens to, to what his or her friends in school thought of him or her, or even to their crushes.
One of the best examples in recent times has been the rise of British Formula 1 rookie, Lewis Hamilton. He's only 22 years of age and is stepping into F1 for the first time and with relative lack of knowledge compared with his peers. For that matter he racing against a double world champion in his team. Everyone, expected to him to be midfield and this is to be a struggling & learning season for the rookie. But to pleasant surprise of many he has been revelation, he has steadily gathered up the podiums and won a couple of races and beating his double world champion teammate pretty regularly. And the hype was unprecedented, he was a national hero, he was compared to the greats such as Schumacher, Senna, etc. Albeit, he has just competed in a handful of races. The hype was so much that, he couldn't live in his own country. He has considered migrating to an another nation, an entire nation gone Lewis Mania. Unfortunately, he had couple of mediocre races, not that bad, picked up a few podiums though. But for the media, what he had done was sacrilege, he had become useless, a cocky kid and not good enough. Somehow everyone forgot all the previous races, somehow all forgot he has just been around for 8-9 GrandPrix. To hero to zero in a couple of races.
In this age of such intense scrutiny, it takes very little to sway from a hero to a zero and back to a hero. All of your accomplishments, good or bad are forgotten within a few moments. Some could handle it, the likes of Schumacher, Jordan, Beckham, have all bounced back with the bang, but some others who couldn't handle it and have faded away with the sunset.Eventually, the mode in which he or she conducts himself or herself determines his career forth. Not everything you hear is true.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Relevancy of traditions in the modern world
"Tradition and modernization are incompatible. One must choose between them."
One of Man's enduring abilities has been his capability to pass on traditions through generations and generations. Custom&rituals followed by our ancestors are still practised & evn followed today. But at the same time, comes a question about how compatible these customs are and how relevant are they today.
Conflicts between the traditional side of life & modern side of life are common. Lot feel, that only one can exist and that one must choose between. I tend to disagree with this argument, I feel that both can co exist. After all one must agree that, lot of these customs & rules laid by our ancestors are pretty relevant even today & are better not being disturbed. But at the same time, one must also agree some of them are also irrelevant in today's world. Some of the modern traditions are also pretty good and at the same time some are also rubbish.
If you look at olden times, families were more closer, the bind between them were so much more stronger & weren't driven by money. Today's concept of nuclear families I feel isn't all that healthy. People visit parents & siblings once in a while. You might meet at a marriage or maybe at a funeral. If families were much more closer, its a healthy thing for all concerned. You don't leave you parents all alone, you take care of them even in their old ages and your children are so much better having cousins to spend time with and get close with. Whatever said, the relationship between families is something that is very different from friends. In today's world you'll find, families who still maintain relationships with their relatives who are so much happier than those who don't.
But at the same time you need to look at some of the old customs such as women being housewives & not allowed to work. These customs in today's world is pretty outdated. After all women too want to work and explore the world and themselves and shouldn't have to confine themselves to a household. People who complain that, they don't get time to take care of their children are pretty ridiculous, it's the duty of both the husband & wife to take care of their children and not alone the wife's.
As life goes by, we might find situations where more & more traditions seem irrelevant and modernization might play a bigger role, but one must never forget those core traditions that made us such a strong race but at the same time forget those who made us weak as well. Its all about balancing... And that we must...
One of Man's enduring abilities has been his capability to pass on traditions through generations and generations. Custom&rituals followed by our ancestors are still practised & evn followed today. But at the same time, comes a question about how compatible these customs are and how relevant are they today.
Conflicts between the traditional side of life & modern side of life are common. Lot feel, that only one can exist and that one must choose between. I tend to disagree with this argument, I feel that both can co exist. After all one must agree that, lot of these customs & rules laid by our ancestors are pretty relevant even today & are better not being disturbed. But at the same time, one must also agree some of them are also irrelevant in today's world. Some of the modern traditions are also pretty good and at the same time some are also rubbish.
If you look at olden times, families were more closer, the bind between them were so much more stronger & weren't driven by money. Today's concept of nuclear families I feel isn't all that healthy. People visit parents & siblings once in a while. You might meet at a marriage or maybe at a funeral. If families were much more closer, its a healthy thing for all concerned. You don't leave you parents all alone, you take care of them even in their old ages and your children are so much better having cousins to spend time with and get close with. Whatever said, the relationship between families is something that is very different from friends. In today's world you'll find, families who still maintain relationships with their relatives who are so much happier than those who don't.
But at the same time you need to look at some of the old customs such as women being housewives & not allowed to work. These customs in today's world is pretty outdated. After all women too want to work and explore the world and themselves and shouldn't have to confine themselves to a household. People who complain that, they don't get time to take care of their children are pretty ridiculous, it's the duty of both the husband & wife to take care of their children and not alone the wife's.
As life goes by, we might find situations where more & more traditions seem irrelevant and modernization might play a bigger role, but one must never forget those core traditions that made us such a strong race but at the same time forget those who made us weak as well. Its all about balancing... And that we must...
Monday, July 02, 2007
Truth
A century or more ago, a few women and men, stood up against the society and their ways and made important statements. Strived a lot and conseqeuently was persecuted a lot for all their efforts at making our lives better, for making us the see the truth. For today we no longer have to live in a world of Sati, heretic or even a society where african americans aren't allowed into restaurants or other social places.
No matter how much we try to run or try to supress, the truth is always exactly what it is, the truth. Hides in the veil of lies, pretending not to know or pretending to helpless, we all do. After all we all expect somebody tomorrow will make it right, but at the same time hoping that it wouldn't upset anyone. Unfortunately, to move the earth you need to shake the ground and make the ocean shudder and do it today, not tomorrow, for it never comes.
Such gigantic movements are important in the timeline of life. No matter how hard its criticized, over time it gives society at large a pill, which eradicates the wrong, makes the light be seen, makes life better. Today, Sati is detested and deplored. The very mention of such words cause people to be up in arms. But the very same fact of life, around 100-150 years ago was an accepted ritual of India life. People like Raja Rama Mohan Roy had to endure the rebukes and the alientation of society. But thankfully to their divine powers to forsee what most couldn't realize and push for such reforms that our lives are ten fold better than what once was.
Come the protests, the burning of effigies or even the calling of religious gods to bring hell, we need to push for such important statements in life, to wake up the society, open their eyes to their mistakes and errors of their ways. For someday these important moments will stir a nation to wake up, will make for a better and brighter future.
No matter how much we try to run or try to supress, the truth is always exactly what it is, the truth. Hides in the veil of lies, pretending not to know or pretending to helpless, we all do. After all we all expect somebody tomorrow will make it right, but at the same time hoping that it wouldn't upset anyone. Unfortunately, to move the earth you need to shake the ground and make the ocean shudder and do it today, not tomorrow, for it never comes.
Such gigantic movements are important in the timeline of life. No matter how hard its criticized, over time it gives society at large a pill, which eradicates the wrong, makes the light be seen, makes life better. Today, Sati is detested and deplored. The very mention of such words cause people to be up in arms. But the very same fact of life, around 100-150 years ago was an accepted ritual of India life. People like Raja Rama Mohan Roy had to endure the rebukes and the alientation of society. But thankfully to their divine powers to forsee what most couldn't realize and push for such reforms that our lives are ten fold better than what once was.
Come the protests, the burning of effigies or even the calling of religious gods to bring hell, we need to push for such important statements in life, to wake up the society, open their eyes to their mistakes and errors of their ways. For someday these important moments will stir a nation to wake up, will make for a better and brighter future.
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