Widen Your Horizon

We college students were in a village. Why didn't we see any farmers yet ? As we walked ahead, I realised that they wouldn't be similar to the pictures in our mind thanks to the movies that we watch where the farmers are the ones who wear dhoti- kurta and tie a cloth around their foreheads and are bent down and either harvesting their crops or sowing seeds wishing for a great harvest.

And I remembered the Vidharbha incident where farmers committed suicide because they couldn't meet their own needs, forget the nedds of their families. The government tried to ease their condition with monetary help. But how could a farmer's family reciprocate this? Should they be happy that they got money or should they be grieving their dear one's death ?

Here is a story-

The sun rise was pretty much similar to the one shown in films from time immemorial. The sun rising from amidst the cottony white sky- the typical representation of a nature artist’s top portion of a scenic landscape.

The birds chirping and crossing the sky as if in a marathon to reach God fast and blurt out the spell bounding developments of his creations on earth. And like the routine that was followed by nature each day, the newspapers too fell into a heap with something that would give readers fodder for thinking – a single thought at least. As every other day from quite a while, this time again the headlines were about the person who provided fodder for all the so called ‘intelligently and thoughtfully amazing homo-sapiens’ to function- yes it was about another helpless farmer who forgot about his own tummy and the mouths that waited for his hands to feed in order to make the ones reading the newspapers- healthy and hunger free.

The average reader uttered, “There goes another foolish farmer without fighting for himself. Coward, fool!”

But who could think of the reality?

She opened her eyes and sat up on her 'charpoy' when the first rays of the sun sneaked in through the vast number of gaps over their shanty hut. Three sons sleeping besides the ‘choola’ that was dying to be lit from quite some time now, two daughters struggling to rest their backs near her in the congested little place that they called ‘home’. 

Where did he go? –She thought. Another helpless day, God forbid.

She got up and went out. One loud shriek and all there that is around is eerie silence…at least for her.

There he was hanging from the tree that had provided shade to them even on the hottest of days. The reason she wore a mangalsutra, a red bindi, bangles that clunked as she tried to meet their ends meet- everything now meaningless. The children ran out one by one. All froze witnessing the sight. Soon people gathered. Netas arrived. 

Now what was this? One lakh!!! That’s something she had never seen in her entire life. It was more than enough to feed her family for a long time. Her eyes glowed. But strange is life, stranger the circumstances. One lakh- the price of her husband. And now when she was grieving his death here was something that didn’t let her mourn his death freely too.

On one side was the smell of the burning pyre of her husband and on the other side was the fragrance of a better future. So bad or so good?

That issue has somehow vanished from the news. Infact if one noticed, the Nirbhaya case's verdict splashed across news channels yesterday but the moment BJP's announcement of their nomination of Narendra Modi as their Prime Ministerial candidate came in, the former news faded away. Media persons would say that it is their job to keep updating people about the latest news. 

CNN-IBN had  broken the news of ‘Bundelkhand farmers selling their wives to live another day' and then the next day, a 48-hour probe was ordered by NCW Chairperson Girija Vyas in August 2010 but so far, I doubt whether even a single news channel has bothered to demand the probe results. 

This is a great example of the Agenda Setting Theory of Media which in brief means that if a news item is covered frequently and prominently by the media, the audience starts regarding that issue as more important.

Is media the ultimate news reporter then ?  

What is being fed might not necessarily be the only option that is available

God Goes Eco-Friendly

It's that time of the year again when Indians all over the world are anticipating 'Ganesh Chaturthi' ( The day when Lord Ganesha is said to be born). Bamboo sticks have been tied together by strong ropes, huge Mandaps have been erected, beautiful decorations adorn the places where Ganesha idols would soon recline to bless the devotees who go to him with generous offerings and prayers.

And that is when I was reminded yet again, of my trip to Mahalunge, during the rainy months around two years back. This time that year the residents were busy planning to move another step ahead in their resolve to be eco-friendly. The preparations for the yearly 'Ganeshotsav' had begun. The pandal was being decorated with ‘forest’ as the theme in the Zila Parishad’s school playground.The children were busy collecting materials for their pandal to make it look as real as possible. 

“At a time when pollution is at its peak, we thought of contributing our bit to save mother Earth. Moreover the sight of hands, legs, heads floating after visarjan is saddening. You worship the lord and it looks as if you are dumping him after that. It seems to be more like an insult. So we have decided to get an idol that would mingle with the water and soil without polluting”, said a resident. 

  

The residents were elated as the rains were also in plenty that time. Being an agriculture oriented village, they felt that this was the best time to thank the Vighnaharta for listening to their prayers and removing all the ‘Vighnas’ that would have proven to be detrimental to their crops and rendered them unemployed and poverty- stricken. They even invited the forest officer of the Bhiwandi Taluka to address them about pollution and ways by which they could contribute to saving the planet.

I couldn't control my curiosity and I asked them how they were so sound about pollution, it's damaging effects and ways to control it. What I heard was enough for me to feel ashamed of the so-called 'sophisticated urban India.' Here was a village far away from the clutches of a materialistic city, practicing ways to make Earth a little more tolerable and here was I who had  on my way to Mahalunge, seen so many artists lost in the detailing of Ganesh idols of plaster of Paris and other such non-biodegradable materials.

Don't you want to know what a kid told me? He said, " I had seen on TV that last year many fishes died because of Ganesh idols polluting the water. An uncle holding a mike had told that even small kids like me can help prevent that by telling about the harmful effects of Ganesha idols that are not Eco-friendly to our family's elders. I did just that and that's why this time we are bringing a Ganpati Bappa that wont kill any fishes!" 

It is an amazing example of Altercasting where even a young boy is set in a social role by the media which told him how as a responsible citizen, he too is answerable to the problem of pollution that exists in the society. What made it even more better is the fact that I was able to learn something like this through a young boy. 

“We are each gifted in a unique and important way. It is our privilege and our adventure to discover our own special light.”- Mary Dunbar.

Couldn't agree more!

For many other examples to better understand Altercasting, you can go to this link- http://prezi.com/lwoz3nsm1fpf/altercasting-theory-of-communication/

- Divya Nambiar

Hazare is God, 'Channel Waale' said

The trip to Mahalunge had taken place soon after our nation was caught up in the ‘India against Corruption’ drive ( I use ‘was’ here because during that time, suddenly it seemed as if corruption was the biggest and only problem that India faced and now that issue has been kicked out of the limelight). It had gripped the nation and adrenaline pumped young and old people rose against the demon called corruption and the people who were embroiled in it. And that’s when ‘Anna Hazare’ became a household name.

Not too long ago, the villagers of Mahalunge were as unaware as many of the urban crowd about Anna Hazare, the latest hero and saviour of ‘corrupt’ India. Not much had changed; except for the fact that now all of them were in support of Mr. Hazare. 

On being asked about the reason for their blind faith in him, they said, “Corruption has made our lives more miserable. Those who have money to flash, they get jobs in a dash.” 

But would he be able to wipe away corruption? “Yes, of course he will be able to do it. The entire country is supporting him. He is the next Gandhi. Even a local news channel said that he’s the one who will be able to save us all from the grip of corruption.” 

“Ab news channel waale kehte hai toh usme kuch toh sachaai zaroor hoga, isliye hum Anna Hazareji ke saath hai”(if the news channels show it, there has to be some truth in it, so we are in support of Anna Hazareji)- said Sushila More, a resident.

Now that’s an example of how deep the media penetrates into the minds of the people. So much is the impact that they actually tune their opinions in sync with the media’s portrayal of events or people. The media sets the agenda for people to attune themselves to the so-called larger picture of events that take place all around them and they become a part of it.  People are pulled further inside the storm of issues and invariably they form their opinions based on what the mass media conveys to them.

The nationwide fury seems to have sunken down ( maybe because channels are no longer focussing on it being -The Breaking News!), Hazare's name does flash occasionally as shown below ( taken from Hindustan Times a few days before Independence Day- August 15,2013) and he rose to fame whereas the topic of corruption seems to have been left for someone else to earn a name!

So is Anna Hazare God or is it the Media? (That is not open for public debate, please!)

- Divya Nambiar

Reality Check

Last week’s post might have left some doubtful about the Cultivation Theory. Did it mean that only the rural people were affected by it? Must be or how else would something such as the media affect urban, highly educated and sophisticated people. Right? Wrong.

When a team of more than a hundred students from a college in Mumbai got ready for a field trip to a village in the interior region of Maharashtra, they were unaware of what to expect in that village far away from the cacophonies of a city life.

Viewer's delight

The bus ride was a long one which gave one enough time to think about the place that awaited them. Many huts lined up together just like the slums in the city with unclean people loitering around to make their ends meet. No proper water or electricity supply, it would just be like a scene from a movie set in rural India. Why of all places go to a village? Would they be able to answer if they ask the villagers something or would a Marathi translator have to interfere? These were just some of the questions which would be answered only on reaching there.

Through many narrow roads the bus travelled with the students in it, looking out at a view which they rarely saw. A luscious green scenic path which was a feast to their eye delighted them. And soon they were there- the so-called ‘village’- Mahalunge.

TV Antenna- Rural Style Statement!

Unlike the scenes from the many movies that the students had seen, here was a stretch of a beautiful village with small but beautifully decorated huts with a dish antenna overhead on almost every hut there. Clean and green sideways, LCD/LED television sets and people more or less similar to the ones in the city- what then was the image that had formed in those impressionistic minds?What was surprising was the fact that it was no unclean, smelly congested village with people lacking manners but some really warm people who in fact knew better about keeping their surroundings clean. Unlike Mumbai where one can see slogans like –‘Clean Mumbai, Green Mumbai’, the people there actually proved it. To the extent that they won prize money of twenty- five lakhs for keeping their village clean! Now this was a village worth visiting. 

So different was what the media usually portrayed about villages in general and here was a village so different from the image formed in our minds thanks to the mass media. No matter where we belong to, media does affect us all in some way or the other. It shapes concepts of social reality for us.Over a period of time, it shapes our understanding of a particular subject which might or might not be completely true.

- Divya  Nambiar