Bridging Gaps

In the last post, I had written about an India out there in the rural villages which sometimes knows about various products through an amazing things called mass media but then is unable to get them because of various reasons ranging from problems in distribution channels to the mentality of advertisers who often think that a product would be useful to one section of the society but not to the other. And then there are the ones who are absolutely unaware of various products that the urban India can't do without! 

We see a 'knowledge gap' here which can result in an increased gap between the people of the higher and lower socioeconomic status. The attempt to improve the lives of people with information via the mass media might not always work the way it is planned to be. 

People from all strata may learn new information as a result of a campaign by the mass media but there is a chance that those with higher levels of education are more likely to learn more than those with lower levels of education, and the informational gap between the two groups expands in the process.

Break open those doors to fill the gaps!

The best example I found when I visited Mahalunge was that of the hand sanitizer. I have seen girls becoming cranky if they couldn't find their precious bottle of hand sanitizer to make their hands germ-free to consume a plate of Bhel-puri from the roadside vendor! That's incredible, indeed. When one of our group members used a little bit to clean her hands, one of  the residents from there, a teenaged girl asked us what it was. 

In this case who could be the gatekeeper or in other words who was the one who decided which of a certain commodity – materials, goods and information – may enter the system? Was it the advertisers who thought that this village was just not worth selling hand-sanitizers or was it the basic thought which gets into the minds of people that villagers are a set of less developed people who barely have the desire to improve their living standards as they are busy trying to meet their ends meet. At such a point, who would have whims of things like these. Right? Not necessarily!

Agreed that the city is more polluted and hence full of germs (according to popular belief) but don't the villagers have a right to be healthy and safe too? Ofcourse promoting hand-sanitizers is not the ultimate option but the sheer ignorance of the existence of such a product startled me and that's when I realized the importance of particular types of communication in specific regions. As a student of Advertising, it gave me a plethora of knowledge about the ways in which the society functions. 

Advertisers and Marketers need to have a real knowledge about communication theories and models as that is the framework which can go a long way in guiding them to design and implement successful ad campaigns and ultimately selling their products. 

 

Being Socially Active - Pure Joy!

The villagers of Mahalunge eagerly await the fair takes place in the premises of Vajreshwari temple every year, in honour of Vajreshwari Devi.

The Vajreshwari temple and the makeshift shops

The villagers told us about the fair that was to commence on the 14th day of the fortnight of the waning moon of the month with ceremonial worship of the Goddess. On the first day of the Hindu month called Vaisakha, the ceremonial procession with a Palkhi (palanquin) carrying an image of the goddess, was said to be taken out.

This fair was like a festival for villagers. In a village where there is only one shop which dosen't have all the products required to satisfy their demands ,the fair gave them the opportunity to see and buy things which they wouldn’t be able to get otherwise. Ofcourse they do get the basic requirements but then there lies an India out there in the rural villages which sometimes knows about things but then is unable to get them and then there are the ones who are absolutely unaware of various products that the urban India can't do without! (I will get into the details of that in another post).

The humble shop that boasts to have many products there

The children and the ladies were the most excited to go to that fair. It was one of those rare moments when the entire lady-folk of the village assembled to share some stories (except that of their daily chores and woes)  and the kids got an opportunity to have their share of fun with their parents a bit more lenient for the time- being. Here we  get to see a glimpse of the Social Exchange Theory which argues that satisfaction of both people's self-interest is the major force in interpersonal relationships. It also says that self-interest may not necessarily be a bad thing as it has the potential to actually enhance relationships.The Social Exchange approach views interpersonal exchanges as analogous to economic exchanges wherein people are satisfied when they obtain a fair return on their expenditures.

Mahalunge, according to me, had customers whose potential for buying could be tapped into. There could be educational programmes as well as promotional campaigns of products that would give them a chance to see and feel things that they would have only seen on television or might not have seen at all. Infact keeping track with the Social Exchange Theory, the marketers could conduct games wherein the winners could be rewarded.Central to the social exchange theory is the idea that an interaction that has the capacity to elicit approval from another person is more likely to be repeated yet again rather than an interaction that elicits disapproval. If the villagers like the gift, they would definitely want to have further interactions with the marketers. That would be the time for them to introduce the villagers to their product.

Social platforms for communication, interactions and maintaining relationships is of prime importance to human beings. Man cannot exist alone. He needs to be in a social atmosphere in order to survive and develop or else he withers and dies. Sometimes in these very interactions are lasting bonds formed!

- Divya Nambiar

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