Saturday, May 19, 2012

DTH for Media Control


When I bought TataSky HD, they provided one month access to all channels for free. Before renewing for the second month, I modified my plan and subscribed only to a selected TV channels. While selecting the channels I chose the ones I or my family loved to watch while I excluded the ones which we disliked. The outcome was a list of only those channels we liked. There could have been a case when I had to select a channel which I didn’t like because someone else in my family liked, but fortunately there was no such case with us.

I think while DTH has helped consumers in many ways, it has also resulted in increased media responsibility. If a news channel doesn’t care for viewers’ sensibilities and preferences, for example by hosting too many vulgar programs or those showing excessive violence, or by inserting too many commercial advertisements, the users will simply stop subscribing to the channel. A channel can cost the subscriber anything from Rs 5 to 40 and if we multiply it with lakhs of subscribers that adds up to huge revenue for the TV channels. This didn’t happen earlier when the Cable Wallah provided a host of channels without choice and you had to keep all of them whether you watched them or not. So I think popularity of DTH will be resulting in TV channels becoming more responsible towards viewers’ choices and they won’t ever feel like operating in a monopoly.

Friday, May 11, 2012

Flash Mob of Thugs in Pune


A colleague shares an incident which happened recently. While going home from office late at night around 9, he had to pass through a somewhat isolated patch of road, though there were some vehicles passing through. Suddenly a car which was passing by stopped and 3 people came out of it. They stopped him and started shouting at him accusing him of hitting their car and damaging it. In a few moments, a mob of around 20-30 people gathered at the site immediately and everyone started abusing him and asking for money as compensation for the claimed damages done.

The friend notes that the mob had gathered in no time as if it was a planned scheme. Also, the car was new and didn’t have a number plate. There was no single scratch either on the car or on his bike as there was no real hitting which had happened. The friend hailed from North India and this incident happened in Pune in Maharashtra, so there were language issues too. Ultimately he was able to convince them that nothing had happened and anyhow succeeded in rushing away without paying any money to them. This, he believes might not happen with everyone and hence he warns bike riders especially from IT companies, to be aware and vigilant about such flash mobs looting people…

- Rahul

Eating Habits and Spiritual Growth


Someone found that a highly revered spiritual person took non-vegetarian food at times. People knew about it. Is it unusual? Is it shameful and unacceptable? Or is it something which shouldn’t raise our eyebrows?  

I think that what we eat is for our body. What we eat does impact our moods and our thinking, but may be not much when the food is taken in small quantity infrequently, which I believe the spiritual leader would be doing during certain part of his life... I think if one is highly spiritually enlightened, it doesn't matter what he ate. For example, if I don't eat for 5 hours I will feel hungry, troubled, and agitated. But the same won't happen to a person who has all his senses in perfect control; like a Yogi or a Sadhu. These people may still be stable and happy after being hungry for many hours. So it is not the food or its absence which would trouble me - it will be my inability to control senses which would do that. So I strongly believe that for evolved souls, these small matters don't impact them if they don’t want to be impacted by them.

Still there is an issue of sensitivity. I think evolved souls would be more sensitive than us. But sensitiveness is one thing and being affected by those is another. Highly evolved souls would be "aware" of all - even the little and small things surrounding them - but they won't be affected by them because of the "detachment" they experience all the time...

What do you think?

- Rahul