Life just gives you time & space; it's up to you to fill it.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Satellite vs Moonlight

I was never an ardent TV watcher, probably because from childhood TV meant doing something and watching simultaneously. Watching TV alone was a sheer waste of time for me. Well, nothing ever got me so engrossed that I could stare at the idiot box for hours together, cricket matches between India and Pakistan were probably the only exceptions! Understandably, we didn't think of Satellite TV for a long time. Now that we have mum-in-law here, we have had to consider her free time and longings for the unending MEGA-serials on Sun-TV and decided to get the connection. Now that we have the luxury of watching Tamil and Hindi programs being away from home, I seem to be leaning towards becoming a couch potato myself.

Earlier we used to go for walks after dinner and enjoy the moonlight and the fresh air, but now it is more like what is the next program? Oh! Is it Ramya Krishnan in "Thanga Vettai" or is it Amitabh Bachchan in "Don". Surfing channels was not a problem earlier since it was a unanimous (read as one and only) choice. Be it Deperate Housewives or House, I would just watch (partially) what was running without complaining, but now we have to satisfy the demands of 3 adults, which quite imaginably isn't the easiest. Thankfully we haven't got hooked to the MEGA-serials yet. I would really be worried of my mental condition if that ever happened to me! Wonder how people can get so obsessed with sob stories when real life is so stressful. I have heard that MEGA-serials are a hit in India because they are based around common man's problems, but imagine sitting through the same day-to-day issues that you have been facing the whole day even on television. Phew! sounds crazy to me...

I used to be surprised when people back home refused to go out during specific timings. Even if guests visited during these times, they would hardly get the attention. Only during commercial breaks would the guests and hosts see each other and the topic of dicussion is usually about what the protagonist of the mega-serial is going through and what a poor thing he/she is. I hope they realise that the hero/heroine is making a lot of money in the process and is not really a poor thing. Some people even live their life based on these serials. How much worse could it get?

It struck me funny how they have named it satellite television. Moon is a satellite of earth and used to be the center of one too many poet's description of beauty. But, now with satellite TV, we hardly get to admire the beauty of earth's only natural satellite! Looks like satellites are competing against each other for man's desire. What a pity...

Friday, July 14, 2006

Indian Soccer vs Indian Cricket

It is going to be a week since the WorldCup ended and the soccer spirit lives on thanks to the mighty Italians and the Zizou controversy! It wasn't the best way for Zizou to bow out of the game, yet some things cannot be undone. The Italians continue with their 12-year cycle of entering into the finals and this time they came out triumphant. Long live the Pizza and the Pasta!!!

While watching some of these nail-biting games, I was wondering why India wasn't grooming a soccer team. It is such a fast-paced and strategic game which I am sure wouldn't have gone unnoticed by SAI (Sports Authority of India). I have also heard that there are ardent fans for the game in our good old Kolkata who take a day off from work to watch the game (just like their spirit for cricket). Then, why no Soccerrers (Soccer + Tigers) yet? I had some explanation for it -

1) Indians love unending drama - the success of all the MEGA-serials proves that we Indians probably prefer a game to go on forever (such as test cricket) rather than be short and restricted to less than 2 hours.

2) Indians believe the third Umpire - From most of the crucial cricket matches, it is evident that the third Umpire's verdict is the final and soccer not having a third Umpire probably is not convincing enough for the players.

3) Indians like breaks - Indian players prefer short breaks every now and then (such as after every over in cricket) to chat up with fellow team mates and refresh themselves. Playing continuously is not one of our virtues. Indian TV probably promotes this too, so they can make money in advertisements.

4) Injury time - If there was something like that in India, then most players would probably fake injury every other minute, to feed their belief of what cannot be done in the given time can be accomplished in the injury time!

5) Penalty Shoot-out - Imagine the situation where India and Pakistan are playing a soccer match at Kolkata and the score is 1-1 even after the extra time. It is time for penalty kicks from either side to decide the fate of the game. In this situation, both are equal (2 goals and 2 misses each) until the last kick from either side. The Pak striker has kicked a good shot and the Indian goal-keeper failed to stop the goal from happening. There would be commotion in the audience and all we can see is bottles being flinged into the ground. Before the Indian striker can take his chance, the police would have to intervene and decide the game as draw (don't think that could happen in normal soccer, but who ever said that everything that happens in India is normal?)