Kaveeta Kaul
..And the world goes baa baa !
Himesh Reshammiya, medias favourite play child has been the butt of many a jibe recently when he donned a burkha as a disguise to visit the dargah of Ajmer Sharif .
The channels, perennially on the look out for fodder to feed their gargantuan appetite for news, made quite a gung ho of it, mocked, sneered, condemned, questioned a seemingly innocuous incident.
I wonder what the uproar was about? A man wearing a burkha or Himesh Reshammiya wearing it? I am sure its not the first and neither will it be the last occasion of some man deciding to don the garb for more serious hidden agendas than this one.Reports also state that Himesh decided to do so after he ventured to visit the durgah, got mobbed, failed and so on advice of an official there decided to return this time clad in a burkha, for which he has since apologised profusely to the concerned authorities in an effort to stem escalation of a controversial debate reportedly.
He has been on a whirlwind tour of major temples and shrines seeking blessings on the eve of the release of his maiden venture as hero ‘ Aap Ka Suroor’. ..which incidentally I have no intention of watching! But it bears no relevance to the crux of this post.
If the mobs at the dargah had been controllable, if they had perhaps been focussed on the purpose of their own visit, instead of getting hysterical over the sight of another mortal like them, the need for such an act would not have arisen. It was clearly, an innocent attempt at getting through unnoticed.
What should cause worry is this modus operandi being adopted by terrorists and other anti social elements…which one assumes has often been resorted to even in the past. Whether burkha ought to be banned is in my view a blasphemous argument never to be indulged in. Surprising that our would/might/could/should be President Pratibha Patil seemed to insinuate recently that purdah ought to be done away with and was thought seriously to be a patient suffering from of foot-in-mouth disease..among others such as talking with dead God men!
Lets face it, there is little one can do to curb the said practise if adhered to by goons. All that we can fervently hope is that a burkha clad person in these fragile times, when danger seems lurking around the corner, needs to be watched carefully, especially if the height, build, hands, feet , exposed areas do not pass scrutiny. Disparity in physical features between man and woman can be identified..all that is needed is hawk eyed invigilators…Not impossible especially when you consider that Rakhi Sawant even in a a burkha would have been recognised!
Himesh is perhaps having the last laugh. Looks like the visit to the shrine insidiously bore fruit. His movie, his purpose of visit, which might have otherwise gone unnoticed, was resultantly flashed all over the print and electronic media.. much more than he might have envisaged. ..Free publicity..the dream of each one bitten by the glamour bug.
Wish our media would reserve their precious bytes for more ‘deserving’ ‘burkha clad ‘ notorious elements, no matter how oxymoron-ish that sounds..
And politicians with burkha’ed intentions and misdeeds!! Expose them from underneath that sordid veil!!
Sachiniti 
“kya karein kya na karein”
“WHO IS GOING TO WATCH THE WATCH-DOG?”
Kaveeta,
I totally agree with you. The media gives unwanted publicity to the stars and in turn blames the stars …seeking publicity.My question is why the media is giving importance to these trivial issues.People will get to know, only when it is reported in the media , why carry these stories in the first place?If they don’t report where is the question of publicity?.A section of electronic media(read hindi news channels) have been extremely irresponsible and are acting like gossip channels and also promoting all kinds of superstitions ,i don’t want to drop the names of these channels.I’m sure you agree with me.I mean special programs on bhooth,supernatural elements ,smoking monkey, kal kapal mahakal , all ghost stories and even stories of reincarnation , what the hell is happening?what’s this tamasha and nautanki all about?RGV need not go anywhere for his ghost story films…and i’m sure this “MEDIA”(monkey entertainment digusting information available) is not going to change its attitude its like the dog’s tail.For a change they are not going to change…anyway lets hope for the best…
Comment by Aneesh — June 29, 2007 @ 2:12 pm |
“And politicians with burkha’ed intentions and misdeeds!! Expose them from underneath that sordid veil!!”
YEah… Cheers to that!!!!! Purde ke peeche kya hai, lot more than this Reshammiya guy!
I was wondering ..did he wear his cap below the burkha?!!
Comment by Neha — June 29, 2007 @ 2:23 pm |
This media circus is indeed infuriating. One channel broadcasts something which only they consider ‘breaking news’ and a dozen more follow. This news that you have written of was as if earth shaking from their perspective. I cannot understand what it is about Himesh that they latch on to him like flies on a jar of honey.
Comment by dilip — June 29, 2007 @ 5:59 pm |
@Who is gonna watch the watch dog? good question Anesh. I guess it will have to be us..or make it US..lol.. why underestimate our power!
Yeah I know what u are referring to.. those fantasy filled ghost stories, being unearthed from every corner of India ..the more ridiculous , more the beaming time allotted to it. The lamest part is the end where the channel limply blames it on ‘andh shraddha’ or blind faith. Then why highlight it? If the purpose is to enlighten the villagers then their target audience is certainly not these steeped in andh vishwaas villagers as cable connections are next to nil there. all they see is doordarshan. Its clearly a mode of enticing eyeballs since teenagers, etc are gullible audiences.
@Neha..Purde ke peeche kya hai..good one.Maybe you ought to ask Maam patil mthat as well.I have no idea who is her Pr officer these days but she should sack him pronto!!
What is with Himesh and his cap? Is it a Samson complex.. the guy had his strength in his locks no?
@Dilip, Its not the media its the masses who are all agog willing to lap up any dung about him. Media as usual is catering to the masses.
Comment by kaveetaakaul — June 29, 2007 @ 7:16 pm |
Himesh Reshammiya Wears Burkha To Dargah..
Himesh Reshammiya, medias favourite play child has been the butt of many a jibe recently when he donned a burkha as a disguise to visit the dargah of Ajmer Sharif .
The channels, perennially on the look out for fodder to feed their gargantuan appeti…
Trackback by Anonymous — June 29, 2007 @ 10:38 pm |
“Disparity in physical features between man and woman can be identified”
– suggested technologies: thermal imaging systems on CCTV cameras(operational in airports), biomimetic (being tried out in Newark Intl. Airpot)nanodevices that uses the same electro-mechanical technique as a dog’s nose to register minor (e.g. hormonal) smells.
These (and otbhers) technologies can identify some of the perceived security threats
of burqa clad people. However when it comes to the politicians and monitoring them- well technology sadly has no answers. Instead of doing away with burqas, Prathibha Patil should talk about fast-tracking court cases where politicians are accused of corruption or violence.
Comment by Murat — June 30, 2007 @ 2:41 pm |
True Murat.
One is quite sure that the powers who be are acquainted with the devices necessary to keep trouble at bay. What is flummoxing is the apparent disinterest/ lackadaisical approach to nipping it in the bud.
Post blasts in Mumbai, the situation was yet so fluid that it kept us on tenterhooks. perhaps this will give you a fair idea as to why Indians dont feel secure.
https://sachiniti.wordpress.com/2006/07/13/is-india-safe-now-what/#more-100
Comment by kaveetaakaul — July 1, 2007 @ 12:05 am |
My take on this is, as long as there are people that are interested in ‘sensational news’, the media will highlight stories of this kind.The print media and 24 hour news channels need some story to them occupied and they turn non-stories into news articles.
One cannot even blame the lack of maturity of Indian media,as the media in the west acts as immature as their eastern counterparts.
Comment by Srikant — July 10, 2007 @ 2:02 am |
yeah..sigh.. that is the tragedy Sri.. its ‘news’ which is being marketed these days. One would have hoped that this would be one area free of commercialisation to this degree. But thats not to be. How can one then confer them with any credibility if they are just as ‘bikao’..No?
Comment by kaveetaakaul — July 10, 2007 @ 4:26 pm |