Being Human

I am appalled.

Right from yesterday early morning , till late night, the T V channels had a field day, blurting out details ,known and unknown about the Salman Khan trial.

I am sure even if there was an earthquake or a Tsunami, it would have had to wait to make impact, against the news of Salman Khan, unless the offices of the T V channel were directly affected.

Nobody would perhaps have known  or even acknowledged , that the Parliament had passed the G S T Bill- after heated debate amidst  much acrimony and a walk-out of the Congress. This bill is going to have more impact on the common man's daily life, than whether Salman Khan is inside jail or wooing another heroine outside.

But for T V channels nothing is more sacrosanct than T R P 's and who else to guarantee it than a celebrity.

I have never understood the psyche of people in this Country, the way they were clogging the lanes and by-lanes of his house and the Court, where he was pronounced guilty.

Well Justice is done for the present.

But there is an interesting side story- a lot was said about his charity ' Being Human' .It was even brought to the notice of the Court. While I have nothing to say about sincere efforts, to make life easy for some- what I wonder most is when did this charity begin.

Correct me if I am wrong, but it seems , the Charitable side of the Celebrity emerged, after he had mowed down some people, in a frenzy of drunk driving- not before.

So it was an afterthought , post the aftermath of his act or maybe just maybe a clever ploy to score brownie points.

Well remorse is a very good human quality and I pray that, he sustains the momentum to carry the  good work, all through his life.

Dilip Apte

May 7 , 2015

                                        Mothers Day

Last Sunday it was Mothers Day. We in India celebrate it when the Americans do i e the Second Sunday of May.

In that manner , we are Apes , having first always been in awe of the Westerners and then aping them, left right and centre.

This mostly started on a broader scale [before that only the Raosahebs and Raibahadurs and the hoi-polloi of the Indian society coming into contact with the Gora sahib did it ], when Hollywood films ,started to be shown and the common man began to be acquainted with the society rituals - women mixing freely with men, smoking- drinking etc. etc.

Indian Films which had a huge fan following, started depicting scenes of smoking and drinking. The smoking among simple ordinary men became common., when they saw their idols doing it on screen and aping came naturally.

1964- was the year when it was conclusively proven that Nicotine causes cancer. The health conscious Americans were jolted from their reverie. However the tobacco Industry needed to maintain their profit levels. Thus came search of new avenues- India was one of them. Tobacco firms from outside India started setting manufacturing plants in India. W D & H O Wills, Golden Tobacco , Godfrey Phillips and many more.

It took almost 15-20 years for the news of linkage with Cancer and Nicotine, to reach the common man in India, who by then grown on watching and aping Hollywood Films, had become an addict. So was with many women, who joined men.

By the 90 's, smoking in the Western Countries- read America- due to awareness and stricter laws had become an onerous task- but profits of companies in this business needed to exponentially grow .We, in India had a sizeable population of men and women , enjoying a puff.by then.
Then came the Satellite Channels in India and they brought the Western Culture to our homes- thus came the Valentines Day, Mothers Day, Fathers Day etc. etc.

The opening of the Economy, the I T revolution , Internet etc. opened our minds to new ways and forms of celebrations.

How this Industry has grown- Greeting Cards, Gifts became the in thing to do.

Oh I am not going into the moralistic issue of this or the decadency of values . It is for each individual to make and form an opinion.

Coming to the crux of the matter, I saw many posts on f b of different people- men and women posting photos of their mother, who are living far away somewhere- but asking people [their friends on f b] - to pray for their mother's healthy and long life as it was Mother's Day and they suddenly remembered her and recognized the value of telling their friends about their mother- who may perhaps even be living in some old-age home or in some forlorn area, away from the love and care of her near ones.
And the decadent children seizing this opportunity to exhibit their phony love.

Honestly, I would like to know, from all those who posted about their mothers, whether they live, with their mother, whether they take good care of their mother
.
If that is not so- they have no right to post anything about their mother on any day

Dilip Apte

May 16 , 2015