RC sent me a mail about the 10 things that shaped India in 2005 according to rediff.
1. Indian Idol.
I dont understand if becoming a celebrity is THE thing for Indians. Is it?
To quote rediff ‘Millions went gaga over Fame Gurukul winner Qazi Tauqeer, a boy from strife-torn Kashmir who danced all night in front of his bedroom mirror and daydreamed of stardom. ‘ What next? South Indian Idol. Chennai Idol. Kilpauk Idol. GN Chetty Road Idol. Aishwarya Apartments Idol?
2. Moral Policing
No immorality please, this is the land of the Kamasutra.
To some extent I agree with this.
3. MMS - Pocket Porn
Uh-Oh! Is this a thing that shaped India??
4. Political infighting: I am the party!
No comments!
5. Blogs: Bridget Jones’ e-diaries
Blogs are e-diaries? Really? And link for blogs in that article leads to RediffLand. Assumption is mother of all —- ups!
6. Sensex dream run: Share spoils
This is one thing that must surely figure in the list. But what is it doing at No 6? Shouldnt it be right at the top?
7. iPods: Honey, I shrunk the songs!
Hello boss. What has iPod got to do with shaping India?
8. Water woes: Washed out
Natures fury!
9. Multiplex movies: times they are a changin’
I see.
10. Indian art: Going green
This is good. But again, what is it doing at no 10.
On the whole a very crazy list! Doesnt make any sense! Good they didnt put photographs of some KingFisher AirHostess, since that has something to do with shapes!
on 21 Dec 2005 at 11:06 am # prabukarthik
>>didnt put photographs of some KingFisher AirHostess, since that has something to do with shapes!
ipdi neengaley idea kudukka vendiyadhu, aprom ‘crazy, does not make any sense’ nu solla vendiyadhu. now that u mentioned, i am trying to convey this shapely example to kumudam and vikatan:)
rediff laam ‘Pammal K Sammandham’ pazhamozhi madhiri - anubavikanum, aaraayakooadhu
on 21 Dec 2005 at 11:34 am # Sneha
ha ha i read this article in the morning. I thot there has been some title misplaced kinda error and was expecting rediff to correct it.
on 21 Dec 2005 at 11:35 am # Rubic_Cube
Ferro,
I agree.
LOL @ prabhukarthik!
on 21 Dec 2005 at 12:35 pm # Maverick
It looks like you do not seem to agree with this list only because that it does not suit the title of ‘things that SHAPED india’to an extent. ‘Shaped India’ can broadly mean anything from things that fashioned India, that made India, trends, newsmakers etc.
Rediff thinks that these are things that definitely figured on top in the last one year.
1. Indian Idol - Before going into whether these reality shows are needed (thats a totally different topic), lets see if they really made news for most of 2005. Going by stats, I have to say YES. Indian Idol, Nach Baliye, Super Singer, Get Gorgeous, Fame Gurukul, Sa Re Ga Ma, Item Number, Kaboom and all other reality based shows must have got the maximum TRP ratings. Maybe, you and me might not have watched much of this. But that’s what the most of India had been watching in 2005. Sure thing to be in this list!
2. Moral Policing - Right or Wrong? Don’t know but newsmakers of 2005 for sure. Khushboo, Suhasini, Sania cases, Shakti Kapoor casting couch scandal, Sting operations. IMO, the #1 thing that hit India last year. Btw, did you watch yday’s ‘Face the Nation’ on CNN-IBN. Rajdeep Sardesai with Jaya Jaitley and the ‘Investigations’ editor. Was a good one !!
3. MMS - Pocket Porn - Too many in the past. Right from school kids to bollywood actors & actresses, nobody was spared. Pritish Nandy even went to the extent of marketing his movie (Ek Khiladi, Ek Haseena) with a MMS clip of Fardeen & Koena shower scene on a MMS clip!!!
4. Political infighting - I am the party - First thing that comes to my mind is Uma Bharti and BJP. Narayan Rane & Shiv Sena.
5. Blogs: Bridget Jones’ e-diaries - Not all of them are e-diaries as you said. But most of the blogs these days are just about his/her personal jottings, their observations, their routine, what they ate and drank, what they did during the day, where they went etc etc. That’s exactly what you write in a diary, right? So, I dont see anything wrong in Rediff’s statement. About the link leading to their own blog portal, I find that it is normal. Goto ToI and you would find an article about blogs leading to their Indiatimes blog portal. What else do you expect? They, atleast aren’t telling that rediffblogs were the leaders in 2005 Indian blogosphere, right?
6. Sensex dream run: Share spoils - No arguments here.
7. iPods: Honey, I shrunk the songs! - I am not so sure about this one but I agree that iPods have made some serious impression in Indian market.
8. Water woes: Washed out - Disaster!!! That’s something India saw a lot in 2005.
9. Multiplex movies: times they are a changin’ - Agree to an extent but not too sure if it is a top 10 thing in 2005.
10. Indian art: Going green - Don’t know enough to make a comment.
Btw, if you do not agree with this list, what is according to you was the top 10 things that shaped up in 2005 for India ?
on 21 Dec 2005 at 2:02 pm # Boo
Maverick, ’shaped’ can mean those things you said, yes! But just because they were in the news mostly does nt mean they shaped up India, right? ‘Shaped’ has a positive meaning (improvement!) to it and my question is how did India benefit from these things? Did reality shows pave a way for a better India? So where do we stand today on Moral policing after all the front-page news? Pritish Nandy found a cheap stunt to promote his movie, so? India has shaped up coz of that? Ipods have made an impression, Multiplex movies have changed lives. Again, so? Water woes - front-page news again and lots of damages and fatalities? Are roads better now? Can we honestly say that another rain wont do the same? When you and I don’t know enough to comment about Indian art, how has it shaped us? When has politics ever shaped up this country to say that political infighting has? Shares are the only thing all of us seem to share! Top 10 things that made news yes but definitely not the things that shaped India. Don’t want to be picky but we expect more from a news portal!
on 22 Dec 2005 at 8:14 am # capriciously_me
u mite agree to a lot here…
http://specials.rediff.com/yearend/2005/dec/21yend1.htm
on 22 Dec 2005 at 12:00 pm # Maverick
Boo
Again, you are getting confused by what the word ’shaped’ could mean. More often it is used as a word that has a positive meaning to create/form/improve something. More often, but not always and not here. In this context, ’shaped’ means ‘directed the course of’. So Rediff thinks that these are the things that directed the course of India in 2005. Now, would you agree?
I think you need to read my first comment again to understand that I never said that those things did something good for India. I just said they happened in India in a big way in the last one year.
//When you and I don’t know enough to comment about Indian art, how has it shaped us?//
Strange !! I also wasn’t affected by the tsunami and water woes. So can I say that it cannot figure in the top 10? You & me might not know much about what happened in Indian art in 2005, but that does not necessarily mean that nothing worthy happened to figure in the top 10 things for 2005. Debatable it is, I agree. But we can’t use our ignorace to argue against it.
on 22 Dec 2005 at 2:45 pm # F e r r a r i
Capri,
That was a very nice link. Thanks