Posted:
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Fame Gurukul – a mirror of India's reservation mentality
..............was evident yesterday in Head Faculty Ila Arun's strident and immensely embarrassing defense of her utterly stupid choices to save Qazi (and earlier Sandip) which were in large part responsible for the elimination of Arijit & Shamit, the two best male contestants (or 2 out of 3 – the other being Rex). She kept saying that what she did was 'protsahan', which she had full right to do, without once acknowledging that her choice to choose the less meritorious contestant was inherently flawed.
Fame Gurukul is a reality show and in this lies its strange fascination for me (and for others too I think) as we watch riveted, and horrified at the same time – at the disgusting truth of the nature of our own identity.
In Ila Arun's refusal to acknowledge that the true criterion of her choice must be merit and not need lies the fatal flaw that cost our nation half a century of growth post independence – the period when our systems and minds and spirit ossified and during which fatalism became institutionalized on such a massive scale it became almost indistinguishable from our very being. Fame Gurukul's strange dynamics of letting the best contestants fall by the wayside while celebrating those clearly less talented (who are themselves left non-plussed!) shows us who we are……
….and it ain't pretty at all
Fame Gurukul – a mirror of India's reservation mentality
..............was evident yesterday in Head Faculty Ila Arun's strident and immensely embarrassing defense of her utterly stupid choices to save Qazi (and earlier Sandip) which were in large part responsible for the elimination of Arijit & Shamit, the two best male contestants (or 2 out of 3 – the other being Rex). She kept saying that what she did was 'protsahan', which she had full right to do, without once acknowledging that her choice to choose the less meritorious contestant was inherently flawed.
Fame Gurukul is a reality show and in this lies its strange fascination for me (and for others too I think) as we watch riveted, and horrified at the same time – at the disgusting truth of the nature of our own identity.
In Ila Arun's refusal to acknowledge that the true criterion of her choice must be merit and not need lies the fatal flaw that cost our nation half a century of growth post independence – the period when our systems and minds and spirit ossified and during which fatalism became institutionalized on such a massive scale it became almost indistinguishable from our very being. Fame Gurukul's strange dynamics of letting the best contestants fall by the wayside while celebrating those clearly less talented (who are themselves left non-plussed!) shows us who we are……
….and it ain't pretty at all
Members Lounge
Mr And Mrs Parshuram
Dr Aarambhi
Indian Premier League
