Celebrate the music of unity and harmony

By Dr H Srikanth

Last Friday night, braving inclement weather, the people of Meghalaya came out of their homes in large numbers to celebrate music and to ensure a place for Amit Paul in the finals of Indian Idol -3. The grand public reception that Amit Paul received in Shillong on September 3 and the way this boy conducted himself in the public reinforced my faith in the ideas that I expressed in my previous piece on Amit (The Shillong Times, September 4). But some readers felt that I was rather jumping to quick conclusions about the nature of this new phenomenon, ignoring the darker side of the Indian Idol show. Certain minor irritants and tensions in the campaign are also brought to my notice. Although I admit the need for overcoming such limitations, on the whole I still believe that the public enthusiasm generated by 'Amit's magic' could well be used as a stepping stone for the emergence of a self-confident, multi-cultural, peace loving and progressive state of Meghalaya.

Seen at one level, TV musical reality shows such as Indian Idol, Sa Ri Ga Ma Pa and Voice of India are basically popular commercial programs that seek to create a sense of public participation by projecting the viewers as ultimate judges. They make money not only from commercial advertisements, but also from numerous SMSs and telephone calls sent or made by the viewers. The more the spectators, the greater will be their profits. Keeping the viewers' interest alive therefore becomes very crucial for commercial success of such reality shows. To achieve that the TV channels have to scout for and rope in talented singers from different parts of India, if possible even from across the Indian borders. This commercially motivated search throws opportunities for some truly talented but otherwise little known artists from marginalized communities and peripheral regions also. Once these gifted few succeed in making impact at the national level, their struggles cease to be individual efforts. They soon become the heroes of the communities and regions to which they belong. Especially the people belonging to marginalized communities and peripheral regions begin to identify themselves with and rally for the success of 'their own boys'. They lend all-out support in favor of their choice and through him seek honor and respectable status and identity for their communities and regions.

completreport here:

http://www.amitpaul.org/Celebrate_the_music_of_unity_and_har mony_amitpaul.htm