Constructing Kumbh on TV

January 16, 2013 09:19

Monday, 14 January, saw the inauguration of the Kumbh Mela. I remember Gandhi in one of his comments remarked matter of factly that India does not need lectures in crowd control as long as it has the Kumbh Mela. I was contrasting mentally the folklore attitude to the Kumbh with the way TV constructs the Kumbh. TV in India orientalises the Kumbh. It is presented as a fact out of the Guinness Book of Records, as something out of Ripley's Believe it or Not.

There is an alienation, a distancing, a quaintness as westernised broadcasters approach the Kumbh pilgrimage as creatures in a zoo. The selection of pictures, including those of sadhus, American tourists, a family having a quick dip, etc, provides a tourist vignette of what is our own people, the core of a civilisation. For an ordinary Hindu, the Kumbh is almost genetic. For our TV broadcasters, the Kumbh is alien, a curiosity. At one level, the spectator watching these broadcasters realises that for her Woodstock as a musical festival and protest makes more sense than the Kumbh. What I am suggesting is that media is guilty of orientalising its own people. The Kumbh is more than a ritual.

Read full article here

« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES

DGCA directs airlines to seat kids up to 12 years with their parents

A child who is less than 12 years of age must be allotted a seat beside at least one parent or a guardian with whom he is travelling, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) told airlines on Tuesday. The DGCA has said that the...

Dangerous to say govt can't take over private property: SC

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the Constitution intended to bring about a 'sense of social transformation' and it would be 'dangerous' to say that the private property of an individual cannot be regarded as material resources of...

Asian U-20 Athletics: Deepanshu wins gold in javelin

Deepanshu Sharma secured the gold medal in men's javelin as Indian athletes produced a good show on the opening day of the 21st Asian Under-20 Athletics Championships.

IPL PIX: Pant, Axar dazzle as DC post huge total

Images from the IPL 2024 match between Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Titans.

SP changes mind, now Akhilesh to contest from Kannauj

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav will contest the Lok Sabha elections from Kannauj, the party announced on Wednesday, two days after it had declared another candidate for the Uttar Pradesh seat.