One Instance Of Online Social Networks Weakening Our Physical & Emotional Attachments

I usually do not remember birthdays. Well, not beyond my own family members at least. Also I find it particularly non-interesting (read, I feel lazy!!) to note and refer my diary for birthdays. Besides, I highly detest online birthday reminder services that clog the email inbox and I also don't appreciate pesky computer desktop reminder softwares. And that's why I must say a 'thank you' to social networking sites for coming to the rescue.

Like thousands of Indians, I am a member of Orkut.com - a social networking site and I like the 'upcoming birthdays' so conveniently stated when you log in. Even if, as is my case, you're too lazy to read the birth dates, or even are likely to forget it after reading, Orkut highlights the friend's name and birth date in bold on the b-day. And with the convenience of just clicking and scrapping a 'happy-wappy b'day 2 u!!', I instantly do it and it's as if I have done my duty. Indeed, I feel nice and it sure seems 'a great way to maintain relationships!'. Even the birthday boy or gal feels good that they've been remembered on their birthday or appreciates the fact that I've taken pain to send a greeting.

Well, that what I felt until now. Pondering, I realized that in the first place 'real' contact with many of these friends on my Online Social Network (OSN) may not necessarily happen. Besides, many of the friends who got lost for a while and are united now due to the OSN, are people whom maybe I really wouldn't have missed even if I hadn't interacted with them ever. But then that is the good part of OSN that help you maintain AFFILIATIONS even though it may be under a cloak of 'FRIENDSHIP'. Indeed, you may not even regularly interact with the person in you social network of 100, 200 or even 1000 people, but you do wish a 'happy birthday'. Fine that is good. But that I feel is not inspired due to friendship but only due to the relative ease of communicating messages across. Otherwise would you have ever taken trouble to meet in person or even call up to wish? Not so, I feel. This is where social networks have weakened bonds.

Though, OSNs have increased the circle of affiliations and interactions, they have not really helped in building very strong bonds in the physical and emotional sense. It's kind of mechanical. Like you send greeting to all people whose birthday you see on your screen, but there really may be no feeling. It may just be an involuntary action. While business-wise, professionally, socially, this may be a good way just to remind each other that we know each other, on a physical platform, emotional bridges never get build. Even good friends and family may just be wished via a scrap. The good 'ol days of personally making a greeting or spending hours to select a gift and card in gift stores seem to be entering into oblivion. The meetings on the birthdays over dinner or a sippa hot cappuccino may be only rarely.

While many might oppose my thought strongly, and with me also accepting that I have stated my idea in a hazy manner (indicating that I am open to debate), I am pretty confident that social networks are structures for having cartloads of people as 'friends' but very few real relationships. And in view of the trend (this being one among many) to wish each other just via a 'scrap' or simply by 'writing on the wall' will 100% result in the meltdown of the sense of being physically and emotionally attached to people. Or simply, I believe that 'Online Social Networks Are Weakening Our Physical & Emotional Attachments'. Let's see, what technology develops as solution to this, if at all.

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Bollywood and sports, any equations?

Shahrukh Bhaiya’s Chak De India has once again brought about union of two diverse, yet equally popular, fields - films and sports. But here’s where one would like to critically asses how well do the two gel together – like bread and butter or like milk and lemon? Especially when we speak of mainstream Bollywood movies, this question gains importance as there are only a handful of films that have been centered on sports or have at least, a remote backdrop of sports. Lagaan, Iqbaal, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander and of course, Chak De India are notable amongst examples of films belonging to the genre of sports films.

Indeed, Bollywood doesn’t have a history of producing grand amalgamations of cinema and sports. This is so even though tales of sports and sports personalities can make profound impact on mindsets of people. Of course, Bollywood tries to explain by giving twin reasons of failure at box office and the faint sounds of cash registers. Well, that is true as traditionally Indians have never seen too much beyond cricket and at best, some hockey and tennis. Also, cycling, swimming, skating, chess, gymnastics and athletics were usually not seen in same light as the sports which require teams.

In fact, it is fairly recent (about ten years only) that people are waking up to other western sports like football, basketball, auto racing, horse racing, ice hockey and even, bull fighting (animal lovers may flay me for calling this a sport!!). People are now growing open to understand and enjoying portrayal of ‘unconventional’ or newer sports on the silver screen. Moreover, innovative marketing strategies based on regional population and/or non-promotion of movies as specifically as ‘sports movie’ in spite of central focus on sport in the film are helping people enter cinema halls without pre-conceived notions, and absorb the contents more liberally.

But then after all, most sports tales are all about triumph and saga of struggle that went into the making of that triumph. And almost every human mind is appreciative of this. And there isn’t a better medium as yet than Bollywood to take them to the masses. Of course, in turn the cycle continues to push up the number of people who understand the values of getting into sports and appreciating as well as understanding them. And it is undeniable that Bollywood has moved ahead of mere lip-service to games i.e. of showing actors playing rugby or badminton or swimming or ice-skating during brief sequences in films. As proof, besides wholesome sports-based entertainers like Lagaan and the other films mentioned in the beginning, Tara Rum Pum and Apne too have tried to focus on sports of F1 racing and boxing respectively. Yet-to-be released Goal will see John Abraham and Arshad Warsi pull up their socks on the football ground.

However, production of a memorable full fledged film akin to Hollywood flicks like Rocky or Karate Kid is still a faraway dream in Bollywood, considering there is still some fear among producers to dedicate a whole movie, say to narrate the story of PT Usha or maybe, Dhyaan Chand. This is why until sports and games in general becomes a part of the national ethos; films based on any sport will be viewed as ‘distinct’, ‘different’ and ‘path-breaking’. Speaking of sports becoming a part of national ethos, one may like to pinpoint here that we really lack efficient players even though there are sufficient number of them. The reasons are many – poverty, bias, nepotism, favoritism to other sports, no trainers, facilities and their costs, less media hype, lack of sponsors, etc. Once this changes Bollywood will rise more confidently to showcase India’s prowess in sports to the world unlike today. At the same time, Bollywood must realize that blind attempts to cash in on some momentary trends do not pay off. Look at the fate of Stumped and Hattrick that failed miserably.

As conclusion, as of now, we have to be satisfied with the few, but brilliantly crafted movies like Lagaan and Chak De India. And as for the question of Bollywood and sports going together, we hope it only to grow stronger in coming times.

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P.S. Before you start wondering why is Bend it Like Beckham not mentioned anywhere in the above piece, it surely isn’t a product from the Bollywood stable, is it? :-)

It’s been long…

Well, it has actually been very long since I posted anything on my blog. So today I decided to take break from the treadmill of life and speak something out. And I definitely should, shouldn’t I? After all, what is ‘Mac’s blah-blah’ with out some chatter? So here goes:

To begin with, if you remember, I said ‘today I decided to break from the ‘treadmill of life’. I’d like to elaborate a little more on it. Why do I feel life to be a ‘treadmill’? Very simply put, it’s because I feel that there is motion, there is movement and yes, I am running, but for some reason I am stranded at a single spot. Though I am running, I am not going ahead and the views around me are not changing. So it’s like that sometimes I feel highly energetic to keep going and sometimes I am longing to stop but simply can’t. My legs keep succeeding each other, my muscles feel the strain and the sweat from my brow runs down my cheek. But I still don’t grasp what I am doing and importantly, why I am doing it? The cycle continues. Well, I don’t know what may be the outcome. Perhaps, the gains of all this running may turn out to be more surprising than I can imagine. Let’s leave it at that. For now, all I can say is that I hope for the best even though I strongly feel that I am try to win by running in a wrong race. And that’s why even what I am speaking may sound a bit confusing and mixed-up.

So out of the philosophical gyaan, let’s get into abhiyaan mode. Abhiyaan? It means a mission. And Yogesh is one guy, who mission I’d want you to know about. What really impresses me is this lad’s nerve of not only simply thinking about and looking up to another seriously great guy, but also his ability to emulate the person in the truest sense. The ‘another great guy’ I speak of is the ‘Crocodile Hunter’, late Steve Irwin. While Steve dedicated his entire life to conservation, protection and study of the crocs, our friend Yogesh here has become a Steve for snakes in his little hamlet. Aptly so he’s known as ‘Sarpa Mitra’ or Friend of the Snake. I had the opportunity and pleasure to meet Yogesh on my last holiday to his village where he showed me his lovely ‘twisties’ (read, snakes. I’d like to refer to them as that J). He told me of his activities and some fascinating tales. Well, though I am not going to post all of what he said, I’ll give you a link to my latest article in the Times of India that briefly summarizes Yogesh, his work, ideas and plans – in a nutshell, Yogesh’s mission.

=== CLICK HERE TO SEE THE ARTICLE ===

I hope you’ll enjoy reading about him!!! I really feel we need more such men on different missions for the development of various facets in out society. To conclude, all I can say is Kudos to Yogesh, and also all those unsung heroes who are quietly working for various causes.

--> Picture 1: Yogesh with a rescued python whose mouth had been brutally sealed, or rather glued, by inserting a hot iron rod with a blob of cement around it.

--> Picture 2: Myself with one of Yogesh's twisties!! The one in my hand is a 'trinket', I am told.