What I Missed While Walking Past the Kanchi Mutt

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A place I passed every day without really understanding it. As a kid growing up in Malleswaram, devotion wasn’t something we discussed — it was just in the air. The smell of agarbathi in the evenings. The noise of vendors lining up on 8th cross before a festival. The quiet expectation that you showed up, bowed your head, and moved on. Ganesh Chaturthi. Varalakshmi Vratam. Deepavali. Janmashtami. Ugadi. The calendar moved, but the pattern stayed. The Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham in Malleswaram was part of my daily route to school. Not something I questioned. Not something I deeply understood. Just… there. Every morning, on my way to school, I would slow down for a second in front of the Mutt. Just enough to bow my head toward Kanchi Kamakshi from outside the gate — and then hurry along before the school bell. It was a ritual for as long as I can remember. I don’t know if it came from devotion. I did it because my parents did it. The street...
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Media - What a mockery!

You just have to open any Indian news website and the headlines scream forth - Abhiwarya Wedding, What happened in the last one hour, Sangeet at the wedding, Men jealous of Abhishek...and so on the nonsense continues. I just wonder why the media has to give so much publicity to a private wedding affair. Is anyone really interested in finding out what they are upto? There is a limit to all the idiosynchracies and after a point, it really gets on your nerves. It is also apalling to see a new comment everyday from Amitabh Bachchan proclaiming his son to be a demigod or something, praising his acting skills and what not. Why in the world should the world be interested in whether Aishwarya is a good daughter-in-law for the family or not? What is the need for Jaya Bachchan to issue such statements? The front page of every Indian newspaper is hogged by the wedding as if there is no other important issue to tackle at this point of time.

To top it all, the coverage continues as to who the invitees are and why some people are left out. The Shahrukh-Bachchan scandal was taken to new heights with each of them mud slinging the other. The media hyped it beyond proportions though. So what if they are the big guys, what is the need to attach so much importance to a private function? It just does not augur well for the media to give centerstage to such a miniscule event when there are other important issues to attend to. Nowadays, I just refrain from going to some of the Indian news sites for fear of getting bogged down by the unnecessities.

Who cares whether Salman Khan and Vivek Oberoi are invited for the event or not? Who is bothered about how much is spent for the wedding? Who is worried about their honeymoon plans? Who cares whether Aishwarya plans to act after marriage or not? Who cares....

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