Jail Bharo Andolan (Fill the Jail Revolution)

Sometimes I get  the idea after watching the mainstream media (or is it 'mainSCREAM'  media?) that our national objective is to jail as many people as possible. So, in line with this new objective, I propose that we invent new 'crimes' that will be treated as non-bailable offences. We can then cancel all mid-day meal and employment guarantee programs, because everyone (eventually) will be in jail either as a criminal or as a jailer watching over that criminal. The new list of crimes would include (the list is suggestive, not exhaustive)-

1. Being unemployed
2. Being sick
3. Having a terminal disease
4. Not being able to afford medicines
5. Being married
6. Having children
7. Being a journalist (ha, ha)
8. Being unmarried
9. Being a Facebook user
and
10. Being a blogger.

Chow. See you at lunch in a jail near you.

Allaying Fears

I am always intrigued by the jargon used by our journalist fraternity. 25 feared killed in landslide. Disaster strikes Maryland. Town heaves sigh of relief as tornado passes it by. Government allays fears about the H1N1 epidemic.

These are a small sample of headlines going about the 'newsy' rooms and on to the printed pages. What if they got really daring, and started to become bold (if not beautiful) and report what they truly felt, minus the jargon? We might see something like these reports-

He claimed a lot of things, but the audience knew it was hocus-pocus.

The news reporters in the press conference were clueless, and ill-prepared to ask intelligent questions, including this reporter.

The speech did not make any sense, but the audience clapped anyway.

There was no news to report on our beat, so we made up some.

The same old parade- looked more like a charade.

The roads had the same number of potholes as yesterday. So we did not bother to go out today.

It rained incessantly, so we let the TV channels go out there to report the 'reality' while writing our stories by watching them, sipping some hot tea with samosas in the office.

An Angular View

Everyone looks good at a particular angle, if you have looked at yourself in the mirror (I am not asking how often, by the way-I am focussed on the topic of discussion). Your best angle might be from the left top, or the right front, or centre, below. Film stars know this too well, and try not to let the unflattering angles intrude on their popularity. A pretty face can turn ugly when viewed from the wrong angle, as anyone stealing glances at one would know. Some stars even flaunt their curves, as I remember one particular lady did, as in ....don't lie (in this case, the angle was, shall we say, different?). Guru Dutt and his ilk had great camera angles and lighting, to keep their filmi characters looking surreal.

Anyway, what I am trying to prove is that angles are very important. Journalists are always on the lookout for the right angle (acute or obtuse) on a story, or a twist, so to speak. So are writers/authors, of books or plays or short stories and screenplays. Mystery writers from Agatha Christie to Rex Stout thrive on creating that new angle so that the reader is kept guessing whodunit till the last couple of pages. It keeps the little grey cells of the reader engaged.

Some new angles are sorely needed to break the monotony of life. So put on your thinking caps, and look into the camera...at the right angle, of course.