Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Reality of Reality Shows; Is it REAL?

“Though he was not the firstborn, yet his father made him the chief.”
This is from bible. And no wonder how true it holds with one thing or the other we can relate ourselves to.
Lately, with not so much a thing scheduled for weekends and being at home with parents and relatives, one thing that I have become a part of is a TV program called Druk SuperStar in our only television channel, BBS. Of course nothing so pompous and extravagant like a thing or two we usually run upon on flipping the channels in Indian televisions. The concepts of reality shows of such have inspired our local entrepreneurs or entertainers to come up with same and it is doing more than just novelty. Over the last few years, from the disastrous Passang Tamang show in Thimphu to the moderately successful Bhutan Idol, so many things have come up to reach at the level Druk Super Star is now. Today, even before the end of Druk Super Star, the registration for Bhutan Star has already begun.
However, such reality shows are appearing to become far from reality. It can be said that emerging winner is because one has immense talents in singing and one has captured the hearts of viewers and thus be celebrated when one triumphed. But the thing that is unsaid is of one being perhaps at the end of huge financial support which is so much a good deal to mint the money for the organizers and television channels, and of course stand out from the other contestants. In a SMS voting like ours, where in an average a only handful of people watch the show, and amongst it, only a meager number of people perhaps vote, and yet one receives the considerable votes even if other better ones are undeservingly ousted from the shows only because the votes garnered is way too less, let forget the quality of show we are presented with, it somehow questions our attitude towards accepting the best at the cost of our dear and acquainted ones. The achievement of the share of fame for the young dreamer is in the price one has paid not with one’s talent but in kind, can there be anything as guilty as it?
The above is one of the many loopholes in selecting the winner through SMS voting. There are many of such where judges do not have any share in making decisions to choose the winner and when the public voting is all that matters. Another factor that is so much at peak in SMS voting is regionalism. There is no need to look for examples outside. I hear my friend sharing me that certain folks are not happy with one of the contestants who happens to be from their native, and that they would not vote for him this time for reasons they know of. And over a cup of tea, and a performance airing on TV screen, my uncle, an avid viewer says that the performer’s father and sister invests (if the word justifies its end) so much in him. Whether he sustains till the end of the show, neither himself nor his father knows, but it would definitely put things into chaos even if he wins the show. With the few amount of money he will receive as the prize money, the price he and his father pays would definitely fill the kitty of the organizers and mobile service providers.
The problem (if I may put it) is not with who gets what and how much money but it’s with us, the people who are putting the money in it. Is our money going in for the benefit of the right person? Are we paying for the true talented person’s performance? When Dechen Zam and Minzung Lham were declared eliminated for having garnered least votes, things have had its turn around. It was however good,  something I guess even those who voted for their favorite must have realized to have voted these two super talented singers back into the competition. Howsoever the format of the competition is, there’s no doubt on the quality of voice. These singers are very good even to be in that kind of competition. If it’s not for the age or anything similar, these singers can even be called to be the mentors or judges. But with other underserved singers still vying for the sweetest fruit of the competition when these girls have to leave the show irrespective of their talents, it questioned the reality of SMS voting.
http://www.bhutanobserver.bt/
SMS voting is good that public is involved in it. We choose the winner. But is it all good to be leaving everything to the public whose knowledge on technicalities of singing is questionable? What criteria people have when evaluating the best? On what basis one is voting? What is the use of judges if it’s all for the public? Aren’t our judges the better persons to understand the disciplines of singing? There are many to realize, and as such shows are gaining popularity, it is no mystery to expect so many controversies to come up with it. And shadows will never disappear until we come up with something better. Yes, something fair and judicious. Whatsoever, and howsoever the change in voting system would affect the niche of the business agenda behind it, there has to be some methods to improve the procedures to arrive at the deserved victor. Why not we restrict the number of votes a mobile can sent through SMS?  And if it affects the business of the show, why not like Miss Bhutan Contest have certain percentage of power shared with judges in choosing the winner? Do we have any other better ways to device a method which is above all REAL?

Friday, June 17, 2011

Journaling; why one’s life is worth recording? Lesson from Robin Sharma


We live in a complex world where disorder, chaos and stress come with every time we shift from being to doing. The pill for this complexity is to make life simpler and live the way it comes. Our life is so much planned and scheduled that we are always dumped in the world of busyness and extreme desire. Free flow, a state where one has the awareness of present moment, is what becomes first of the many practices for self care for the more balanced, relaxed and playful life. Enjoying and celebrating the simple things around the world lasts longer.
Second practice for self-care that one is encouraged with is to integrate life in daily practice of journaling. The discourse to deepen and renew ourselves is worth realizing in recording the life which is worth living.
                   “…every morning before I go surfing, I take some time to do my ‘daily pages,’ as I call them. I write about the tale of my life and the way it’s unfolding. I write about my longings that remain unfulfilled and celebrate the victories that I have enjoyed. I write about what makes me happy and what makes me sad. I write about my pain and articulate the lessons I’ve learned from what wounded me in the past. There’s something magical about pouring my heart out onto a crisp, white page every morning. It’s almost as if I get to recreate my life every single day and pour out my vision of my ideal life out onto the canvas of reality every time the sun comes up. It’s pretty incredible to know that every new day brings with it the opportunity to begin a whole new life.”
 How true these lines stand. I had the deepest touch and absorbing experience when I was going through it. I started getting the pictures of my posts in the blog and I have grown up with it as a human being, as a brother, as a friend, as a lover and as a blogger. Every new post in my blog has its own reasons and lessons related to my life which were in many beautiful ways a new experience and blessings in life. With the every word I go on, and after every paragraph I finish, there are some deep conscious thoughts within me questioning the very paragraph’s truth. The whole thought process and the journey at the end of the post have so far been fruitful and refreshing.  There can be nothing so educative and self realizing than journaling.
http://media.ourstory.com/
The author continues writing on journaling as the very act of releasing the worries that have cluttered his mind and arrive at profound insights that enrich his days. Journaling makes him a clearer thinker and allows one to converse with self and thus build a greater self-awareness and create more self-knowledge. It also allows one to capture the ideas and record them for the review later in life. I am sure anyone of you reading this post of mine in so many ways finds these thoughts of the author so much true with contents in your blog, diaries and notes. The way you felt irritated about missing the opportunity and ending your post feeling how you should prepare yourself to try better next time, the thought with which you started writing on the whole gush of energy on certain thing you know a little and reaching at the end with whole new things you did not know about. It allows you to start learning on things you don’t know, it allows you to contemplate deeper on things you are interested in knowing. The self awareness and self knowledge makes you wiser and a knowledgeable person in your own way.
How does one start journaling? And what should one write in it? Does it matter whether other cares to understand what you wrote? Well, one can start writing whatever comes in mind. It doesn’t matter whether one has anything so interesting to write or not, it’s after all one writes for oneself if not for others. And with the whole journey, one can be conscious of readers around and stuffs one can write in a better way. The precise and clearer articulation comes with time and experience. And in today’s age with more people actively involved in social forums like blogs, it’s easy to get in contact with many bloggers and writers from whom the learning experience becomes more complete. The exchange of ideas and experiences, wisdom and cultures, life and works comes in a very easy way. It’s accessible and debatable. Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself and know that everything in life has a purpose, quoted Elisabeth Kubler
Enhanced by Zemanta

Monday, June 6, 2011

7 reasons why i feel blessed about life

There are today less people who feel contented and happy about their own life than people who have got lots to complain about in life. Honestly, I have many to complain about this damn life. I don’t care whether there is anyone who would care to listen to my cribbing and help me console myself with the damn system. There are many that I can even be able to come out with here and start crying over it. And similarly like me, there are many who I know have many to complain and feel unhappy about the life.
http://learningfundamentals.com.au/
While coming home for the vacation, I had the privilege of borrowing my friend’s book, The Saint, theSurfer and the CEO by Robin Sharma. Book readings have always been the best thing to do while travelling. While many would be happy to enjoy the landscapes and valleys as we pass through in the vehicle, I usually keep myself busy with whatever I have in my bag to read. The book was in many ways philosophical, you would need your whole life to actually understand and practice its contents. But there were few things which made me flip the page once again and read it back. There was this column where one explains about how we always are skeptic and pessimistic with wrong things popping out in life, how one forgets about other things we have in life to live with and how one can develop the attitude to cultivate and thus celebrate the beautiful things we have in life when one is hit with problems and crises, best remedy to count on all those good things you have, all good people you know and all good things you are associated with which he calls as Blessing List.
My blessing list:
Thanks to God and my parents, I am born without any birth problems which would complicate my life ahead.
Thanks to God that I am in a very good health.
Thanks to God, I have survived an accident which could have taken my life even before realizing the beauty of it.
Thanks to supporting parents and good teachers, I have had so far a wonderful journey with my studies.
Thanks to many good writers and bloggers that I am today able to keep my passion for writing alive.
Thanks to Humble king, I am today being able to pursue my higher studies without much problem.
Thanks to many good people I have come across that today I am alive and wise with many things.
Thanks to the beautiful sister and brothers I am blessed with that today I think of their happiness and life which inspires me to do well in whatever I start doing.
There are hundreds to list and be reminded of, thousands of people to be thankful of and be happy for, million reasons to live happily during the times of crises and adversities. Time to start living…..