My friend Dinkar has sent me this story. Apparently, Times of India has put a photo of the wrong Shobhana in this news and made people believe that she killed herself. What you would notice is that Times of India has not bothered to remove or replace the photo of dancer/actor Shobhana even after so many people have commented on the article.
Times of India article with the ‘wrong Shobhaba’:
Behind Woods article with the right photo:
CNN-IBN celebrates the five years of ‘relentless journalism’ and this news comes at the top news section in their website. Looks like the CNN-IBN team has decided to feast the eyes of their online readers on this occasion with a 630 x 420 wide photo that you would usually find in a soft-porn magazine. The news, Man leaks sex MMS after girl refuses to marry, of course is of national importance and deservedly featured in the top news section.
In case if you have missed any of the other infamous MMS sex scandals (I wonder how does the public find them when our good-intentioned journalists are only publishing the news with a photo 😉 ) IBN has a list and details of those MMS clips in the same news.
Now go ahead, and celebrate with CNN-IBN!
(Photo credit duly goes to CNN-IBN)
From the house of Malayala Manorama comes the biggest Malayalam print media blooper of the year. One of their news titles today says that united nations chief has condemned (അപലപിച്ചു) the death of U. S. Ambassador Holbrooke, when it should have been mourned (അനുശോചിച്ചു). And it’s repeated in the article portion. Funny thing is that even after 14 hours, they still haven’t bothered to correct the mistake. So much so to Malayala Manorama who would run after finding a Malayali connection even to the UN chief.
(Thanks to my friend Pradeep for the tip)
I don’t know whom to believe any more.
Some say that Maoists are fighting for the tribals because of the abuse they face by the corporates and government. Maoists seem to be a group of people fighting for a cause.
But then I see Maoists killing people, jawans and civilians alike, and that makes me think how can such a group of killers ever fight effectively for a just cause.
Then some activists, including some ex-Naxalites, sign a press copy saying that they condemn the heinous acts of Maoists. They say that both the state and Maoists are abusing the tribals. They say that the fight against the mining industry was born even before Mao himself. And if Maoists have any sincerity in the matter, they should first fight the mining corporates than just plainly taxing them for business.
I don’t know. The picture that I get from all these is of the state and its politicians who make way for some corporates to function smoothly because there is big money for everyone to make in those thick, dark layers of land. And a set of killing machines who kill people to overthrow a corrupt system to replace it with another more centralized and violent system in the name of revolution. And a state-sponsored militia that fights/kills/abuses it’s own people.
I don’t know whom or what to believe anymore. But I do know that I should thank God that I was not born a tribal. For, at the end of the day, they are the ones who are most suffered, abused and wiped out of history that we, rest of the people in this land, keep making. I should be happy that I am not one of those unlucky tribals. But then that darn line keeps ringing in my head:
“THEN THEY CAME for me
and by that time no one was left to speak up.“
Today’s is a guest post from a friend, Sally Varma. Please post your thoughts in the comments section.
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On May 22, 2010, Saturday morning, an Air India Express plane from Dubai overshot the table-top runway at the Mangalore airport and plunged over a cliff into a wooded valley, killing 158 persons. There were 160 passengers and six crew members on board Flight IX-812. The passengers included 137 adults, 19 children and 4 infants. Eight passengers survived miraculously.
The whole of India was shocked with the news. I was at home watching TV and was going through the different news channels showing the news of the crash. I went through all the regional news channels first and was shocked to find a harrowing truth. All the Malayalam news channels only cared about the Malayalees in the flight. Among the 160 passengers in the plane, the only reports that were being shown was about the Malayalees who were in the plane. The newsreader kept repeating the same news of the number of Malayalees on board, the number of Malayalees killed, the number of Malayalees who escaped etc… It is a sad state that we live in where such bias takes place. Is this not a tragedy for India as a whole or is it in the viewpoint of all these Malayali channel’s ‘just a tragedy for Kerala’? What about the other people and their families, the non-Malayalees on that ill-fated flight? Don’t they too deserve the same prayers as the Malayalees?
I then switched channels and went to the Tamil news channels, which were faithfully showing the news of the crash with no partiality or bias towards only the Tamilian people on board. Also channels like CNN-IBN, Times Now, NDTV 24×7, were all showing religious coverage of the crash.
So, I think this shows the Malayali attitude of selfishness and regional chauvinism. And to think that all these channels and papers were criticizing Bal Thackeray for his comments on Sachin. Bal Thackeray had slammed master blaster Sachin Tendulkar for his statement that he is an Indian first and then a Maharashtrian. If these Malayali channels can do this sort of bias while reporting news of a national tragedy like the Air India plane crash, then I think the comment from Bal Thackeray also can be justified.
It is high time that the Malayali media stop promoting such regional sensationalism and start to consider everyone as equal human beings.
In memory of the 158 HUMAN BEINGS who were killed in the Air India plane crash of October 22, 2010. May their souls rest in peace.
So here is the interview that aired on Manorama News channel today at 2:30 PM. Those who missed it can watch it on TV tomorrow at 5 AM and 9:30 AM. Let me know how it is. 🙂
Part I:
Part II:
Thanks to Divya and her mom for uploading the YouTube video.
Don’t believe it? Check out the front page of today’s Deshabhimani newspaper (click on the image below to see the full and enlarged version). It says a man ate 68 dogs in a competition organized in America as part of the independence day. And the second prize winner ate the flesh of 64.5 dogs. If you are just stunned at how a person could eat 68 “dogs” in just 10 minutes, check out this link.
As the Malayalam saying goes, “kaala pettu ennu kekkumbum kayar edukkaruthu“…
The word “Soosoo” in the local Malayalam dialect refers to urinating and is used while talking to children. “Mone, do you need to soosoo now?”, you would hear parents asking their little ones. Or the kids drawing attention of their parents to tell them that they need to pass “Soosoo“. Anyways, I’m not writing about any toilet ads here but some ads that definitely needs to be flushed out.
The Zoozoo ads by Vodafone have become very popular and it has a huge fan following in You Tube. The ads filled the TV space and the fans praised it through their blogs and email forwards. The concept and character creation of the Zoozoo ads are totally cool and I very much liked it. However, I felt odd by watching some of their ads in the Zoozoo series. I actually felt bad by watching a particular ad. It is the one given below.
Such a violent ad! Agreed, that there is no blood or explicit gore, but didn’t they get any better script to point out that you can set a busy message in Vodafone? Towards the end you will watch it with an odd feeling while you hear one of the Zoozoos screaming out and the phone ringing. Reminds you of some kind of a horror movie! Did they really think that it is funny?
But the above mentioned Zoozoo ad is nothing compared to the “Sweet Bomb” ad of Cadbury Eclairs. After you enjoy the initial background music and the smiley faces in the ad, the heads of the people begin to explode! Yes, explode!! I don’t know about the others, but the explosion of the heads in the chocolate form actually terrified me. For a moment, I thought I was watching a movie like Hostel or something. It was so gory! Watch it below:
I just don’t understand what these ad agencies were thinking while scripting/conceptualizing these ads and I wonder if there is no one from the companies to check out the final form of an advertisement before it goes on TV. I mean, WTF!!!
You would get to hear the slogans of FM stations everywhere now, since the FM frenzy has caught up in Kerala. The major FM stations in Kerala are Club FM, Radio Mango, BIG FM, S FM, Best FM and Radio Mirchi. The slogans blast at you several times a day in these channels. Let us a have a look and see which of them is best and which is worst – in a descending order.
6) S FM – Kelkkoo, Kelkoo, Kettu Kondeyirikku
(Owned by: Sun Network)
The main problem with this slogan is that it’s too long. Too long for an FM station that has the shortest name in the market (S FM). And the word “Kelkkoo” repeats. It doesn’t stay in your mind.
5) BIG FM – Kelkoo, Kelpikkoo, Life Kondaadu
(Owned by: AdLabs Films Ltd, subsidiary of Reliance group)
Again, it’s too long. It is also identical with the S FM slogan. You wouldn’t want to hear these two slogans repeatedly when you listen to these FM stations. Just that slogan would be enough to make the listener switch to a different radio station.
4) Radio Mirchi – Sangathi Hot Aanu
(Owned by: Entertainment Network India Ltd)
It sounds hip and cool when you hear this slogan in English (“It’s Hot”), but the problem comes when you literally translate it to Malayalam. The word “Sangathi” with “Hot” may not go well with every one as it could be interpreted with a dual meaning.
3) Radio Mango – Naattilengum Paattaayi
(Owned by: Malayala Manorama)
It rhymes well (Naattu & Paattu), but the focus of the slogan is on music alone, while the FM radios are meant to be not just for music but also for fun and entertainment. In the local dialect, the Malayalam phrase “naattilengum paattaayi” refers to a fast spreading local news, mostly a gossip. Either way, I don’t think they got it right. But yes, it is a catchy line.
2) Club FM – Ton Kanakkinu Fun
(Owned by: Mathrubhumi)
It means “Tons of Fun” in English. It rhymes well and everytime I hear this, a box full of fun and entertainment comes to my mind, which itself makes me keep listening to this FM station. Goes to the second place in my rating.
1) Best FM – Tringalaalaa…
(Owned by: Asianet)
This gets you straight to a holiday mood. It is short, precise, musical and relaxed. What more do you need to convey with an FM station? Goes to the first place in this rating.
(Coming up: FM stations in Kerala – The best Theme Music)
[M Thankamani, who won accolades for her unique voice as a presenter and drama artiste at All India Radio (Akashvani), India’s national broadcaster, and as a film dubbing artiste, talks to KK Moidu during her first visit to Dubai.].
Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy Award winner M Thankamani’s voice is familiar to listeners of the radio for more than three decades now. She is the presenter at Akashvani and those who have heard her voice once cannot forget the attractive and enticing tone. She has secured a place in the hearts of millions of listeners through the roles of numerous characters on radio dramas like Sooryakanthiye Snehicha Penkutty, Moodhevi, Theyyam, Indulekha etc. Her special talent for the vocalisation of people of all ages like old women, young ladies, college students or little girls, endeared her to audiences.
M Thankamani was born in Shoranur in Palghat district, Kerala, in a Namboothiri family. She is the third daughter of the great social reformer Mullamangalath Raman Bhattathirippadu aka MRB and Umadevi Antharjanam. Her father MRB was a playwright, poet and author of many books and made history by marrying a widow in the Namboothiri community.
Continue reading The Evergreen Voice – M Thankamani