Can beggars be choosers?

Time changes values

The tears of fearing God and asking his forgiveness at Aftari time even come to the eyes that are fully aware of the camera, hovering above and below their torso? How about those viewers who sit before the box ready to believe all that goes before the eyes, behind the scene?

 F (forcefully): 6 or 3?

A (uncertainly): 6… wait… 3…. No, no, 6!

F (sarcastically): Haven’t they taught you anything at school?

A is embarrassed yet eager to play.

C (apologetically): Actually he has been doing Hifaz for last two years.

F (indifferently): Should I open box 6? B, you tell me.

B (blushingly): Can we get our phones back?

F (laughing): Bring back their phones. A smile comes to this girl’s face whenever I mention mobile.

(B, embarrassed yet resilient, quickly sends a message while A and C are making calls.)

F (proudly walks to the podium and takes away B’s mobile phone and reads aloud): Oh Jani yeh kahan pohanch gayi! (He moves to the next message) Yaar tou her jaghan pohanch jati ha! (Then he reads to himself some more and laughs meaningfully, pretending as if he has caught the girl and returns the phone. B is humiliated yet her willingness to play is unaffected. C, B and A’s aunt, says nothing at this abominable behaviour of the host.)

F (enthusiastically): 6 or 3?

C (confidently): I have talked to their mom, 6.

B (intervenes): Make it 3.

(A holds his peace.)

F (forcefully): What number would you like?

A (perplexed): 3

F (insultingly): Why you all can’t reach a decision?

C: 6 it is.

F: Is it final?

A and B (reaffirm): yes.

F (wittingly): What if I suggest you to exchange the Box 6 with Box 5?

And the participants go crazy once again, knowing not how to react to the tricks that the mind-boggler, with an eccentric wire plugged into his ear, plays to keep the studio audience and the long-distance viewership enthralled for two or more hours. Worse, everyone remains glued to the TV set to see where the scripted game ends. Worst, the viewers would waste their not-so-precious-time later in exchanging views on the prizes given during the games played last night and how im/prudent were the decisions made by the participants and how vigilant the anchor was and how better they would have played the same. The pathetic beggars-aka-participants know nothing of the match fixing, acting merely as toys in the hands or (should I say) at the feet of an apathetic host who enjoys playing with the miserable souls and greedy hearts of Pakistanis, by giving away as many gifts-nay-grants when the time comes and to withhold as many when it is not the right time, in the show that should have been named “Pakistan Loses”.

These contemporary Inaam Ghers, whose foundation is unfortunately laid by none other than Amir Liaquat, are a poor imitation of what Inam Gher used to be when I was a kid (or what such programs ought to be). In that Tariq Aziz show (the name still rings a bell), telecasted from PTV, participating teams would have to repeatedly combat on general-/history-knowledge for weeks before the two teams could reach finals where a Suzuki Mehran was to be given as a prize. Even the sensational Bait Bazi competition needed week-long preparation as every next team was better than the previous one: no random candidate was supposed to leap at the mic to spit out whatever God-forsaken line came into his/her head to sweep away, at the behest of the host, a prize; instead institutions were invited to send their representative teams while the trophies were taken away by the colleges not individuals. What I had in my childhood was completely the opposite of what I am given in my adulthood.

Thrice I have used the word prize: prizes are won not begged or bargained. Offer berhain! Ummrah Ticket dey dain! How the crowd jumps on its toes to become visible to their god of the moment. When they beseech the benefactor before them, they forget Him before Whom they ceremoniously bow five times a day. Their gratification at the grant is also surprising as they fail to understand that the anchor was only doing his job. (Yes, his! Our tiptoed female anchors cannot walk on this thin ice that is made by and for the thick skins.)

What is wrong with Amir Liaquat, Sahir Lodhi, Fahad Mustafa, Faisal Qureshi, Waseem Badami, Iqrar-ul-Hassan and other media persons is evident, but what is wrong with Shoaib Akhtar and Waseem Akram? I wonder if Akram was not making enough from washing dirty linen in public and air conditioning verandas, and Akhtar from his expert rants, both in person and in writing, at a game he lost decades ago! What brought them to the abominable shows that are nothing less than a headache even if one keeps her TV set off is no secret – greed for more. Celebrities die behind the screen; their life is lofty and ephemeral.

Set these dying souls aside, what is wrong? Is it the anchors or the shows? Or the audience? Or the guests: be it the Noor Bukhari or the Meera Gee, willing to put on the mask of modesty to inspire those who have no better way of getting their forgiveness but through Ramzan transmission.

Media does propagate ideas, but mindsets are equally responsible for manipulating media. What sells is shown. All the channel cares is the size of the set to convince the audience that they are the biggest, the truest and the most righteous, hence, the most divine. Pith on top is the “un-experts” whom we have to astray the viewers who are already devoid of any locus. The credibility of the hosts lies in the fact that they switch places and programs and propagandas. (If Liaquat is not getting paid for the Ramzan transmission, he must have compensated it somewhere in the contract he signed with the channel the vulnerable details of which would never be exposed to masses.)The charity that is given away by one is sent by someone else – the sponsor. Condemn the PM, CM, cabinet or senate, it is easy money that the audience want. Nobody contends with his/her fate yet they come to test how lucky they are!

There are many to preach on how to be humble, modest, simple, God-fearing and hardworking but few to practice it. Not saying but practicing stands as evidence to what a people really believe in. Ramzan is the month of fasting, of being humble and docile, of being kind and generous; however, the Ramzan that is witnessed is of pretense and dictation and cruelty and greed. It is easy money we want; even if we cannot lay hands on it, knowing that some can still makes a difference.

I do not appreciate all that went on air during and right after Ramzan, however, what I hate most is seeing the cursed parents of a physically-/mentally-impaired child putting up a show, an emotional trauma, just to lay hold on a motor bike or an air ticket that the innocent would never enjoy or understand. Disgustingly, their sympathy appeal makes their “advantageous” position envious to those whose progeny is not handicapped. Every week such cases are exhibited, the worse the better, and many cry for not being given the same, both the child and the game, hence, the child’s play. If TV shows can pay off the hard labor of raising even a perfectly normal child, I would appeal to all benevolent donors to send charity to these platforms. Wait, were not the same drama-to-help-the-cursed (be it abnormal or ailed) was aired last year? Disgusting!

The tears of fearing God and asking his forgiveness at Aftari time even come to the eyes that are fully aware of the camera, hovering above and below their torso? How about those viewers who sit before the box ready to believe all that goes before the eyes, behind the scene? The fact of the matter is everything we watch on TV is paid, scripted and edited; what we usually see under the title live in Pakistan is usually plugged. Needless to say that those who cry before our very eyes are doing so for the lens not the God.

Time changes and with it change the values. Now everything is fast-paced and quick-fix. Once one channel stood for quality, now there are dozens but none is qualified. If, in some miraculous way, the viewer can improve his/her taste (I obviously do not know how that can be done without showing better programs), the quality of on-air crap can be improved too. If media can create it, the masses can un-create the desire if only they have the desire to do so. Our country begs because its people are baggers. As long as we allow things to happen to us, we would never be able to exert our will. Choices are never given, they have to be made. Writing this piece is to bring to black and white the collective damage such transmission is consciously doing to the unconscious of all those who plug in and those who plug out since learning is the first step of developing awareness while awareness shapes up the yearnings and desires.