An Open Letter to Sony and Pogo- Spare the kids the horror!

It was an ordinary weekend cartoon marathon of Chota Bheem on Pogo for my 4.5 and 2 year old. The one day when they are allowed to watch TV for 1 hour. They had just sunk into the sofa and were glued to Bheem's antics when the first break came. And I heard the very familiar Jingle of the 'soon to start' serial of sony 'Dil ki baatein, dil hi jaane'. I say familiar jingle because the trailers have been doing the rounds for a month now and are very frequent. It is obvious from the promos that it is the story of the trials and tribulations of a family where the lady protagonist has cancer. The first time I saw it, It sent a shiver down my spine. After that, I started changing channels the moment I see that trailer. Having recently lost a dear friend to the terrifying C and having seen their struggle up close, I still shudder to see anyone face the ordeal.

Coming back to the Pogo screening of Chota Bheem, the ad of this serial came 3 times in the 4 minute commercial break. During the one hour of TV watching, the serial promo must've appeared at least 15 times. Finally my 4.5 year old asked me, " Why doesn't this aunty have hair?" "Why is she in the hospital?" "why is this man crying?" Generally I am quick to answer everything the kids throw at me but somehow I couldn't find the right words. I didn't know if my kids are old enough to know about the Terrifying C or they are young enough to stay ignorant of medical miseries.

I avoided the question and the kids moved on but my question to you and to the channels at large is, how justified is it to give such ads on kids channels. If I'm not mistaken then POGO is a 24 hour kids channel. They might be positioning themselves on weekends as a Family channel but that doesn't give them the right to give ads of soap operas. While I'm happy that an issue like the Terrifying C is being addressed within a TV serial, it goes to increase awareness. But what good is this awareness when spread on kids channels? For me, its not awareness, its trauma! Its the trauma of thinking aloud the misery that a family I know went through. Its the trauma of having my kids raise questions on a delicate medical issue. An issue they aren't equipped to understand at this tender age. An issue I wish neither my kids nor any kids of any family in the world have to understand at their age.

then what is the logic behind promoting your TV series on a channel meant for pre-schoolers and kids? What good is it fetching the channel if kids recognise and sing your music jingle? What purpose is it serving if toddlers are asking questions about the bald aunty being unwell? Sometimes awareness is very good but if it comes to this, then I say ignorance is bliss. Let my kids stay unaware for as long as they can. Let them not know about the problems and stresses of our modern day living. Why expose them to such terminology that frightens the living hell out of adults. My kids are not your target audience, then why target them with such things? They aren't your consumers but they are 'consuming' every bit of information you throw at them! Can the channel justify this? Can you let my kids be just that? ....kids....

Painting one day PINK won't help!

All weekend long I have seen, read, laughed, felt bad about Women's Day messages. My social media space as well as messaging has been full of some funny woman message, some borderline sarcastic others overly overwhelming and irritating. They all left me wondering what the hell is this woMAN's day all about? Why do we need an International Women's Day? If two genders were created then why does one of them need a whole day dedicated to her? Whats the hullaballoo about? What is this whole Women's day charade?

A woman is what her name aptly says. WO-MAN. She is nothing WithOut-A MAN. Don't jump to conclusions and call me patriarchal. But thats what the society I live in has fed in my systems. From the moment I was born to my wedding to my present times, everything I do is managed/monitored/approved/disapproved/judged/based on what the men around me want/think/feel. I was born a second daughter and adopted my father's surname. I went to a school where my parents wanted me to go and studied what they wanted me to.  I married the man my father chose(he did choose right, though) and now run that man's household. He is generally open minded and non-opinionated when it comes to feminist ideas. But when we fight, pat comes the male ego and the bread earner dialogues. Is that what a woman is raised to be? From a daughter to a sister to a wife to a mother!

I'm sure any woman would rather have the following adjectives attached to her name- Powerful, important, loving, compelling than merely the roles she plays. Not that all women enjoy the roles they play, but days like International Women's Day get the sadist out of me. That's like the anti-V-Day protesters saying all days are for loving, why have one specific day. Similarly, all days belong to both the sexes then why have one day dedicated to her. Is it because she is so suppressed that you need 1/365 days to uplift her? And how do you uplift her exactly? By giving full page ads in print media with pics of Rahul Gandhi(uggh and again a MAN) screaming for woman empowerment. By making viral, videos of a lone girl on a street saved by 6 MEN of various genders. What are we trying to prove here? Again my point of a Woman being not allowed to be anything without a man!

It is the society that first stereotypes her and casts her in a homemaker role. She may work in an MNC and earn a 6 figure salary but she is the one who has to serve dinner at night. And when her achievements are shown to the world, then they are shown as 'breaking the shackles', 'rising in a man's world' etc etc etc...I can get conjunctivas just reading such biased phrases. 

Is this the dark side of our society? More specifically of the lopsided Indian society where we compartmentalise things and women are supposed to be in their pigeonholes doing their duties. If we wish to change and empower her as the world says, then first lets empower ourselves. Empower our own self to think broadly. Empower each man who expects his wife to pack for his trip. She does it out of love, it isn't her duty. Empower each parent who gets their daughter married to a man they chose. She did it because she trusts you not because it is her duty. Empower each in laws who feel their daughter in law should be the first to rise. She wakes up early because she wants to live up to you not because it is her duty. Empower each individual who nudges her in the bus, stares her down in her clothes or judges her when she drinks/smokes. After all, if our thinking isn't empowered enough then she cannot be empowered. 

Let her live, breathe, enjoy all of the 365 days. Painting one day Pink won't help!