Essence of Life

Life is a mystery. Neither Google nor Einstein can reveal the truth of this hazardous jigsaw. It’s only one’s own innovation that can bring out any solution. In a poem by an anonymous author some lines say, “We have taller buildings, but short tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. / We spend more, but have less; we buy more, enjoy less. / We have more degrees but less sense; more knowledge, less judgment; more experts, yet more problems; more medicines, less health. / We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. ” This article proposes to raise certain questions on essence of life.

As we all are aware of the boom in the IT industry and the advancement of the world towards the technical sphere of life, every citizen is trying to get successfully into the corporate world, facing problems, difficulties and each of them is too busy and trying his best to find a solution. But do we care to know the root cause of our problems? Materialistic approach has widened the gap between our souls and mind. And in this busy phase of life each of us continue on the path which the society leads us, losing oneself to the individual made by the society and surroundings.

How can happiness be defined? Happiness exists because of sadness. If one is not sad he can’t be happy. Instead of worrying about the things we don’t have, if we consider what all we have then it would give us a different feel. Life isn’t what we asked for; nor had we requested to be rich or poor, fair or dark. If we are spending our precious time constantly fighting with oneself, trying to change something or the other, then it is our endurance. Life as perceived by me is a gift of God which needs little polishing and maintenance by the passage of time.

We live our life daily without asking ourselves questions that ought to be asked every day. As said by Socrates, “The unexamined life is not worth living”. We should know the answers of inconvenient and troubling questions like “Why was I born? Why do I live? What have I done for the society till date? Or have I been truthful and honest? ” One reason for the failure to ask such questions is that we don’t spend enough time with ourselves. If the Sun can so generously transform its volcanic heat into life protecting energy, why can’t we control our own negatives and transform them into positives? One’s inner transformation is more important than just merely impressing the society.

What should be the approach to become successful in Life? In today’s world one can be successful in any field according to his likings. Every career demands creativity, innovation and determination. One should pick a thread and follow it showing his abilities. The mindset of many people still is that their kids should do well in school and must be aiming for doctor or engineer then only they can do anything in life. And this thought of parents consequently results to peer pressure on the child, sometimes depression and psychological problem or even may turn to suicide. A recent movie “Taare zameen par” focuses on this tragic phase of life which is still very much prevalent in the society.

Today, the man has become much more selfish. We usually do things which in some or the other way can prove beneficial to us. We plant trees for the environmental balance; we even pray to God to get blessed with our desires and may prevent us from entering into something bad. The importance of any thing gets related with an individual’s concern. According to a recent article in Times of India, the things which were previously considered not good are now-a-days trend. Like in order to go high, put others low. The things have changed much with time and people should adapt themselves to those changes to prove their existence in this fast going world.

Shubham Agarwal

3rd year, JIIT Noida.

Reality Shows

Every time you switch on the television sets, you see some program being telecast where participants present their talents or do something creative. That is what we call a Reality show. It presents unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events and features ordinary people instead of professional actors. Almost every channel, like Star plus, Zee TV, Star One, etc. are showing some kind of Reality show of the same or other concept these days. The trend has now changed a lot. People are more diverted towards reality shows rather the fictitious ‘saas-bahu’ serials.

The reality shows are a platform for newcomers who want to show their talent in front of everybody. Instead of approaching to the directors or high class people, asking for a break, it is much easier for a common man to just clear the entrance or screening. As the number of such shows is very high, there are many choices available to a youth to enter in the show of his choice or try the other one in case of an unsuccessful attempt. Reality shows prove a boon to such people who want to excel in these fields. These include games, quizzes, singing or dancing competition and the shows like KBC where one can win lakhs or even a crore just by his general knowledge and awareness.

Apart from these things, these shows have a negative aspect also. The shows like ‘Big Brother’ keep a check on daily life of participants by keeping them in a same house. This way they penetrate into the personal life of an individual which I think is not appropriate. Furthermore, the celebrities are frequently invited in some of the shows, who promote their upcoming movies. This way they go off the track and increase the TRPs of the show.

One thing which is very much prevalent in these types of shows is the concept of ‘public voting’. In spite of having the reputed judges, major percentage of the final decision is made on the votes cast by the people. Now this public voting has two drawbacks. First of all, the common people would not know the actual number of votes in favor of each participant. They have to believe as told by the channel people and thus resulting in controversies. Recently in ‘Nach Baliye 3’, a show conducted by Star Plus, the finalist Rakhi-Abhishek claimed that their voting lines were closed for some time when the people actually have to cast their votes.

Secondly, how can public judgment are taken into account by considering only their votes! More than one vote can be cast by an individual so it may even result into a wrong winner. Like in the show ‘Star Voice of India’, Ishmeet won because his votes were much higher than the other participant. No doubt he may be a better performer but people of Punjab took it as a challenge to make him the winner. A vote costs approx. Rs. 3, so these channels have made it a source of revenue by encashing the people’s sentiments.

The value of the reality shows is deteriorating as every other channel is launching the programme on same pattern and concept. With exceptions to some shows, the viewer’s interest has also declined. We don’t even now care to know the winner of the show, as every other day someone is winning in some show. So these negative aspects of the reality show results in the same thing, controversies and criticism and the main motive of these shows gets lost somewhere in the middle.

Shubham Agarwal

3rd year, JIIT Noida