Musings Of Changing Life In India!
My in-laws family rebuilt the dilapidated village rachacha banda (there is no equivalent world in English. It is kind of a sitting area in the center of the village) in memory of the departed members of the family. As soon as the paint was dry the rachacha banda was occupied. Strangely it is not with village elders talking of problems of farming or the upcoming all important Sankranthi festival. It is full of youngsters each with their own cell phone in hand and totally immersed in the game they were playing. It is very difficult to have a conversation with any of them when they are immersed in their game. One of the days I was in the village there was Prasadam being offered in the temple not too far from the rachacha Banda. The priest gave his usual shout for the people to come and get their share of the Prasadam. Not a single soul from the rachacha banda moved. Finally someone carried the Prasadam to the rachacha banda and offered it to the young men seated there. Absolutely none wanted it! They were not in a mood to take their attention away from the game! The next day I caught hold of a boy and asked him about the game they were playing the prior night. From the conversation I couldn’t make out what the name of the game was. It is some kind of a military game which involves lot of killing. They typically play against the neighboring villages. Most often there is betting too! Circumstances are very different but the intensity with which they were playing is no different from any typical kid in the Californian Silicon Valley. I don’t think this was the case even 3–4 years back. The emergence of cheap phones and even cheaper data plans have made all this phenomenon possible!
The way entertainment is consumed have undergone a sea change in India. When you look at any obscure channel in YouTube you will find millions of views. There is this Village Cooking Channel, a Tamil language show set in rustic conditions. The cumulative views of the episodes produced is 2.3 billion! I don’t think the demigod Rajini Kanth can boast of that kind of viewership! If I am reading the pulse right, the demigods of Bollywood (or the baby Woods) will lose their charm. They will exist but will be one among the many avenues of entertainment! Beware heroes and hero worship, your hay days may be numbered!
Strangely, all the four major lakes/tanks in the village are full from a bumper monsoon. It is prime planting season but 90% of the land is fallow! That is a topic for another day!