Gen VK Singh takes a beating

Indian Media Watch.... Crooks and Liars in the Indian media are the greatest danger to our democracy. Bias, outright lies, paid news, plagiarism and political leanings characterize much of our media.
Poll - India's Worst Journalists - 2012
Arnab Goswami 302 (32%)
Ashutosh (IBN7) 181 (19%)
Barkha Dutt 705 (75%)
Karan Thapar 350 (37%)
Kumar Ketkar 268 (28%)
Nidhi Razdan 247 (26%)
Nikhil Wagle 237 (25%)
Rahul Kanwal 163 (17%)
Rajdeep Sardesai 436 (46%)
Sagarika Ghose 540 (57%)
Shekhar Gupta 419 (44%)
Shiv Aroor 142 (15%)
Sonia Singh 195 (20%)
Vinod Sharma 414 (44%)
Vir Sanghvi 333 (35%)

Massager or messenger?

Karan Thapar (2010 #4): Readers must remember that every journo looks tall in the studio but not in actual life. KT is not blessed with stature and the same goes for his journalism. One can say he has improved a bit but still retains the unwanted scowl and growl when interviewing people. Madhu Trehan in her NewsLaundry interview showed up KT for the little puppy he was. Like the ones who just need a hug and a cuddle once in a while. And if you thought you knew nothing about KT, never mind. All you have to do is hear his signature line on his promo for his show on CNN-IBN: “I don’t want to go into the facts, the facts are disputed”. LOL! Facts are disputed? You have to undo a lot of learning to understand that facts aren’t facts and can be disputed. The worst job KT did in 2011 was massaging Kapil Sibal’s brazen attempt at pre-screening content on the internet. As if that wasn’t enough he pulled out Brajesh Mishra, former NSA, out of nowhere to call serving army chief, Gen. VKSingh, the worst ever chief of army in history. My prediction: As long as he is in the business, KT will be on this list.
Wheres the smirk? Congress spokesman- Seperated by Birth

Vinod Sharma (New entry): For those who don’t know, Vinod Sharma is the political editor of Hindustan Times. That’s right, ‘Political’ is the key word – less of an editor and more of a politician. It’s not very hard to recognise VS on a friendly channel. He has made the ‘smirk’ more popular than child-molester DGP Rathore on television. Sharma has also been acknowledged by many political spokespersons and viewers as the most loyal spokesperson of the Congress party. No matter what the scam or what the scandal you can expect him to staunchly defend even the worst misdeeds of the Congress by blaming it on the opposition or anyone else he can lay his hands on. The one chance to get him off TV for longer periods was a Rajya Sabha ticket, when Shobana Bhartiya, his boss at HT exited, but that unfortunately didn’t happen. So we’re going to be stuck with VS for quite a while. His best moment in recent times was during the debate over Gen. VK Singh and the Tatra trucks scam. He was angry that the debate was going one way (in favour of Gen. Singh) so had to somehow twist it against the tide. In his business time VS writes a blog titled ‘Separated at birth’. I guess that refers to some Pakistani connection or maybe his journalistic independence was separated at birth. Someday we’ll find out.
He's no Egghead

Shekhar Gupta (2010 #10): When he appeared on the last list, a fan of Gupta wrote in stating he will email my post to SG for his response. I was wondering whether that fan objected to SG being at #10 and wanted him to be lower on the list. I guess that fan’s prayers are answered. SG has sunk further in the rankings and his Indian Express is almost on doles from the govt. His senseless programme ‘Walk the talk’ , the equivalent of ‘Koffee with Karan’ or ‘On the couch with Koel’, continues on NDTV but what sunk SG the most is his misadventure with an article on Army troop movements. In his quest to please SG’s UPA, this SG splashed a headline in IE that nearly implied the army, led by Gen.VK Singh, may have dreamt of a coup. Worse, there have been reports that the troop movement story was stale and SG’s version was actually a plant by a union minister. SG laid an egg alright but ended up with more on his face. He will forever be credited with reducing a fiercely independent newspaper like IE to a mouthpiece of a political party. His permanent place on this list is forever assured.
Nidhi captures the Larger Picture- Left Right and Centre- Marching Up

Nidhi Razdan, NDTV (New entry): She has come to prominence more for many reasons other than journalistic skills. ‘Left, right, centre’ is her signature programme and happens to be one of those mindless debates on every topic under the sun. She is proof that you can be an expert on everything with specialisation in nothing. The best part of Nidhi? Now, don’t get me wrong, she likes everything large. Whenever confounded by a brilliant argument or point by a panellist she quickly jumps to her favourite line “let’s look at the LARGER picture”. One would have thought that debates are meant to look at the finer small details. No, not with Nidhi, the larger picture is a convenient exit. Training from NDTV helps. My prediction for this debutant is that she is likely to go higher up in the list in the future. (She lined up with arms lobbyists doing "Panel Discussion on Gen VK Singh's tenure".)
So there you are. Let’s also not forget that are many journalists who now increasingly seem to be anti-nationals. Their ties to Ghulam Nabi Fai aren’t even being investigated by the govt. Industry leaders usually raise the standards of performance of the industry as a whole. The opposite seems to be true in the media. Systematically, many of India’s journalists have brought the profession to rock bottom over the years. I continue to maintain, they are the greatest threat to our democracy.
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Lt Gen Mote Dar’s works are sheer poetry

Photo: K.V. Srinivasan
FULL OF LIFE Lt Gen Mote Dar and his paintings
He speaks of the wars of 1965 and 1971 in the same breath as the poetry of T.S. Eliot and Kalidasa. He links strategic military command and the creation of art. Meet Lt Gen (Retd) Mote Dar — former Vice Chief of Army Staff and the man who paints — and speaks — like a poet.

Dar was in Chennai recently for the first showing of his exhibition “Inner Vision Outer Truth” at Prakrit Art Gallery.

He’s been painting for a long time — he had his first exhibition as a young captain in the Indian army back in 1965 — but this set of works is almost entirely new, created in the last few months.

“I continued to paint even as a junior and senior officer, but in the last part of my career, when I became General Officer Commander-in-Chief Southern Command, and then basically the number two man in the army, it was very difficult to find the time,” he says.

Now, of course, he has all the time in the world, so he’s chosen to experiment with oils — he did mostly only water colours before, because they were quicker — and with numerous themes, from a depiction of the seasons of the year to surrealist abstracts.

“In Indian poetry, the seasons of the year have been written about from time immemorial — from Kalidasa to Guru Nanak — linking the different months with festivals, with emotions of separation and union,” he says. “So, I thought I’d do a contemporary re-imagining of them.”

The result is a series of radiantly-coloured paintings filled with lively, abstract imagery of flowers blooming in spring and children playing in the monsoon — a joyful celebration of the seasons. On the other hand, his surrealistic ‘On the thorns of memory’ series is more enigmatic, using more light and shade and Freudian symbolism in the midst of swirls of thick, strong colour.

“I see painting more in terms of an inner awakening, as a form of meditation that drives away your stress, and helps in self-actualisation,” says Dar, who was part of the 1965 and 1971 wars, wounded in the latter.

Creative thinking
He adds: “I also believe it aids in the creative, out-of-the-box thinking that’s so essential in strategic military command — when big armies are on the move, you need to be able to envision their movements in time and space.”

Not surprisingly, one of the most powerful series of paintings in the exhibition has to do with war — a pair of abstracts bearing a single inscription across a solid wall of colour. Starkly gorgeous is the one in the vibrant green of the valleys of Kashmir with a quote from Jahangir in Persian above, and a single trail of blood below. “When Jahangir went to Kashmir, he’s supposed to have said, ‘If there is a paradise on earth, it is here, it is here, it is here’,” says Dar, who is Kashmiri but has had to leave his troubled home state to live in Pune. “But now, it is all tears and blood and coffins.”

However, the collection of 29 paintings pulses with life, much like the man himself. The exhibition is on until February 27.
DIVYA KUMAR
Art and Awakening: Mote Dar’s works are sheer poetry