Imagine being fully alive, awake and engaged. Imagine utilizing body, mind and spirit in a rapturous three part harmony that sets feet tapping, hearts beating and souls soaring. Walking together from the self to the selfless, this is one pilgrimage to the heart of the infinite. [about the walk]

who am i? | email me
guri's photo blog



popular

profiles

  • iJourney.org

recent writing

links

all else

« Baroda's Smiley Street | Main | So, What Did You Learn? »

India Today: Sex, Drugs, and Sports?

Posted on September 28, 2005 in pilgrim-post.

In a quick leaf through my Uncle's September archives of weekly India Today magazines, I spotted these headline stories:

  • Sex and the Single Woman:
    In 2003, 73% condemned pornography; now its 29%. In 2003, 57% said premarital sex is wrong; now it's 46%. In 2003, 78% were against extramarital sex; now it's 66%. For more than 72% of the populace, their first sexual experience was before the age of 21.

  • The High Rise: "With cocaine and ecstasy crowding the menus at parties, nightclubs, pubs and even coffee chains, the upper middle class is hooked to a new high. Stressful lifestyles and easy money are creating a fresh profile of drug abusers across the metros."

    "These days people don't drink at parties, they don't even want sex. Designer nights today are all about chilled water, energy drinks, senseless humour, trance music, and shooters. And shooters are no swipes of Vodka laced with flavours; they are shots of cocaine and heroine taken intravenously."

  • Sania Mania: "the plucky 18-year old with her attitude, aggression and ambition electrifies the world, wins handsome endorsements and emerges as India's hottest new sporting icon." The story shows photos of some of the tennis phenom's t-shirts: "I'm cute. No S***", "Whatever", "You can either agree with me or be wrong." It also proceeds to mention that "Brand Sania is now worth 1.5 crore", the second strongest in India behind Sachin Tendulkar.

It's disappointing to see reputed magazines market sex, party-going youth accept a culture of drugs, and corporations branding anything that is somewhat successful. I wonder if cover stories on sex affect next year's survey result, if the upper middle class knows that Rs. 4000/gram of coccaine costs more than the annual family income for a Bombay slum dweller, if people (or even Sania) understand that Sania gets 1.5 crores in sponsorship because corporations think they can use her to sell stuff worth 15 crores. I really wonder.

They say India is poised to become a super-power in the next decade. I can't tell if that's good news or bad.



Comments ...


   
1.
On Sep 28, 2005 blokes wrote:

well India Today is a mag for the yuppie and the puppie. Neither the rural nor urban poor enjoy it except for making packets for hot channa or peanuts! Even these have some uses...:)


   
2.
On Sep 28, 2005 Manju wrote:

India's success is due to its ability
"to fearless experimentations"
with the global trends as it has a
tenacious hold to its spiritual roots.

I fail to see India without its temples, beggars,
pujaris, swamis, rishis, channawalla, sabziwalla, mosques, gurudwaras, holi, diwali, dandia raas, kathak, carnatic music, decandent marriages,
sewaa, and on and on.

India's soul is free to practice or take any path of spirituality and change the path as per one's whims and fancies. This core spiritual freedom is pursued and preserved by all there.

Islam followers have had success outside Saudi Arabia in countries such as Persia (now known as Iran), Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc. to rid the place of its indegenous culture.
India's soul struggled with Islam followers for over thousand years but has survived!!!. In bonus with gifts of immersion (ghazal, urdu, hindustani classical, etc) and freely give away with some of its land (presently Paksitan, Bangla Desh) to Islam followers.

So now its the turn of Economic Followers to influence the Indians. Let's wait and see the
evolution/immersion of this trend.


From Kabir's POV:

Kabira Darshan Sadhu Ke
Karan Na Kije Kaani
Jo Udham Se Lakshami Ki
Alas Mana Se Haani


Dont shirk to meet a good/wise person.
Wealth intoxicates or makes a lethargic mind,
either can harm.

manju


   
3.
On Sep 29, 2005 Sanjay M wrote:

Its easy for us to see this as a "fearless experimentation" while everything is fine, but if we look at it from the point of view of people whose lives are ruined getting caught up in deceptively attractive "modernisation" like this, we can only hope they find out that they've been a guinea pig in time. Well even the "Material Girl" Madonna seems to agree :-) ... (See: http://www.mtve.com/article.php?ArticleId=4527)

I'd say the root cause is in this thing we have for emulating the west. Some key factors in the West is their sense of integrity even in ordinary everyday situations, their keen sense of discipline and punctuality, thoroughness and professionalism in whatever they do. Not that I glorify them, I can write a big lengthy list of things they lack but which we have and so on, but the point is not to compare the two cultures. The point is that I believe its because of those particular aspects that they ended up being economically and technologically advanced.

And now suddenly we want to emulate them, but only the trivial byproducts that we see. If we really have to emulate them, lets emulate the aspects in their culture that led to their advancement in the first place! :-)

Dr. Abdul Kalam's book Ignited Minds (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignited_Minds) gives a more positive holistic outlook on modern materialism.


   
4.
On Oct 26, 2005 sundar wrote:

good or bad ..a matter of perceptions...i see the seeds of a dynnamic spirituality emerging from a static decadent passively adherent society....chaos is a necessary stimuli for creative processes...


   
5.
On Oct 29, 2005 ghalib bhatti wrote:

how are you


   
6.
On Dec 06, 2005 MANOJ BHARTI wrote:

HELLO INDIA TODAY
FIRST OF AL I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE REGARD TO GROUP EDITOR OF INDIA TODAY (PRABHU CHAWLA) FOR HIS FANTASTIC CONTRIBUTION IN ORGANISING THIS SURVEY
I AM TOTALY AGREE WITH THIS SURVEY
INDIA YOUTH IS CHANGING DAY BY DAY
THEY DON'T WANT TO BE IN OLD CULTURE OF MARRIAGE
WHICH ARE FORCIBLY APPLY TO THEM
THEY NOW WANT OPEN SEX AS IN USA
THEY NEED COUNCELING FOR THAT
AND THAT IS PROVIDED BY YOUR CHANNEL


   
7.
On Apr 16, 2006 Villi wrote:

tektronix phaser
Orange Plumber

makeup mirror


   
8.
On Apr 18, 2006 Villi wrote:

Orange County Plumber

makeup mirror

tektronix phaser 850


Post a Comment










Remember personal info?




Ensure you're human. :) Enter the security code you see below.
: