Sight & Sound
DD’s run out
Amita Malik

So the TV coverage of the first India-Australia Test fell into Doordarshan's lap at the last moment. DD always cleverly waits in the wings as better or independent channels slug it out and then goes for the killing. And, characteristically, the coverage had all the DD hallmarks. One cannot blame DD for the frequent power failures in our area during the match. But the other incidentals of DD coverage were there in force, further underscoring the point that DD undertakes the coverage not for sport but for money, and the viewer comes last in the priority list.

Firstly, DD forgot to mention the Gavaskar-Border label of the match, although TVS was mentioned with boring regularity throughout. Secondly, it forgot to caption the names or give the backgrounds of its B-team panel. While regular viewers could recognise " Fair & Lovely " Srikanth and to a lesser extent Anil Wassan and Charu Sharma, the poor man's Ravi Shastri, it was difficult to place Shikha. She showed she was different from Mandira Bedi by wearing sleeves from elbow length to quarter-length. Her only function, apart from a fixed pretty smile, was to be a telephone operator, taking calls from outside. If we must have a woman, why not have a former captain from India's International Women's Cricket Team? Lastly, the score details and names on the screen were so garbled and wobbly that even several calls to the cable operator - and this applied to DD sports, which carried the English commentary - were of no use. And, of course the ads were beyond tolerance. There were lengthy cuts into both the beginning and end of the overs to accommodate ads, and vital comments between overs were totally blacked out. Did I not say DD is only interested in money? The viewer comes last.

After the dismal performance by our star batsmen and our shameful defeat, it was cheering to watch another edition of Hangama and find Harbhajan Singh, on the very day he took six wickets, in a fun game with small boys. Thanks Bhajji.

I have always enjoyed watching Swathi Thiagarajan's programme Born Wild on NDTV. Whether, it is endangered leopards or small animals, she goes to the heart of the matter. Her programme last week in which she showed us that some humble humans will even lay down their lives to protect wild life was one of her best and should be compulsory viewing for schools. She showed how humble villagers in Madhya Pradesh welcome and protect thousands of Siberian cranes, which visit them every year. They feed them, let them feed off their precious crops and even have traditional songs about the birds. One old lady spoke to them as if they were her children. Then there are the legendary Bishnois, one of whom laid down his life to protect a black buck in their region. Swathi's programme is so good because she is personally involved. Bravo, Swathi.

The canvassing for Maharasthra elections threw up some almost comical personal rivalries and some local squabbles in the Shiv Sena. It all made for cynical viewing for us non-political viewers and provided good entertainment.

So far I have avoided watching Headlines Today, which I labelled as juvenile newscasters for juvenile people. But I was driven to it as the only alternative English news channel to NDTV, which now has an injudicious mix of Business News and News in most bulletins. This has put off viewers such as I who are not interested in stocks and shares and corporate news. I find that Headlines Today, while not exactly shining in local reporting, is picking up a lot of interesting offbeat news from foreign agencies. So far its women newscasters had been mainly fluttering eyelashes, smiling sweetly and reading In a sing-song manner. The men, with one exception, have horrible haw-haw accents and swallow their lines. So I was happy to find that a touch of maturity had come in with their new newscaster, Chetan Sharma, who was earlier with NDTV. He has lent balance to the juvenile crowd and given the news some depth and responsibility in communication. I also liked the cricket coverage by R Venkatesh from Bangalore. He is a good interviewer too.