TELEVISTA
Abhinav sets screens ablaze
Amita Malik

THE Olympics are in full swing, with an American breaking swimming records and China and the US competing for top honours. But the day that Abhinav Bindra won India its first individual gold medal in the history of the Olympics, everything else seemed to have come to a stop on Indian channels. It was not only Bindra’s family going into ecstasy, with laddoos being distributed in large quantities in his hometown Chandigarh and his sister saying it was the best rakhi gift she could have been given, even his old school was visited and childhood friends rustled up before the microphone.

The only mystery remained the woman with carrot red hair, who appeared from nowhere and hugged him passionately several times on camera. His wife, his girl friend, a bystander? The speculation did not stop and the mystery continues to interest the media. Of course Saina, who disposed of the No 4 badminton player from Hong Kong, did get a little look-in, as did Sania Mirza as she made news getting injured and bowing out of the Olympics, as did our male badminton hope, who was also beaten by someone from Indonesia.

But we thanked our stars that Bindra, who might be lethal with his gun, continued to look sober and professional with his spectacles perched on his nose. When asked why he did not show more emotion, he replied: "I have a dead pan face". So let us leave him alone.

What one regretted most was the absence of India on the hockey scene after decades, let alone as a long-time winner. For the sake of the subcontinent’s honour, I sat up late to watch the Great Britain vs Pakistan hockey match, which started disastrously for the sub-continent with the Brits starting off with three goals. Once again one thanked Bindra for bringing honour to the country.

Meanwhile, disaster is not far behind and one watched in awe as our gallant commandos rescued women and children by pulling them to safety with the help of a crane as they sat shivering in large baskets. It was an awesome sight and one wished again that large crowds going to places of worship should have strict security so they do not go wandering all over the place and panic at the first signs of disaster. We have had too many of these avoidable man-made disasters which sometimes cause more deaths than bombs.

Channels went overboard with unusual, and sometimes downright bizarre, ideas in connection with Independence Day. The one I have liked, for a change, and which has yet to be shown on screen is M.S. Dhoni being taken to visit some of our brave men in some remote outpost for the programme, Jai Jawan. One must admit that this is one of the most watchable programmes, thanks largely due to our photogenic and articulate jawans, and usually the choice of visitor is also interesting.

I am glad that in the middle of a whole lot of national awards for television which left me puzzled and at times shocked, I was happy that Jai Jawan had got a much deserved award. I feel that it is time that national awards for television acquired the same status as the national awards for films and it was not left to TV moguls to pat themselves on the back.