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IT’S TIME WE LEARNT TO ENTERTAIN
TINTIN & THE UNICORN |
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PROFILE
On the record
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IT’S TIME WE LEARNT TO ENTERTAIN The academic world in our country often turns its back to development issues and development machinery very often do not appreciate the value of information, education & communication now renamed as behaviour change communication, with its four wheels of reminder, reassurance, motivation and facilitation. Both of them miss priority and pride of place in the entertainment world, busy in satisfying the needs of the market. Along with edutainment, there is another term called infotainment in currency for some time, as it is now realised that deficit of information is a major reason for poverty and underdevelopment. In my business of conduct of elections, information gap has proved quite costly in terms of citizen participative democracy and also rule of law in democratic electoral process.
Ancient India
In ancient India education, moral teachings, life skills and entertainment were integrated through stories, parables, fables, folk culture and folk media. It was interactive and effective in the sense that the actors and the audience were participating in the educational exercise together. This edutainment method is simultaneously horizontal, dialogic and participatory used widely for behaviour change. I recall the Panchatantra stories, the Jatak stories, the Vikram Vetal Stories, which have entertained children over decades and also taught them moral lessons. The Arabian Nights also provided the same rich mix. It is appropriate to quote Einstein when he said" If you want your children to be smart, tell them stories and if you want them to be really smart, tell them more stories and if you want them to be brilliant, tell them even more stories". Recently, I came across a statement of PCI's new Chairman Justice K. N. Katju in which he was quoted as saying "if 90% of media's coverage is devoted to entertainment and only 10% to all socio-economic issues put together, then the sense of priority of the media has gone haywire." I would like to say in this context that by engagement of active imagination and creativity, it is possible to make edutainment 100% educational and also 100% entertainment. For instance, look at the impact that great super hits and award winning pictures like Mother India, Lagaan, Baghban, Three Idiots, Taare Zameen Par and many others have had on the issues of the day and created supportive social environment for social policy change and have indirectly propagated ideas of patriotism, quality education, deprivation, age care, etc. Big Boss
Of course I still hold the view that the huge potential of films as entertainment education remains under-harnessed. While saying so, I would not like to be dragged into the debate of art for art's sake vs. art for social message. This debate is unwarranted. I am happy that the line between mainstream cinema and the so called art cinema is getting blurred. A number of top class Directors are finding weighty themes as a recipe to successful entertainment and commercial ventures both. The widely watched and popular reality show "Big Boss" introduced a bit of politics recently by asking its inmates to form two political parties, select their symbols, write manifesto and design campaign strategies for elections. Swami Agnivesh, a social activist working for the bonded labourers, chose to enter the house of "Big Boss" to place his side of the story and propagate his reformist ideas. Look at Silvio Berlusconi, the longest serving Italian Prime Minister - a media tycoon who combined popular culture with populist politics, which enabled him to survive for a long time. In 1992, an organisation of youth volunteers called NSS had launched an innovative educational campaign called "Universities Talk AIDS" to spread awareness among the youth. It was adjudged as one of the best practices in awareness through edutainment. At that time the Youth Ministry had organised a multi media workshop on educational materials development with the help of a variety of folk cultural groups. Although folk is the most expressive aspect of a culture, closest to the people using their language and idiom, some folk artists were still scratching their heads as to how to develop an effective edutainment programme on this highly sensitive subject. Then, one of the folk artists, who was a magician, presented an innovative magic show describing the HIV infection including its sexual dimension in vivid details. He narrated through a pack of cards how HIV spreads and how it could be prevented. This single display enthused the entire group, and they were quick to discover how education could be presented in the most pleasant, simple and culturally acceptable form. A lot of games were introduced including the wildfire game to put across the message following a game based learning approach. You are all aware that the nature of present readers, listeners, and viewers has changed over the last few decades. They are getting younger, have short attention span and are extremely choosy. But then our education system and our entertainment industry have a role in influencing this fastidious audience into positive direction. Even universities and modern schools are now trying to retain the students through infotainment and edutainment, using multi media and other gadgets. When students watch the Discovery or National Geographic channels and when they visit zoos, aquariums, historical sites, archives and science museums, it is of course edutainment. The times are here when co-curricular schedule based on entertainment would play a larger role in education than the curricular. Steve Jobs, whose marketing strategies have come to light and are admired today even more after his sad and sudden departure from the world, used to say that "customers don't know what they want until we have shown them". Today we are living deep inside an information and entertainment age. Even political campaigns to influence voters are now packed with entertainment icons, popular songs and dance, road shows, videos including pop.
Elections & entertainment
I must tell you some experience from the Election Commission of India. In the landscape of Jharkhand steeped in illiteracy, difficult terrains and Naxal influence, where we decided to unleash our first serious efforts at Voters Education in order to raise the very low levels of participation in elections, we turned to folk entertainment. Several hundred folk artists were organised to sing and dance in the most entertaining formats. They travelled the length and breadth of the sate, giving performances that carried messages of electoral participation. They attracted the community, received their attention and we got the highest turn out of voters. We made even more extensive use of folk groups and street-plays in the Bihar Assembly elections, where these forms of entertainment are still very popular. Smt. Sharda Sinha, a very popular folk singer, recorded folk based songs in three regional languages, motivating women and youth to participate in elections. Entertainers hold sway over people's minds, whether one admits it or not. I do not have any hesitation in sharing the credit for the major upswing in women's turnout in Bihar election to Sharadaji. Encouraged by our achievements, in the five Assembly elections conducted in April-May this year, we used pop singer Zubeen Garg in Assam, Bickram Ghosh the percussionist in West Bengal, several cine stars in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala to advance voters' education, not only for the turnout, but also for ethical voting, that is to reject inducements and bribes as a consideration. In Kerala, we involved the State's most celebrated magician Gopinath Muthukad to package our education in his greatly entertaining format. I am happy to inform you that the results were even higher in terms of voter participation, as evident from the historical voter turnout witnessed in these States. Just last month we made use of Jaspal Bhatti's satire and humour to nudge eligible citizens in Punjab to register in the electoral roll. The results were again quite impressive. Our Commission has had its lessons. Having taken up the goal of Greater Participation of Citizens for a Stronger Democracy, entertainment based education is going to be a definite component of our strategies under the newly created SVEEP Division. In the coming series of state elections, we will engage this method to the hilt for enhancing voters' turnout. We will also use this every time for achieving registration of all eligible citizens on the rolls. I consider Edutainment as the best response of our times for making cognitive, physical, emotional and social development faster and smoother. There is a new attitude about leisure in the new knowledge society. People want it for personal enrichment and do not want it to be purposeless. The same citizens would also not like to plough for knowledge in a dreary and dry land; they would like it to be a pleasurable experience. Not only the Election Commission, but all responsible institutions with a mandate need to realise this. Excerpts from the speech delivered by Dr S.Y.Quraishi, the Chief Election Commissioner of India at the valedictory function of the 5th International Entertainment Conference in New Delhi earlier this month
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IT took Steven Spielberg, the director, and Peter Jackson over six years to make the 3D animation film. The first two years were spent figuring out how to tell the story. Spielberg and Jackson used a two-way television hook-up through a satellite link to carry on a conversation for over two years. Jackson would often be in new Zealand, where he has his "digital effects house" and Spielberg in Los Angeles. Thereafter it took 60 animators and 300 illustrators and artists three years to work out the film. Spielberg, who didn't think he could direct an animation film, has been bowled over by digital animation. The medium, he points out, gives the filmmaker total control. He points out that he has some experience of working with dogs in films and they do not always do what the director wants them to do. But in this film, Snowy, the digitised dog, not only gave him no trouble but almost carried away the film ! It was a tremendous learning curve, says Spielberg while adding that he has never had so much fun either.
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fifty fifty She has to be the most graceful and humble minister in the cabinet. In fact, at the inauguration of the International Film Festival of India, in Goa, it was not Shah Rukh Khan, but the Minister for Information and Broadcasting , Ms Ambika Soni, who kept her calm and bowled us over--- even while the actor, as Chief Guest, was reprehensibly late -both for the inaugural ceremony as well as the dinner. She never for a minute looked annoyed, and on the contrary kept up a pleasant conversation with all those around her, personally going up and welcoming the jury members, and not sitting down despite the fact that she had flown in from Delhi just that day for the occasion. Which other cabinet minister can you name who could keep their equilibrium even when those around are going out of their way to be annoying? On stage, too, she gave complete importance to the actor, often telling the anchors, Rahul Khanna and Tisca Chopra, to include him for various parts of the ceremony. Instead of her handing over the lifetime achievement award to the French director, Betrand Tavernier, she instead asked Shah Rukh Khan to do so. There was every effort made to make the actor feel important even though he had displayed little regard for the dignitaries present in the auditorium-all of whom had made a special effort to be on time. Apart from Ms Soni, even the Chief Minister, Digambar Kamat, too, had made an occasion out it all. He had decided to have the inaugural ceremony at his constituency , Margaon, and naturally , Shah Rukh was to be the piece de resistance….Of course, being Indians we took Shah Rukh’s lateness in our stride, and exclaimed at how excited everyone was over his presence, and what a qualitative difference he made. He got riotous applause and everyone wanted a photograph with him. The next day the press gushed over his presence ---and frankly, the hoopla made me quite worried. Had the press completely lost its critical faculty ? Shouldn’t the Chief Guest at least make an effort to be on time? The word also got around that his flight was late. However, even if that were true (and, strangely there were murmurs from people who said they had seen him at the hotel, well before the inaugural) -it still does mean that he had not taken the normal precaution most people would take when their absence would delay the entire programme. You would have ensured that for such a prestigious occasion---when you have been asked to open a festival---you would take an earlier flight. But frankly, I think Very Very Important People think their life ticks according to a different clock. He is not the first Indian celebrity to be late for a function ---and he will not be the last. After all, how else will they make an entry ? If they come too early, people will imagine that they have nothing better to do! And so much better to sweep in (as Shah Rukh did later at the dinner) after all the important folk have arrived, with your entourage ---including some absurdly dressed "hulks" in t-shirts on which was written, in large letters (in case we thought they were nice young men) ‘BOUNCERS'. Alas, instead of punishing him with quiet disdain , which most of us should have felt for having (almost) ruined the earlier half of the evening---the crowds began to impatiently push around him again. There was a huge crush of photographers and reporters ---including some of the guests at the IFFI dinner---and they once again almost embarrassingly shoved away or ignored the foreign guests. The latter in fact, raised their eyebrows, time and again, at the unseemly behavior of those who had been invited for the "exclusive" "international" film festival dinner. Why do we have this hunger for celebrities ? And why is it so important for us to be photographed with them? After all-this is an international film festival ---and I simply wish that some of that eager fawning had been reserved for a few of the quieter dignitaries, who stood around without a murmur. Ultimately, being permanently "late" may not be enough to turn Shah Rukh into Ra.One-but I wish he remembered his roots and how, perhaps, this sort of behavior would be upsetting , if and when he were to be at the receiving end. It is also extremely important for artistes to respect the art of others. There were many in the audience who had worked for much longer and much harder in cinema than Shah Rukh has ever done. It would have been wonderful, if he had taken a leaf out of Ms Soni’s book, and shown his regard for the occasion. And we could have avoided the chaotic scenes in the earlier part of the inaugural ceremony. Apart from that -it also would have meant that the cultural performers would not have had to wait and that the screening of the opening film would not have been delayed….. As a big fan of Hindi films ---I did feel that he had let the side down. No doubt he has an excellent reason for his "lateness" but the fact is his behavior was unprofessional-and while I know this is a harsh thing to say, perhaps we need to re-examine why we give these stars boots so big that while they cannot fit into them, they use them to trample all over us….
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PROFILE Kidneys play a vital role in purifying blood and regulating important body functions such as blood pressure, formation of red blood cells and maintenance of healthy bones, among other things. Dr. Mani says the kidneys receive 25 per cent of the body’s blood supply pumped by the heart. Consequently, a huge quantity of harmful substance, carried by the blood reach the kidneys. Diseases that damage the blood vessels - diabetes and blood pressure mainly-affect the kidneys since they are full of blood vessels. When the kidneys fail, toxins accumulate in the blood. The patient gradually dies a painful and miserable death following a rise in blood pressure, severe anemia, weakness, brittle bones and other complications. India has excellent Nephrologists and Urologists and numerous hospitals spread across the country in urban and some suburban areas with facilities to treat end-stage renal diseases. On the downslide, the cost of treating kidney diseases, though cheaper than in most other countries, is too high for the vast majority of Indians. It would cost close to Rs. 400,000 for the least expensive form of transplant treatment, transplantations and an annual maintenance cost close to Rs. 100,000. The Kidney Help Trust was started in 1985 by a group of five doctors and two philanthropists, who had renal patients in their family, aiming to raise funds to help patients to pay for transplantation. Two years later, "we realised that our accumulated funds would pay for only 15 transplants. It seemed unfair that only a fortunate few benefited from our exercise, while hundreds of thousands died from renal failure for want of money', recalls Dr. Mani. The Kidney Help Trust, therefore, decided to change track and use its limited funds to benefit a larger number of people with kidney diseases. The Trust understood that where resources are minimal, and problems are colossal, it needed to keep in mind the greatest good for the greatest number at the least expense. The focus was changed to prevent chronic renal diseases at a low cost by early detection and treatment of hypertension, diabetes and other kidney diseases. The prestigious Dhanvantari Award, which recognises contributions in medical science, is given annually since 1972. The Award is named after legendary Dhanvanari, who is said to be the word’s first surgeon. In spite of crude methods, Dhanvantari was reported to have had a very high rate of success. As a result of the brilliance and achievement he displayed in the field of medicine, he was chosen as one of the nine gems (Navaratna) in the court of an early Indian ruler Vikramditya.
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On the record In a record time, Katoch led an ICMR-industry collaboration to deliver India's first indigenous monovalent Influenza vaccine launched in June, 2010. The unassuming microbiologist, who studied in Panjab University, Chandigarh, before obtaining an MBBS degree from Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla and an MD from AIIMS, is now preoccupied with steering the health research sector to greater heights. How do you look at ICMR's role? The collection of new health-related information by ICMR has altered the course of India's health policy. ICMR was the first to generate nutrition related data in India at its institute, the National Institute for Nutrition, as far back as in 1918. Since then, it has developed several treatment regimens and infection control strategies for diseases like TB, Malaria, Kala Azar and Leprosy. Even today, the ICMR, despite being the lowest funded research institution in India, supports the maximum research on public health. The regimen for managing postpartum hemorrhage, the obstetric emergency which is the leading cause of maternal mortality in India, also came out of one of ICMR-funded projects. What kind of research are you funding? Who is eligible for your grants? Our constituency is public health and clinical intervention to reduce the cost of treatment and diagnosis for patients. An international review of the research sector, conducted in 2007-2008, revealed that 60 per cent of the entire research on neglected diseases in India was being funded by the ICMR, which has an overall annual budget of just about Rs 800 crore. We fund our own institutions, now 31 in number, and we also fund research by medical colleges across India. Our focus area is neglected diseases like helminthic infections caused by parasitic worms namely hookworm etc; filariasis, cholera, TB and dengue. The focus increasingly is on non-communicable diseases like cancer and diabetes. What's your role? We are in the process of manufacturing cost-effective strips to test diabetes and have developed treatment regimens for the disease. The move will help 50.8 million diabetics in the country. Right now, we import testing strips and each one costs us Rs 30. The Health Minister recently tasked us with reducing costs because we have rolled out a massive diabetes screening programme across India. On cancer, we pioneered the cancer registries and revealed the extent of the problem for the first time. Our research is going on. The Government recently admitted to 1725 deaths due to adverse events during clinical trials. Where are we lagging? Death due to adverse events during clinical trials is unacceptable. The ICMR brought out ethical guidelines for medical research only about a decade ago. This sector is still evolving but we need to pay greater attention to informed consent of subjects who agree to undergo trials. Ethics Committees set up for each trial must be fully accountable for lapses. They must ensure insurance and informed consent of subjects. In the Gujarat and Andhra trial of HPV vaccine of Merck and GSK, there were issues with informed consent. The Government had suspended the trial. Now the Drug Controller is doing post marketing surveillance of the HPV vaccine which is already in the market. And we have also extended the period for such surveillance from two years to three years to generate wider data. Antimicrobial resistance has become another huge issue since the controversial superbug was traced to India. Where is the policy stuck? The Government is committed to bringing an effective antibiotic policy, which looks after the interests of the last man on the street. If we impose a blanket ban on antibiotics over the counter, people in the peripheral areas will die for want of treatment because villagers have no doctors to write prescriptions. That said, the ICMR has sanctioned 52 projects to map drug resistance in various parts of India. We have shown that standard treatment guidelines can deliver and also end antimicrobial resistance. In 1982, drug resistance in leprosy was to the extent of 25 pc. Today it is nil.
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believe in the power of education. I believe in the appeal of entertainment. What is life without each of these? On an even more personal note, I have been a bit of an educator in my career as I have been a bit of an entertainer as well. 
Social learning theory says that people learn by observing others and the consequences of their behaviour, by comparing their experiences to the experiences of others before adopting new behaviour. 
HOW do you behave when a very special guest is terribly late for a very important occasion ? You can either throw a tantrum ---or you can, like Ms Ambika Soni, Minister of Information and Broadcasting be gracious and forgiving, carrying the evening forward with unwavering charm.
Recipient
THE low-profile Vishwa Mohan Katoch came in the limelight in 2009 post the outbreak of Influenza-A H1N1 epidemic in India. As Secretary, Health Research, Government of India and Director General, Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), the oldest research organisation in the world and which is celebrating its centenary this year, Katoch faced a humungous task - that of reducing the cost of importing reagents to test the flu and importing vaccines to fight the virus.