Epidemic of Pleasure

A terrible disease has set its foot in the heart-land of Tamils. The disease has been ominously spreading in the nook and cranny of Tamilnadu, thanks to the rulers of the state who had been possessed with the thought of doling out freebies to put them glued to incumbency. The epidemic began long long ago when there was the first distribution of required material free of cost. It had been dormant for so long and the present set of office bearers have invigorated it with renewed promises of materials to public. Other freebies have not affected the mass much as the promise of free colour television sets to them.

The dream of owning a colour tv has made the tamils liars, forgers and cheaters. The idea of it gives them mass hysteria as hundreds and thousands of men and women of all castes and creed queue up in front of hovels and huts which serve as make-shift office for the distribution of the sets. One attributes laurels to the railway system as it somehow wiped out the differences in society when it was first introduced by making every passenger sit in the bench by not treating them with any disparity. A similar revolution has been set in motion now as the rich also throng the places, for trying to be blessed with an idiot box. The scheme supposedly meant for those who are poor, therefore could not afford a television set, has grown out of proportions by encompassing the populace of the entire society. Whether the syndrome of gigantism has engulfed the mass on its own or has it been triggered with an abnormal secretion of the gland of 'fear of facing the election', the answer is unknown.

The Mass Hysteria makes everyone get involved in committing the crime of telling lies and vouching the fact that they do not possess an idiot box, as they are in dire straits to own it, in writing, precariously places them before the law. As the government issues the sets after satisfying themselves with such undertakings from the individuals, also being vouched by village administrative officers, it may come out with a statistics of those who live 'below possessing television lines' in future to indicate the bulging proletarians. Many rich men believe that the set is free and meant for everyone would be wasted if there were no claimants. Therefore their grab in the share has been wonderfully justified.

Let us look into the things that people do with television now. Most houses subscribe to satellite televisions and goggle at soap operas and gleeful, sexy dance programmes. As there is no censor board to monitor what is aired on television, (our moral police are much worried only about the western channels and the channels that air western programmes as if the sons of the soils are always there to protect the ethnicity of the land) people are fed with non-stop glamour and the life of the pervert who often dons the role of the villains in serials. There is hardly any show that teaches life and its wonders. Even if there is such a show, the public will opt for glitter. Tamils will soon lose their vigour and energy and will soon be subjected to dullness as much of the inventiveness and ingenuity goes only in the act of goggling at the box. The fad for freebies have made everyone morally diminutive.