Opinion Flag days
For once,Doordarshan gives us a made-for TV parade and the BJP a made-for-TV march.
The Indian flag made waves this week,creating more than a flutter. On Tuesday,the tricolour,set to be unfurled at Lal Chowk in Srinagar by the BJP,led the charge of the saffron brigade across the bridge from Punjab into Jammu; on Wednesday,the tricolour swayed to the music at India Gate as the Republic Day parade unfurled on Rajpath; and finally,the tricolour fluttered on the fingers of school children as they enacted a silent national anthem: patriotism has no language,explained the motto. Ah,if only.
The childrens salute to the nation was the most moving and original. Performed in sign language by children suffering from speech and hearing impairments with rare delicacy and the minimum of movement,it nevertheless had energy and infectious enthusiasm,as the children gave it everything they had. If you didnt catch this BIG Cinemas-Mudra tribute on the tube,find it on YouTube.
The Republic Day parade was utterly-butterly beautiful. In the words of DDs commentator,the sun God (was) shining in all its glory,bathing New Delhi in a warm glow,all the better to show off Indias military might and the colours of the uniforms,the costumes and the tableaux as the parade swept down the avenue. Its been a while since the event enjoyed such a good outing thanks to the indulgent sun god.
Doordarshan deserves to bask in some of the glory too. It tried to make a pleasing television spectacle out of a routine annual ritual. It did so by a more creative use of the camera; were accustomed to a birds eye view of Rajpath and frontal shots of the marchpast. This time,there were close-ups of the parade command leaders,the performers and even the camels as they moved regally before the President. At least once,the camera did a 360-degree somersault for shots of the military marchers and you know what? It worked! There were some splendid takes of India Gate from below that gave it awesome stature and you a crick in the neck,looking up at it in wonder!
The camerawork was also synchronised with each march past. Thus,as the tableaux representing the ministry of agriculture floated by with its farmers,the camera immediately recognised Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar; when science and technology came along,we saw Kapil Sibals broad smile. And so on and so forth. The camera frequently alighted on ministers,politicians and Rahul Gandhi at least thrice,although it did not find Sonia Gandhi. If you didnt espy BJP leaders either,it was because they werent there,but missing in action elsewhere. Back to that in a moment.
The TV transmission of the parade had great acoustics too. So when the tableaux to save the tiger glided past,we heard the chirping of birds and the growl of the beast grrrr. Grrr to you too,tiger.
As for the commentary,well,some voices sounded new,but I have missed a few parades so could be wrong. There were swift,slick shifts from Hindi to English,minute accounts of all the action (Brigadier so-and-so salutes the President,President returns the salute) and meticulous detailing even to the height of the riders in the camel regiment,over 6 foot. So for once,lets stand and salute Doordarshans efforts. And thank you,sun God.
The BJPs flag stand-off with the J&K government gave it free publicity for two days. The constant presence of the flag and repeated mentions of it by the leaders lent it a sense of ownership: the flag,and thus patriotism,became synonymous with BJP. Thats probably what they wanted. Shots of the BJP cavalcade with the flag,Tuesday,reminded you of its rath yatras.
The BJPs ability to hold frequent rallies,demonstrations,and yatras while simultaneously launching verbal attacks on the UPA government through daily press conferences or briefings has allowed it to dominate the airwaves. Its like this: the BJP acts,the government reacts. Surely,it should be the other way around?
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