Satyamev Jayate

Every Sunday the thing I look forward to most is watching an episode of Aamir Khan's new serial Satyamev Jayate. It airs in India every Sunday morning at 11am and the episodes are available for viewing on their official website. 

I absolutely love this show for several reasons:
1. It belongs to my favorite actor Aamir Khan. No more needs to be said about him. He is brilliant at everything he does.
2. The topics/issues are common, but just the ones that need our attention. We have for long turned a blind eye/deaf ear to these issues. Finally someone took the initiative to speak up.
3. I think India might have found it's own Oprah Winfrey :) (That remains to be seen!!)

Source: Koimoi.com

Satyamev Jayate is an attempt to bring the truth out. To look around and recognize the truth around us and give it the attention it deserves. The serial sheds light on those issues which have been plaguing our Indian society for centuries. We have blindly been following certain practices in India in the name of caste, religion and social norms. The serial inspires us to stop, look around and think about it aloud. To decide whether doing so is right or so wrong?

It's been three weeks since Aamir Khan has been hosting this show and the response from the people has been phenomenal. 84 million people watched episode one of the show making it the highest rated show with a 4.27 television rating (TVR) across 6 metropolitan cities, according to Television Audience Measurement (TAM) data. ^[1]  In an online poll conducted by Hindustan Times, 88% people agreed that they liked the show. ^[2]
 
Every week the show tackles a new issue.  The 1st episode focused on female infanticide, the 2nd one talked about child abuse and the 3rd one touched the topic of dowry. It's encouraging to watch people share their personal stories and become an example for everyone else. I have personally been moved by a lot of these stories and feel sad as I watch some of the incidences. Sometimes the truth is so ugly and horrifying that it makes me angry.

My fear though is that this is another wave on which people are riding and as soon as the serial is over, the waters will recede and the uproar will die out. Look at how many people stood up to support Anna Hazare and his cause. It felt like a revolution. Outcome? None!!  In the past we have seen many incidences of people getting all excited and charged up but then the fever soon dies out and things go back to normal. I hope the same does not happen here. I sincerely hope through this show people speak up and fight for a good cause. These are issues that will take time and perseverance and we must not give up and forget after the wave has passed.

I am excited to watch all the 13 episodes. Have you watched any of these episodes? What are your views?



 

The Oprah Winfrey Show Finale

I will be honest, i did not grow up watching the Oprah Winfrey Show. In fact when she aired that first show in 1986, I was only 8 years old and we did not even have any cable TV.  I had always heard about Oprah and knew who she was but never really started watching her show till last year. So yes, while i was not there all the way from the beginning I was there when she ended. Oprah Winfrey aired her last episode yesterday afternoon. It's been a wonderful 25 years for this show. Like 100,000s of other fans I was sad too. Did shed a few tears and will miss her show. But I do know this is not the end of Oprah. She will continue to do wonders and will continue to inspire us like always.

This blog is really about the powerful message she shared with us yesterday. Her "love letter" to all her fans. While I am not going to quote the whole things here are some important messages which stuck with me. And i quote -

"What I knew for sure from this experience with you is that we are all called. Everybody has a calling, and your real job in life is to figure out what that is and get about the business of doing it. Every time we have seen a person on this stage who is a success in their life, they spoke of the job, and they spoke of the juice that they receive from doing what they knew they were meant to be doing. We saw it in the volunteers who rocked abandoned babies in Atlanta. We saw it with those lovely pie ladies from Cape Cod making those delicious potpies. ... We saw it every time Tina Turner, Celine, Bocelli or Lady Gaga lit up the stage with their passion. Because that is what a calling is. It lights you up and it lets you know that you are exactly where you're supposed to be, doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing. And that is what I want for all of you and hope that you will take from this show. To live from the heart of yourself. You have to make a living; I understand that. But you also have to know what sparks the light in you so that you, in your own way, can illuminate the world."

"But what I want you to know as this show ends: Each one of you has your own platform. Do not let the trappings here fool you. Mine is a stage in a studio, yours is wherever you are with your own reach, however small or however large that reach is. Maybe it's 20 people, maybe it's 30 people, 40 people, your family, your friends, your neighbors, your classmates, your classroom, your co-workers. Wherever you are, that is your platform, your stage, your circle of influence. That is your talk show, and that is where your power lies. In every way, in every day, you are showing people exactly who you are. You're letting your life speak for you. And when you do that, you will receive in direct proportion to how you give in whatever platform you have."

" Nobody but you is responsible for your life. It doesn't matter what your mama did; it doesn't matter what your daddy didn't do. You are responsible for your life. ... You are responsible for the energy that you create for yourself, and you're responsible for the energy that you bring to others"

"Remember physics class? Did you pay attention to Newton's third law of motion? Let me tell you, that thing is real. It says for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. That is the abiding law that I live by, articulated to perfection by Miss Celie in The Color Purple when she finally gets the courage to leave her abusive husband, Mister. ... 'Everything you done to me already done to you.' It is the Golden Rule to the 10th power."


Standing in all her glory and humbleness, Oprah delivered her message to all of us one last time through this platform. I thought it was powerful and simply beautiful. A perfect way to gracefully end her show. While i will miss the show, i am excited to see what she has to bring in the future. As one of her fans I have faith in her and her abilities to make this world a better place.


Amen!