SIGHT & SOUND
Grim beginning
Amita Malik

If it can be called funny at all, the year ended with President George Bush evading not once but twice the shoes thrown at him by an Iraqi journalist. But 2009 began much more grimly with the vicious attacks by Israel on the Hamas stronghold against world opinion, and making no distinction between civilian and military casualties. If the UN Security Council spoke strongly, its patron, the US, spoke more mildly, and those of us who expected that it would be a little different under Obama found that nothing had changed.

Of course, these are early days and Obama has not yet taken formal charge, and George Bush is still technically in charge, but that does not make things easier for those who are being relentlessly attacked and killed. There used to be something known as world opinion, and if it still exists, it is certainly not making itself evident. Our small screens are hiding nothing about what are clearly bullying atrocities against civilians, including women and children.

Civilians are being attacked and killed by Israeli forces in Gaza. There used to be something known as world opinion, and if it still exists, it is certainly not making itself evident — AFP

Clearly, the public relations of Israel are much better organised, and the grim woman who is its spokesperson sends chills down our spines. The Israelis had all our sympathies when being persecuted by Hitler. But now they are behaving suspiciously like his imitators.

Meanwhile, one the most watchable series, Instant Recall on Times Now, continues to provide what, for what of a better term, I would like to call serious entertainment. Having had Waheeda Rehman and Smita Patil, we had the rollicking voice and personality of Kishore Kumar to regale us. There are at least two generations which grew up with him since they started as children, and even now, when one passes a music shop, in the middle of all the contemporary musical jargon, Kishore’s voice comes across loud and clear, as it still does sometimes on the small screen.

Of the more pleasurable things about the beginning of a New Year is when channels look back on the outstanding events of the last one. I have thoroughly enjoyed the repeat of two Wimbledon finals, that between sisters Venus and Serena Williams, and the spic final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, which has been described as the best ever final at Wimbledon.

Interesting to watch were the reactions of Bjorn Borg, referred to affectionately as "royalty" by the commentators. Luckily, he chose not to be inscrutable, and clear expressions, if discreet, flitted across his face as he watched Federer and Nadal slog it out, no doubt remembering all the epic battles he had himself fought during an extraordinary career.

The cold season in many parts of India seems to stimulate programmes on food on the small screen. Foodie (I am not very fond of the term) Kunal on one channel has his counterpart, looking remarkably like him, on a sister channel. They do everything from wandering into people’s kitchens to visiting food stalls and dhabas on dusty roads. Sometimes their gushy finger-licking gets me down, as do socialites in fancy saris dipping their mangal sutras or diamond necklaces perilously near the gravies of the dishes they are demonstrating. Some of them are genuinely good cooks, others seem to put on an act and leave one wondering whether they do not just preside over their lavish parties and guests, leaving the gourmet cooking to highly trained and paid khansamas and thakurs.

But it is always fun to anticipate the reactions of the awed person tasting the food—first the food rolling in the mouth with eyes closed, then the licking of the lips and the ecstatic ohs and ahs to denote that the foodie’s heaven has been reached yet once again. Their total neglect of calories must leave some dieters and slimmers in the lurch. As for us, we enjoy the vicarious delight of simply watching.