12-16-2007, 07:23 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Modi, Modi all the way</b>
Not that he was at all interested in TV, unless some brash interviewer chose to ask him questions which he tackled with more than ease. But it was not the studio which was his battleground, it was the wide open spaces where milling mobs answered his rhetorical questions with loud rhetorical answers and while those milling mobs certainly filled the small screen it was Modi who towered over them all. <b>In fact, the Modi phenomenon on TV dwarfed everything else </b>even if in the process it broke all the rules which media schools tend to teach their eager pupils.
Gujarat is one of the most colourful and interesting States in India which gave us Mahatma Gandhi and Vikram Sarabhai, whose spirited daughter Mallika livens panel discussions on TV with her liberal views and artistic background. Gujarat is the home of exquisite handicrafts, of diamond merchants and Ahmedabad, with its historic gullys. And all these also come on TV to remind us of its uniqueness.
Meanwhile, the famous analysts give us their expert views on TV. Yogendra Yadav, Sopariwala, Prannoy Roy, Rajdeep Sardesai. Some take Gujarat area by area with maps, south Gujarat, Saurashtra and compare voting five years ago with the trends now. We had exit polls and an opposition leader of great status who ultimately decided not to vote. But all this becomes academic because until the results come out (and at the time of writing they are not in sight and the day this column appears will see the second round of voting). So all we can do is watch <b>Modi dominating the screen. The man's self-confidence is awesome and he seems least bothered about the voting in his speeches, so sure is he of himself. So we can only watch and wait</b>. But on one thing all the analysts agree: That he is a regional and not a potential national leader. Well we can only wait and see. <!--emo&
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Not that he was at all interested in TV, unless some brash interviewer chose to ask him questions which he tackled with more than ease. But it was not the studio which was his battleground, it was the wide open spaces where milling mobs answered his rhetorical questions with loud rhetorical answers and while those milling mobs certainly filled the small screen it was Modi who towered over them all. <b>In fact, the Modi phenomenon on TV dwarfed everything else </b>even if in the process it broke all the rules which media schools tend to teach their eager pupils.
Gujarat is one of the most colourful and interesting States in India which gave us Mahatma Gandhi and Vikram Sarabhai, whose spirited daughter Mallika livens panel discussions on TV with her liberal views and artistic background. Gujarat is the home of exquisite handicrafts, of diamond merchants and Ahmedabad, with its historic gullys. And all these also come on TV to remind us of its uniqueness.
Meanwhile, the famous analysts give us their expert views on TV. Yogendra Yadav, Sopariwala, Prannoy Roy, Rajdeep Sardesai. Some take Gujarat area by area with maps, south Gujarat, Saurashtra and compare voting five years ago with the trends now. We had exit polls and an opposition leader of great status who ultimately decided not to vote. But all this becomes academic because until the results come out (and at the time of writing they are not in sight and the day this column appears will see the second round of voting). So all we can do is watch <b>Modi dominating the screen. The man's self-confidence is awesome and he seems least bothered about the voting in his speeches, so sure is he of himself. So we can only watch and wait</b>. But on one thing all the analysts agree: That he is a regional and not a potential national leader. Well we can only wait and see. <!--emo&
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->