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Kahin Na Kahin Koi Hai - Sunanda Vashisht Sunanda Vashisht was born in the beautiful valley of Kashmir, India when Kashmir was known for its unparalleled natural beauty and not as a cauldron of fear and terror. She did most of her schooling in Delhi and dabbled with several professions before moving to U.S last year. she is currently pursuing higher studies here. she likes to introduce herself as an explorer because she wants to spend all her time in this world exploring unknown. Writing for her is a cathartic experience. She can't remember when she began writing first but she does know that writing has always helped her to be at peace with herself and with the world around her.

Matchmaking has suddenly acquired new dimensions. Gone are the days of good old matchmakers or even the crudely scribbled advertisement on the pavements and sidewalks proclaiming “Rishtey hi Rishtey, call so and so number”. As soon as girls or boys attained marriageable age the aunts and uncles no matter how they were related to your parents would suddenly be getting marriage proposals from nowhere. As time progressed newspapers and Internet acquired the role of matchmakers and now our good old television has jumped into the bandwagon too. And playing the role of matchmaker is no other than the diva of silver screen, Madhuri Dixit.

I happened to be switching channels the other day when I caught Madame Dixit playing the cupid on the small screen. The first thing that came to my mind was that it would be difficult for any man to chose another woman especially when she is sharing the screen space with la Dixit. Even after surpassing that hurdle, I thought this was taking reality shows to an extreme. If you are looking for a spouse, television is definitely not the right place to look for one. I remember close to the heels of the success of “Who wants to be a millionaire” the American television tried its hand at another show called “ Who wants to marry a millionaire’ I don’t know how many of you managed to catch couple of episodes that were telecast of that show. It did not work beyond few episodes and was embroiled in lots of controversies. The millionaire turned out to be a fraud, and the marriage was annulled even before it had seen the light of the day. The Indian show, Kahin Na kahin koi hai, has just begun its innings. I don’t really know what fate it will meet but it definitely doesn’t seem to have gone well with the middle class.

It seems very hard to understand that how a reality show like this will work in India especially with Indian Psyche. What we commonly see in Urban India today is a combination of arranged marriages and marriages of choice. Usually, parents with the consent of their children, choose the spouse for them. However to do it on national television, in front of millions of viewers seems a tad difficult. Anybody who has gone through these rituals will understand that choosing a life partner in the limited time frame of two or three days is very hard. Very few people go through “Love at first sight” syndrome and even fewer people think that it works beyond few days. What really does work is continued one on one interaction with the other person. That kind of interaction seems impossible on the crowded sets, in front of cameras and other distractions. I think this is taking reality-programming a bit too far. Ask anybody who is looking for a spouse and they will tell you how difficult it is.

I think that is the problem with Reality Television. Television can either be entertaining or informative or both but it cannot form a slice of your life. You cannot make the most important decisions of your life on the idiot box. Right now K3H is entertaining and Madhuri looks good but I really do feel bad for participants choosing their life partners on the tube. Kahin na Kahin Koi Hai will only be remembered for its sets and Madhuri’s clothes, but definitely not as a path breaking reality show as is being proclaimed right now.

Till we connect again...

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