Alrite! Let's continue.
Ok, first of all, absolutely no regional programs in the India and Pakistan lists. Not even something on MTV! It could be that MTV is more for the surfing kind of viewer who catches a song on it between flipping channels but nonetheless, MTV and Channel V have been trying hard over the last couple of years to come up with specific programs viz., Roadies, Campus Star, India's Hottest, etc. Even so.....Also, 9 out of 10 top favourites in the India list are aired on Star World. No place for AXN (except for 24), Zee Cafe, Zee Studio, BBC Entertainment,et al. Guess, that's the effect of Rupert Murdoch's reach and foothold in international programming. Star guys should be pretty happy about this.
While there isn't a clear match amongst all three segments, I see substantial overlap in each pair - 5 between India and NY, 6 between India and Pakistan. Coupled with the absence of regional programming, I would say people in India are watching almost the same stuff those in the US are. And liking it as well! In spite of 200 odd channels in India and 500 odd channels in the US, guess we all end up watching the same programmes. Interesting!
Btw, 'House' will have to top my list of favourite t.v shows. :-)
Ok, let me point out at the beginning that I am a little skeptical of this list. Simply because when it comes to books, a lot of people would want to read a particular book or would like others to think that they 've read a particular book but never do. And these books still end up in their favourite books list. Case in point - LOTR and The Godfather.
Notice the presence of religion in the Pakistan (Quran) list and NY list (Bible) but none in the India list. Is this because we lack this form of literature. No. i believe this is because growing up, we don't feel the need to read them either because our teachers told us or our parents told us or society told us. We are almost never exposed to them (more so today than yesterday). Many parents in the US go to church every Sunday and many of them take (or drag) their kids along. Parents in India these days would rather their kids spent time reading Dan Brown than the Bhagavad Gita. Hollywood references Bible quite a bit (direct quotes, dialogue, or its philosophy or even just the mention of the name). And Pakistan's religious bearing in society doesn't need to be elaborated upon. In India, we have no environmental references.
India and Pakistan lists contain books a majority of which have been published in the last 6-8 years. In comparision, 'The Great Gatsby' was first published in 1925! George Orwell's '1984', made famous by the Apple ad, was first published in 1949!
In small measure but nonetheless, the India list contains two books - Shantaram and Five Point Someone that have either been written by Indians or written on India or both. Mohsin Hamid's beautifully written 'Moth Smoke' finds a mention in the Pakistan list. Glad to know that people in the sub-continent are beginning to enjoy and appreciate the 'local fare' and I think we will be seeing a lot more of these going forward as people in India and Pakistan begin to look outside and at the same time, look inside from the outside.
Ok, first of all, absolutely no regional programs in the India and Pakistan lists. Not even something on MTV! It could be that MTV is more for the surfing kind of viewer who catches a song on it between flipping channels but nonetheless, MTV and Channel V have been trying hard over the last couple of years to come up with specific programs viz., Roadies, Campus Star, India's Hottest, etc. Even so.....Also, 9 out of 10 top favourites in the India list are aired on Star World. No place for AXN (except for 24), Zee Cafe, Zee Studio, BBC Entertainment,et al. Guess, that's the effect of Rupert Murdoch's reach and foothold in international programming. Star guys should be pretty happy about this.
While there isn't a clear match amongst all three segments, I see substantial overlap in each pair - 5 between India and NY, 6 between India and Pakistan. Coupled with the absence of regional programming, I would say people in India are watching almost the same stuff those in the US are. And liking it as well! In spite of 200 odd channels in India and 500 odd channels in the US, guess we all end up watching the same programmes. Interesting!
Btw, 'House' will have to top my list of favourite t.v shows. :-)
Ok, let me point out at the beginning that I am a little skeptical of this list. Simply because when it comes to books, a lot of people would want to read a particular book or would like others to think that they 've read a particular book but never do. And these books still end up in their favourite books list. Case in point - LOTR and The Godfather.
Notice the presence of religion in the Pakistan (Quran) list and NY list (Bible) but none in the India list. Is this because we lack this form of literature. No. i believe this is because growing up, we don't feel the need to read them either because our teachers told us or our parents told us or society told us. We are almost never exposed to them (more so today than yesterday). Many parents in the US go to church every Sunday and many of them take (or drag) their kids along. Parents in India these days would rather their kids spent time reading Dan Brown than the Bhagavad Gita. Hollywood references Bible quite a bit (direct quotes, dialogue, or its philosophy or even just the mention of the name). And Pakistan's religious bearing in society doesn't need to be elaborated upon. In India, we have no environmental references.
India and Pakistan lists contain books a majority of which have been published in the last 6-8 years. In comparision, 'The Great Gatsby' was first published in 1925! George Orwell's '1984', made famous by the Apple ad, was first published in 1949!
In small measure but nonetheless, the India list contains two books - Shantaram and Five Point Someone that have either been written by Indians or written on India or both. Mohsin Hamid's beautifully written 'Moth Smoke' finds a mention in the Pakistan list. Glad to know that people in the sub-continent are beginning to enjoy and appreciate the 'local fare' and I think we will be seeing a lot more of these going forward as people in India and Pakistan begin to look outside and at the same time, look inside from the outside.
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