It was the time when Indian Idol finale was to be aired and although I thought the show was pathbreaking in many ways, the SMS voting was beginning to resemble the Great Indian Political Tamasha more than a talent hunt.
Midday frontpaged a report on how the BMC worker's unions pledged their support to Abhijeet Sawant - the contestant whose dad worked with the corporation.
100,000 workers X average of 5 family members = 5 lakh possible votes. OK - so maybe all may have actually voted but some might also have sent in several entries, all still adding up.
Meanwhile ads were apparently appearing in Chhatisgarh papers urging people there to vote for Amit Sana...
The point is: Talent Hunts are based on the 'may the best man win' concept. So if I honestly believe X or Y is 'better' - sure, I should share this opinion with the world and even urge you to vote for him.
But simply asking for votes because I am from your city/ caste/ school - this is no different from what Indian politicians do. And the results are clear for all to see - the 'best man' usually doesn't even get nominated! The likes of Manmohan Singh are too educated and too unpopulist to get voted to office - but the like of Laloo can keep getting elected.
Coming back to Idol, Indians appeared to be rating 'humility' more seriously than whether the singer had star quality. No doubt both Abhijeet and Amit were good singers - but personally, I didn't think they possessed the 'X factor' which was mentioned by the judges in every episode.
The odds appeared to be stacked against Amit Sana - he was singing under medication, and also the fact that Abhijeet was from Mumbai was likely to influence votes in his direction.
Yet, I would urge junta to vote for whoever they think is 'better' - whatever your definition of better may be. As long as it's related to talent and not something vague like 'he's a Maharashtrian'.
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