How I Use the Idiot Box to Get Smart
It has been about five years since I got tired of poor TV shows and never ending commercials and almost stopped watching TV. But then, Smart TV entered our house about three years ago and it was time for Entertainment-on-Demand (EoD)! I started exploring the Smart fellow only to find that most of the features were not working and a majority of things were not compatible with my dear smart phone! To enjoy the features I wanted, we had to buy few more equipment, a lot more apps and upgrade a few stuffs. Thanks to consumerism huh?
Anyhow, I tried to make the best use of the smart fellow being as frugal as possible and ran a few shows with Amazon Prime free trial, laptop and an HDMI cable. The Ghazi Attack- the story of underwater war between India and Pakisthan (claimed to be unrecorded in history) was one of the first few movies I watched and truly enjoyed the drama. It was followed by Poorna- the story of a 13-year old tribal girl who scaled the Mount Everest becoming the youngest girl in the world to do so. I feel sorry that the media has no time for such news! The movie is directed and performed by Rahul Bose of Mr and Mrs Iyer fame and I must say he has done a great job. I like his off-beat style and the subjects he chooses. Misfit you see!
When it comes to choosing the shows, I go by instinct and it has never failed me. I have thoroughly enjoyed the shows I have chosen. I, being a Misfit from the core, never go to check out ‘what is trending’, the top 10 list or the ‘What’s hot’ or the ‘what others are watching’ lists! I choose what appeals to me at a particular time and whatever suits the mood I am in. It is EoD remember? Why give your remote control to others! By the way, did you know that these social media platforms can tweak their algorithms to fit to their needs and make anything trend or famous? If not, then take a note of it. Don’t give your remote control to others’ hands and become a part of mass hysteria.
In my recent exploration, I found a show on Amazon Prime about Billionaires which has featured an entrepreneur of Indian origin who is ruling the Silicon Valley! He is Naveen Jain and was the first Trillionaire if I remember correctly. He is a true dreamer and a very bold entrepreneur I have to say. He is on his way to mine the moon! Sadly our Indian media has no time for this as well. Any foreign citizen will become “Apna Indian” when our media people feel like it! Take Sundar Pichai’s case for example. They don’t promote the daring souls because they don’t want us to dream big and don’t want us to expand our horizon! We need to protect ourselves from such things and always remember what our beloved ex- President Dr Abdul Kalam said “Small Aim is a CRIME”.
Coming to Netflix, I found some gems here as well through accidental references and my research. I watched a documentary called “Chasing Coral” and I highly recommend it. It is about the burning issue of “Coral Bleaching” as a result of Global Warming (Do check out ‘Chasing Ice’ as well). It was really painful to see videos of beautiful and colorful corals of the Great Barrier Reef (Australia) turning into brown dead mass and white skeletons in a matter of few days! The pain taken by the researchers and the team to film the painful event cannot be explained here. It was painful to see a young researcher, who loved corals since he was a kid, in tears when he went on to record the chain of events underwater. Can you even imagine the pain? On a brighter note, the documentary features Charlie Vernon, the “Coral Guru” and I was blown by his spirit in his eighties and his strong will to create awareness until his last day. A big salute and gratitude to such souls that never give up! To them, age is a mere number. Please go on, watch the show and educate your peers.
I am now watching “The World’s Extraordinary Homes” on Netflix and I was really surprised to see Homes in and around Mumbai being featured on the show! The thing I noticed about each project was that every owner and every architect involved were true ‘Misfits’. They have all gone overboard and created masterpieces in varied kinds of challenging environments and landscapes and defied all the rules and challenged all the norms. You need to see it to believe it! Anything to do with misfits, I say “Bring it on Baby”! I can go on and on.
But, always remember that anything and everything is possible for anyone and everyone! Never ever limit yourself in any case and under any circumstance. We all are infinite beings and truly limitless. Be bold and aim for the moon and higher! And lastly, always know that your remote control is only in your hand!
PS: You may watch the following biographical movies on Netflix
‘Lion’ to know how hard life can get for a lost child and be thrilled to find how that boy reaches Australia and later attempts to find his biological mother , ‘Mallesam’ to learn about true entrepreneurship and to know how women have damaged their joint while making of our beautiful Pochampalli sarees ‘Budhia Singh- born to run’ to see what a child prodigy and his coach went through in the field of sports and learn the sad story of how he is still banned from his sport.
