The last few weeks - the period that i was not blogging - have been extremely stressful. There has been sleepless nights, round the clock councils of war, there has been battle, and there has been tremendous pressure exerted on us. And the three of us stood firm. It is such a relief to run a business with people you trust and respect, and who back up each other.

I didn’t blog about it because I don’t want to remember people involved with bitterness. Or anger. Or even frustration. I really want this memory to fade. Not disappear, because we don’t want to be caught in this kind of a situation. Rather, it should fade gently into memory - so that one day we sit around- all concerned - and laugh about it.

On the good news front, there is a pilot that is being shot for a kid’s channel. Cogito is partnering wtih AS and SR for the show. It is nice to see grown ups leave aside their pre concieved notions and bond together as a team. It is one of the nicest aspects of management. Seeing the team evolve. And pitches are happening. We are getting geared for the next schedule of DoaJ.

Term has begun again and i am teaching three great subjects. Broadcast Journalism, Global Media Issues, and Media Management. (aside: Any of you in Mumbai - want to give guest lectures on any of these topics - mail me). There are 15 extremely good students, and A lot of my theoretical fundaes that had been covered by cobweb are getting brushed out and refreshed. And this serves as a trigger for thought.

It is tiring, but fun. I think that i need to juggle many things at the same time to function effectively. Otherwise Inertia takes over, as though it is going out of fashion. The only thing i need to figure out is time to blog.

And best of all, I am actively contemplating a holiday in December. Chennai, and then rent a car and drive down to Madurai, Kanchi and Rameshwaram. It has been in the offing for quite some time. So hopefully, this time the holiday will happen.

Tags: Cogito TV

… we - that is the client and us - played Ring-a-ring-roses, for around 10 hours. I prefer the hangover
One day we are all going to look back and laugh. I hope that day comes soon and all involved are still on talking terms !

Today is another day. And as they say - another day another client, and a different sort of footsie.

Tags: Cogito TV

For me, childhood memories of Diwali include getting up at the crack of dawn - literally - and having an oil bath - ganga snanam - before phodofying fatakas and taking sweets to the neighbours. One of the joys of liberalisation and modernisation is not waking up a the crack of dawn and downing decent amounts of caffeine before ganga snanam.

Today was our third diwali as Cogito TV. The first was at Vanrai Colony the second at Bimbisaar Nagar, and currently at Adarsh Nagar. So we landed up there at 9.30 in the morning for pooja. Nothing complex. Just all of us gathered to light lamps, distribute sweets and move on to the shoot. Dial One Aur Jeeto is a live show, and there is no Diwali, no Id, no Independence Day or Republic day for the industry as a whole, let alone a live show:)

On the way back from the office i got stuck at traffic near Andher Station. Hundreds of last minute diwali shoppers thronged the streets. And looking around from the rickshaw that I was in, i could see crackers, clothes, sweets et al everywhere. And people everywhere. And vehicles stuck - everywhere. I thought to my self, what if a bomb went off now. It is bizzare how the mind works at traffic signals. The next thought was - where are the entry and exit points on the road if it did - how do emergency services get in. People are parked everywhere. Cars are double parked, and there is a lot of human traffic on the road that is going to be severely hurt if this happens. On this particular part of the road - with waist level concrete dividers - and narrow alleys on the side, its going to be a bitch for entry and exit. Then the signal cleared, there was no bomb and i went home.

Lenin - or was it Mao - said that the purpose of terrorism is to terrorise. And once again those who cause terror have struck ordinary people going about their daily lives. Thereby increasing their sense of insecurity. There is no reason for me to think about bombs in market places, apart from the fact that bombs went off in Delhi killing ordinary people shopping for Diwali and Id.

The sense of loss and grief are for those who are directly bereaved. For the rest of us it is a heightened sense of paranoia for some time to come.

Tags: Cogito TV

About 15 months ago -has it only been that long? - i was in Marathwada making a documentary on Self Help Groups set up by destitute women that form the basis of bare foot capitalism. Starting with nothing these women have built up amazing capital - in the form of goats.The women combat the triple whammy of gender, caste and poverty. Yet, their strength is quite something else. Their perserverence and dedication to change their lot without bitterness is admirable.

With a certain amount of succes under their belt, the women are now turning their attention to something very important to them. Their Children's education. They are funding neighbourhood schools where their children can study without discrimination.

But, this little boy, like all little boys is fairly ambivalent about going into school. He would rather be playing outside:)

Tags: Caste, Cogito TV, Dalit, Development, Gender Issues, Poverty, Society

Tomorrow on Dial One aur Jeeto - made by Cogito TV (my little bit of branding for my company) - is special guest Sanjay Jumani - the world famous nnuummerologgistt.

If you want to call the great man himself to find out if you need double alphabets in your name - call the numbers that are plastered everywhere :). Now that the plug for the show is done, the real reason for the post.

I was sitting at home getting bored out of my skull. Neena saved from a fate worse than boredom by asking me do do some research online for a few questions regarding numerology. The questions were done in a jiffy, but what was interesting was the set of sites I ended up discovering.

In my wanderings through cyberspace I came across this great site. It is called Godchecker. It introduces its’ services as:

We have more Gods than you can shake a stick at. Godchecker’s Mythology Encyclopedia currently features almost 2,500 deities.

Godchecker is 100% non-denominational. All Gods are welcome, whether Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Slavonic, or of No Fixed Abode. Polytheism is much more fun than monotonous monotheism. The Gods are queuing up to get in! And Terry Pratchett fans, Tolkien afficiandos, Douglas Adams devotees and Harry Potter nuts will love our selection of Goddities!

The Godchecker database aims to cover all Gods of mythology, literature and legend. Pagan culture is covered with Celtic deities and more Earth Mother Goddesses than you can shake a willow stick at. And if you’re seeking knowledge, wealth or immortality, you may pick up some tips. Our current research has led to some very promising ideas involving snails, beetroot and cunningly-shaped sticks…

And there was this completely brilliant and totally irreverent section here called Mythmatics - the Mythology of Numbers. . It looks at various numbers claimed by various cultures as being important to their Gods.

Ever since the human race began to count on the Gods, their numbers have increased. It is even possible the Gods are counting on mankind - using us for multiplication or dividing us into fractions.

.

Read more here.

I think that the next week is looking very promising indeed

Tags: Cogito TV, Dial One Aur Jeeto

Tuesday, 26th July, began like most other Tuesdays in my life. Wake up by 6.30 a.m. get ready to get to Peddar Road - and teach. Tuesday I was focusing on the role of media in creating a “collective conciousness”.
Post the lectures (2 and a half hours), there was to be a meeting at Sahara One, at noon. Getting in from Sophia to Worli for the meeting, we crossed the BSP meeting in Mumbai, with heavy police bandobast.
The meeting got over at about 1.30. Shirish and Neena proceeded to Film City, where the crew was getting geared for Dial One aur Jeeto. Shishir and I went off for a bite to eat to Phoenix Mills. Keval, Jayant and brand new recruit Sriram (he joined on Monday) were at the office at Adarsh Nagar.
20 minutes later, after an unappetising - but quick - lunch at MacDonalds’ we moved towards Film City. This was around 2 p.m. The roads were fairly clear until Mahim. Bandra was a minor blip, but we cleared that fast and thought that we would make it Film City

Bandra - at around 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday

By the time we had reached Khar, the matter was slightly worse. It was raining non stop.

At Khar - some 15 minutes later

By the time we reached the domestic airport, rain was hammering down upon us. Visibility was non existent.

Near the Santacruz Airport

And then, it seemed to clear slightly, until we reached the Jaicoach Signal, and the flyover that leads to Aarey and Film city. The flyover was jammed as far as the eye could see. The rain was lashing down by now. Visibility detiriorated from non existent to worse than non existent.

The tail lights of the car ahead of us - through the windscreen

People had begun walking across the flyover, trying to get back into the city. Winds were heavy, the rain tireless, yet people persisted. It was almost like this homing instict which makes people take risks to get home to kith and kin.

Goregaon Flyover

Santosh - the driver - took one look out and predicted that - yeah jam kal clear hoga. So Shishir and I decide to trudge to Film City. We left everything except the bare essentials in the car with Santosh and began walking. One side of the highway - leading into the city was submerged in waist deep water. Indica’s and Omnis were floating past as though it was Bihar. The other side was jammed with vehicles. The walk was nerve racking. Water currents were high. And we were afraid of electrocution - we later realised that the power supply had been cut off. We walked almost 4 kilometers - we got a lift some distance, and a rick from Dindoshi to Film City. To our surprise, almost 70% of the crew had turned up. The rest were stranded. Mandira was stuck in Bandra. her vehicle couldn’t move. Finally, The channel called off the show for the day.

Getting back was even more nerve racking. Rain was pouring down. The roads were even more jammed, and there was no light. But, hundreds of people were trudging back. Most in extremely good humour. The support system from unknown people in Mumbai was quite amazing. This is the incredible spirit of the city that cannot be broken by bombs, flood or ineptitude.

We finally stumbled back to Shishir’s place at Goregaon. I left early next morning to trudge back to Andheri. The world looked freshly washed. And except for all the abandoned vehicles, you would never have guessed the previous evening was so bad. I later learnt that we had survived 1 meter of rainfall in a given day!

The crew and all friends were accounted for. Most had a hellish 72 hours, but all seem to be in good cheer. Others weren’t so lucky.

Yesterday, we were the only production house shooting in Mumbai. MSEB power supply was not yet up and running, so there was no air conditioning on the floor - we have close to 100 kW of lights and without AC the place feels like a foundry.We had generators for the lights and equipment. 90% of the crew turned up. Mandira - driven by her husband Raj - braved the traffic to get from Bandra to Film City. It took her over 4 hours. And the show went on.

Tags: Cogito TV, Dial One Aur Jeeto, Mumbai

Finally went on in its new avtaar from the 4th of July at Film City. Studio number 10 is our home for the next 3 months atleast. It is from this studio that we daily make (executive produce) and transmit India’s first interactive game show of this nature.

Film City - Studio 10
To say the show is complex is an understatement. As we joke - we have enought high end computers and microchips - to launch the moon mission. There is redundancy built in for most things. It is too dangerous to do a live show without building in back ups. The thought itself gives me shivers. The only redundancy that seems to be difficult to build in is people. It is fascinating, that in a day and age where machines supplant people, this is one industry which is completely dependent on human expertise. The technology is merely a tool.

The Nerve Centre of the Show - The Programme Control Room (PCR)

So, what is different about this show.Well, it has the same simple questions that need responses. People still manage to get sitters wrong. Last weeks funniest answer was - fifty, the question was if a batsman in cricket scores a duck, how much does he make? The answer of course is zero - and we are supposed to be a cricket mad nation. The set is a whole lot bigger. So big that we can have a car on the set. And there are intelligent lights (not really but that’s what they are called) that mark the mood by changing colour (someone sitting in the PCR does that) and music that gives a bangra beat to the show. All of us have “jeeto jeeto jeeto” ringing in our ears.

A View of the Set

The overwhelming sensation in the studio is “chill” - the studio is cooled to around 18 degrees C. and you can see all of us with jackets and warmish clothing. Here is Mandira on a rehersal day!

Mandira - rehersing in the cold.

More pics soon. But, for those of you who are trying to get through, here is a note from the channel:

Harini could you post this on your blog?
The number 190-24-24-90-90-01 is only available to MTNL and BSNL users.
Mobile users have to register by typing dial (space) their name (space) their city and SMS it to 9090
We get over 16 Lakh calls a day, so your chances of participation depend on you luck, as well as how many number of times you register. The greater the number of times you register, the greater your chances of being picked as one of the callers who get to participate in the show.

That figure just went up to 18 lakhs! Is TAM panicking - but that is matter for a different post:)

For those of you who want to catch the show - it is on Monday to Thursday at 8 p.m. on Sahara One.

Tags: Cogito TV, Dial One Aur Jeeto

Last night Shishir & I went for a drink (actually more than one drink).
The war begins today.

Tags: Cogito TV

The new improved one hour long Dial One aur Jeeto is finally on air with a new format.

Yesterday, was the first episode of the new series.

The lead up to the show was fraught with tension. There were issues with studio availability, contracts, budgets, egos and the kitchen sink. But like everything in television everything fell together at the last moment and we all managed to put the show on air - without letting any of the tension show.

The main show elements remain the same:
Three questions asked. The first one is a sitter - who is the PM of India variety of questions.
the second one is slightly more difficult - what is the capital of China variety (don’t laugh, we had an answer of Cochin on this one, I kid you not. )
The third one is somewhat tough - what is the real name of Bunty in the film Bunty & Bubbly!
if the contestant gets the third question right, they can then try for the bumper prize - a big value car or something equal in prize. The bumper prize question is really tough.

The main format change is the rolling over of prizes. so if i get an answer wrong, the prize moves to the next person who can win it if they get the answer right.
The graphics and animation on the show has increased as has the complexity. What we are doing is a pre precorded finish in a live format - tough by any standards. But, it is great fun.

If any of you wants to participate:
you can call 190-24 24 - 90 90 - 01 from a land line (no WLL’s)
If you are using a mobile phone then sms and sms it 9090.
the system of selection is random computer generated , so please please don’t leave me your number for a call back. I can’t even get my number on the show:)
The show is on Sahara One - mondays to thursdays - at 8 p.m.
So Dial One aur Jeeto!

Tags: Cogito TV, Dial One Aur Jeeto