The attack on The Taj Mahal hotel and The Oberoi and Trident, has seen the botoxed and waxed tax-paying elite of south Bombay step out of their gyms, parlours and lounge bars to wonder about where they can have their next bowl of stir fried noodles and overpriced coffee if this thing continues.
Gaurav Kalra, the sports editor of CNN-IBN, wonders why:
“Where was this elitist angst when a brave bus conductor lost his eyes saving others in Delhi? Or those who have had their legs amputated after the blasts in Ahmedabad? Did elite India find the shrillness in their voices to demand what they are asking for now? Was a fund set-up to support government in fighting terror?
“Bombay has a strange message for you and me; we who live in the real world. And rarely enjoy the delights of places such as the Taj.
“We are now ironically a lot safer, because we are irrelevant in this war. Our blood means little. The new targets are the hypocrites who throw the toys out of the cot only when their own cot is rattling.”
Read the full article here: Angst of the elite
I read that but I am still not sure why that is to be considered wrong. After all, don’t we all not react till something affects us. From the Hindu reaction to Orissa riots to the Maharashtrian reaction to the MNS mischief, it is just rational behaviour.
But for most Indians, I am sure the reaction is independent of where it occurred.
how can he say their angst was fake before? or that their movies are soulless? or that they ridiculed the ‘other’ india?
in my opinion these captains of industry weren’t asked for their statements by the media before, hence the silence. cmon… they are people too… who’ve mostly come up the hard way to rise to where they are now. it’s rather idiotic on the writer’s part to discriminate against someone just because they can afford to go to the Taj.
and what provoked shobhaa de to say it’s enough? because this attack wasn’t like any of the others. if we go by cnn-ibn itself, the amount of coverage they gave this attack compared to the previous ones was colossal. and ibn and ndtv take pains to involve the glitterati on this more than they did on the previous ones.
so shouldn’t this editor guy question why his channel covers this attack more and concentrates on the glitterati more? it’s a sight better than blaming the rich for everything that happens.
what a pandering-to-the-masses piece that was. *puke*
next when isro is attacked (god forbid), this idiot will yap on how the scientists never bothered about things till it hit them. i can see the words of that piece in my mind’s eye: “where were these scientists when an average food critic lost her life?”.
loser.
The entire world is kinda shocked now. The attacks were unprecedented and huge. This is why we have such a huge backlash this time. Add to it the fact that there have been so many attacks in the past few years, this is a culmination of frustration and anger. It is not only the ‘well heeled hypocrites’, as the author puts it, who are protesting and screaming.
This article is crap.
http://openspace.org.in/node/808
A good read about the media and their orgy in reporting this terror attack.
i kind of agree with both gaurav and wanderlust…….the elite of India thought that they are safe from terror, now they are no more safe,,,hopefully this incident will unite us Indians
It’s ridiculous to examine life and terrorism on these lines…Death and pain are the same for the elite or the under privileged. That’s elementary enough, isnt it?
In an already fractured society, the last thing that we want is another fissure through such juvenile articles.
Kalra should target his rant towards the esteemed members of his own … Read Morefraternity, who as we know have always played up the predilections and preferences of the urban city-slicks….Let the media be a little more ‘inclusive’ in its coverage to begin with.
Who is talking about the Tatas and the oberoi rebuilding their fine hotels? Kalra shouldn’t bring in trivia to embellish his arguement
Yes, it’s true. It sent a chill in the spine of elitists because CEOs and foreign nationals were involved in it. Our morality is not absolute, sometimes neither real. The pain felt by a chicken/goat/cow when slaughtered is no less than a human blown out with a bomb. We are all hypocrites.
This is another socialist drivel. We seem to be going back to Indira Gandhi era, when it was a sin to be successful. Don’t the rich have the right to live and live safely? Haven’t they earned their riches legitimately? Doesn’t the tax they pay help others? (Though very little of it reaches the poor, and bulk of it is swallowed up by the government machinery). Actually, the angst of the rich may be more effective in bringing about better security policy. It is to them, that the Babus, and Netas go with their begging bowl for next election funding. The people belonging to the class of “Taj-elite” would certainly demand their pound of flesh before parting with their money.
I read Kalra’s article. If Shobha De is angry. you can easily understand why. If the elite are speaking out now, it is because they are disgusted with the political class, sick of propping them at the time elections with money. They are speaking out boldly because they dont have to bow down to the po;itican-Babu class any more for permits and licences.
I agree with Gaurav!
The elites are crying hoarse that Mumbai is safe, no longer!
He must note that his channel and its brethren care only for the voice of the elites!
Their definition of aam junta is someone who wears a faux-khadi kurta which can be a random jholawala or specialised causeratis like M/s Ananthamurthy, Roy and Co.
I presume that some of them are even paid to air their views.
So the problem is not with the Indian elite but the elite Indian media. Period.
Nobody is altruistic. Everybody fights for his or her own group. Everyone has vested interests.
You don’t expect America to fight for Cuba’s cause.
You don’t expect Bengalis to fight for Telengana.
You don’t expect IT guys to fight for government employees cause.
You don’t expect slum dwellers to fight for high society fashion ladies.
You don’t expect Communists to fight for Rightists
You don’t expect rich to take up causes of poor.