Credibility,anyone??

It was supposed to be another long day of the workshop on news and broadcasting, we were all doing the usual,shuffling the morning paper,getting ready with the beat of the day,discussions were burning up on the editorials... all in a wierd sequence that we've sort of become seasoned and desensitised to for the past ten days here at NDTV.

But here's the nice part,our visit to the Lok Sabha.Intimidated as i always am,it was excitement verging on paranoia that you get to be in the epicentre of the Indian polity,the powerhouse of the democracy where governments are run,bills passed and laws made for the teeming millions in the country.

The drive from Okhla to Janpath couldn't be more impatient,with the flashy NDTV id that i had i couldn't feel any less important.The press clearance made all the security checks hassle-free although i wonder if they could catch me if i stuffed weed into my bra or something!!I know that sounds corny but i guess we could manage some of it considering the women guards were too reluctant to stop their saas-bahu sagas to do their jobs.

The scene inside was nothing short of a movie set with half the house absent,the oldies dozing off at the back and the few in front too involved in bickering with the opposition even before the arguement began.Though i saw the likes of Pranab Mukherjee,Mamta Banerjee,Sushma Swaraj,Varun Gandhi...they vanished within seconds and the house was adjourned every half hour.

I mean,here we are paying taxes,battling inflation,voting these guys so that some good comes out of it all and here they were politicians (in the truest sense of the term) having living room chit-chats with each other.An elated Sushma Swaraj greeted a Pranab Mukherjee with a "Dada kamon achhen?Khawa holo?"before she scurried away for lunch and a Shatrughan Sinha interrupted every speaker (thus adding the comic element) by his famous "Khamosh" quote before leaving the house in session to address a bunch of starstruck school kids.Sure enough he would be on page2 of some local daily the next day.

I was disappointed,ashamed and disgusted at it all.These guys use big words like terrorism,nuclear deals,peace treaties and they were the laughing stock of a bunch of school kids who were more responsible,more sensible and perhaps more credible if you may say so.

I use the word "credible" because everyday we are taught that journalism is dead if you aren't credible,people look up to you and say"hey your story on swine flu made my life a little simpler,i know where i could get my daughter tested" or whatever.Credibilty adds value to an objective,trivial or massive.It helps you connect with a farmer in Rajasthan,a home maker in Pune,a school teacher in Bengal and the business tycoon in Delhi all in one go.It's just one shot at it,either you make it or break it.Period.

I walked out aghast after a forty minute session that seemed to take forever.The bunch of kids sitting in the gallery couldn't wait to get out and giggle the whole day's event at Mc Donald's perhaps.

Questions few, answers fewer, insights many. As we drove back a silent bunch, i still couldn't figure out whether i missed a step or they did climb too many together?? Then again truth is relative,works constantly on closure,it's knowable but it's definitely not belieavable.