Rakhi ka Swayamvar

It seems that Indian audiences have had enough of their delightful saas-sahu drama reigning their TV screen, and now they seek another exotic dish to woo their taste buds. Kudos to Rakhi Sawant, our very own controversy-queen, who took it upon herself to embark on an extraordinary visual- culinary feat to satisfy the taste buds of fussy Indian TV viewers via her ground breaking show “Rakhi ka Swayamvar”. The show is said to have annihilated with its fatal blow records that several TV shows have made till date. Rakhi managed to resuscitate a dying TV culture and created, what she can best do, a full on drama. The show seeks to help a series of young, (un) intellectual guys in their quest for the Holy Grail i.e. a connubial bond with Rakhi Sawant. The guys compete with each other to veto one another’s chance of winning Rakhi’s hand in holy matrimony and for that they take part in several outrageous, dramatic and bathetic games. At the end of an episode, a person who has been ruled out leaves the show and often gives an emotionally pathetic parting speech to show his innate romantic (or dramatic) side, while the queen of the show stands beside him soothing him with her husky voice. I was trying to watch one full episode of the show, but sadly my spirit fails and my ingenuity withers after the first fifteen minutes of the show. However, the knowledge I gained within the first fifteen minutes would surely bring me some nightmarish reverie sometime soon.

The heated music and the body language of Rakhi’s brave suitors and herself would horripilate the viewer and usher in the same kind of drama as evident in the unbearable slapping scenes of the saas-bahu altercation sequences in our favorite dinner-time sitcoms. The TRP drama that’s is going on has been a boon for Rakhi Sawant, who is finding all the media exposure that she needs, but I doubt if the same level of TRP will be swaying her personal life too. It is humorous that the sanctity of a marital bond is currently dependent on an unrealistic-reality TV show! It is being said that Rakhi has influenced (detrimentally?) the Indian women with her show, and now more and more woman crave for a swayamvar of their own. I pity the partners and the boyfriends of those women. These men may have to go through the rigmarole of formally winning the women in their life. They may have to take an agni pariksha or have to break an unbreakable bow to get their lady love. Such a practice would no doubt bring in an era of Shakespearean love heroes, but would destroy the sanctity of a logical Indian mind.
The idea that women can revive the lost mythological tradition of choosing a heroic husband sounds interesting to me; I wish I had thought about such a creative idea before I had got married. The fact that Rakhi Sawant is now on television all decked up as a bride, who has completed every matrimonial ritual and needs only a husband to take the final step, is no doubt bold. I found her argument that if “Sita” could find a “Ram” via her “Swayamvar”, why Rakhi Sawant cannot find a “Shyam” through her “Swayamvar” interesting. That’s a great logical point coming from an overtly illogical lady. But a study of the cartoonish suitors brought in my mind the idea that may be the “Shyam” that she has been looking for is dwelling in some other, possible lesser romantic world.

I seem have lost my romantic aura after being “realistically” involved in a real-life marital bond. And truly, I cannot bear the idea of Indian women resorting to a practice of swayamvar for choosing their partners. Such an act may have been relevant in an obsolete millennium, currently; in this twenty-first century such an act is stupid. The trust factor, the innate honesty and more importantly the true feeling of angelic love would be lost if women resort to such an irrelevant practice. I believe that Indian women are more commonsensical than Rakhi Sawant, and would not take her and her absurd show too seriously. However, in our modern stressful life, we do need a nonsensical program to eradicate out anxiety, and this show would be a chart topper in those cases; but viewer discretion is advised when Rakhi Sawant is concerned.