The moment of truth

Unless you have seen this reality TV show on Star World (India), you won’t be able to appreciate this blog. This is a show where host asks participant a series of questions which later is expected to reply truly. Questions are objective, so the participant just needs to say yes or no. But the questions are so personal that it gets to the nerves and makes audiences glued to their TV sets. The questions make a journey into the personal lives of the participants including their love and sex lives. They are designed to expose the fears, insecurities and the ill-deeds done by the person concerned. Any glitches in participant’s relationships are disclosed. And worst part is - all this happens in public – on national, rather international television. Here are some of my observations from the show:

· If someone decides to remake this show in India, it will turn out to be a disaster (unlike Indian versions of most of the other American or British reality TV-shows which are hugely popular in India, like KBC, Big Boss, Indian Idol, etc.). The reason I say this is based on the fact that our culture is significantly different from western culture. On one hand our value system is much stronger than that of theirs but on the other hand we are less confident in accepting our mistakes publicly. One might say we are not greedy enough to go to the extent of discussing our personal lives and relationships in public but the truth is it takes a lot of courage and self-belief to accept your mistakes publicly.

· The title of the show reminded me of Mahatma Gandhi and how his principles of truth hold the power to change the way the world works. I couldn't help thinking how important it is to be true to yourself and your loved ones. One shouldn't need a reason to establish the truth. Actually the truth is always there with us, in our mind, in our heart. All we need to do is shift to our soul. Doing something wrong is one thing and hiding it under the carpet is even bigger mistake. By confessing and accepting our mistakes and being true to ourselves not just improves our personality but also lets us be at peace.

· I always find it fascinating to know about cultures. And although actions/mindsets of the people on this show may not represent that of majority of their fellow country-men, they at least gave me a perspective on how some people behave or act or the extent to which they go. After the episode had ended, I just kept thinking how different cultures co-exist in this fast-converging flat world and how some people feel threatened seeing the influence of other cultures on theirs. My view is while it is important to be proud of your culture and protect it; you can’t enforce your opinions and belief on others. Human liberties are over and above any belief, be it cultural, political or religious.