tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post115011792188650325..comments2024-03-27T13:09:26.512+05:30Comments on E=mc^2: Karan Thapar: QuibblerSujaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16539694685428659940noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-26356583164341375602010-03-10T18:01:27.781+05:302010-03-10T18:01:27.781+05:30Hi guys,
I was reading your arguments, for and ag...Hi guys, <br />I was reading your arguments, for and against Karan Thapar's style of interviews. I, myself, am a big fan of Karan; but your arguments made me stop and ponder over where is he going wrong.?<br />then I watched interviews of Javed Akhtar, Arundhati Roy, Modi, PC, Kapil Dev.. <br />See.. Karan has his facts and data; he scrutinzes the several issues which are too be discussed with the interviewee.. There may be some good ones, and some problematic ones for the interviewee. <br />I feel Karan's approach is just to drill down the problematic areas as much as possible, and the interviewee, if he is fairly convinced of himself and is not lying or obfuscating the facts, gets a fair chance to speak at his show. But, if he see there is this one thread missing, He completely drills down that issue giving an appearance as if the other person is not getting a fair chance. This is how, I guess our stress interviews are being conducted.. an MBA entrance interview. It is the conviction and honesty of the interviewee rather than his own aggression that is to be respected, because I find a real good medium to make junta aware of where we, our politicians and our whole society is going. The media is definitly not showing the right picture, but just interested in increasing sales and TRPs; so, its better that we straight listen it form the horse's mouth and draw up our own personalised conclusions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-85652001795244248812009-03-03T13:53:00.000+05:302009-03-03T13:53:00.000+05:30I don't know Madhu Trehan. I know she writes for ...I don't know Madhu Trehan. I know she writes for Outlook but check this out.<BR/><BR/>WHO'S AFRAID OF KARAN THAPAR<BR/> <BR/>By Madhu trehan<BR/><BR/>March 01, 2009<BR/>First Published: 00:22 IST(1/3/2009)<BR/>Last Updated: 00:23 IST(1/3/2009)<BR/><BR/>You write a book. You get some good reviews and some bad. It’s part of the game. Then comes Karan Thapar’s ‘column’ (I’m terribly sorry, Madhu, Sunday Sentiments, Feb 15). A piece that was personal, obviously motivated, filled with epithets. So Thapar says that you shouldn’t read my book. Fair enough. But Thapar says he hasn’t read my book.<BR/><BR/>Could it then be that a friend of Thapar’s has read my book and told him that nobody should read it? It could be. What could it be that Thapar’s friend does not want anyone to read?<BR/>How did the story about the sex workers find its way into the press? Who does it serve to bury the statement of the then advocate general of Maharashtra Goolam Vahanvati’s that he refused to appear for the SEBI because it was against his conscience? Who gave me the phone number of Beni Chatterji, the Mumbai lawyer who was arguing cases against First Global?<BR/>Why should this person have it in the first place?<BR/>Why should readers trust an unreviewed book review written by a clone of ‘BBC Hard Talk’ who seems to believe that being nasty gives him an USP? But where are his favourites ‘Pertie’ and ‘Mummy’ that he bangs on about? Time to bring them out of the closet.<BR/>Here’s Pertie and KaTy playing ‘Prism Me a Lie: Tell Me a Truth.’ KaTy prisms Pertie a lie, Pertie bounces back with the truth.<BR/>Pertie: Remember that last Diwali party you went to? Didn’t you tell me you asked Madhu Trehan to promise to come on your show after she talked about her book?<BR/>KaTy: Yes and she looked pretty frightened.<BR/>Pertie: But why is the book in your column? You called it a dud. Why not just ignore it if it is so bad?<BR/>KaTy: [screaming] Because it’s been a No. 1 on the bestseller list for the last two weeks. Because Vir Sanghvi wrote, Madhu “…tried to use Tehelka to understand how the Indian media, and perhaps even Indian society, function”. Raja Menon in Outlook called it “blazingly honest and idealistic”. It must not be read, specially those chapters on you-know-who! So I honoured my commitment.<BR/>Pertie: To whom? Wasn’t your comm…<BR/>KaTy: Comb out? Yes, my comb out was done at the beauty salon yesterday.<BR/>Pertie: You keep interr…<BR/>KaTy: Internalise? Of course I have to internalise my motives.<BR/>Pertie: You never let me fin…<BR/>KaTy: Finagled? So what if I finagled Madhu?<BR/>Pertie: But you told her to flag portions for you to read for the interview because you have no time to read.<BR/>KaTy: How do you expect me to put a fix on what a dud the book is in an interview? It had to be done hit-and-run. No chance for her to respond.<BR/>Pertie: What are you going to do when you meet her?<BR/>KaTy: I will make a graceful exit like this…[KaTy exits with a swish and a grand jeté out of the room]<BR/>Mummy: He has left without his baba suit. How will anyone take him seriously if he doesn’t wear his checked suit, yellow striped shirt and yellow polka dot tie?<BR/>To be dragged into sleaze has to be a low point in my nearly 40-year journalistic career. Thapar cut large portions of a paragraph and chose only what suited his assignment. He gives himself the opportunity to announce the allegation, that I did “blur criticism and paper-over Tehelka’s faults”. I had also written (which Thapar cut out): “This was a serious breach of fair journalism. Tehelka said they wanted the public to know about the corrupt system. The public was equally entitled to learn that there are honest officers.”<BR/>In Chapter 24 ‘Ethics and Journalism — Not So Fine a Balance’, I analyse in detail the state of journalism and, if anything, Tehelka and other journalists have reason to be upset with me. Those with an agenda find it easy to plant any kind of story. This cannot happen without the cooperation of taxi journalists who damage the credibility of the profession.<BR/>I am privileged that I have been given a chance to respond to Thapar. I got an email from Thapar after the newspaper had gone to print, warning me as he ostensibly claimed, “in all fairness” what was to appear the next day. He also ostentatiously added, “Once again, my most sincere apologies.”<BR/>If you demean the profession by misusing it to carry out someone else’s agenda, I guess he is right to be ashamed. Did Thapar have any idea that my publisher Pramod Kapoor, Kiran Bedi (who conducted a debate at my book launch) and I all received a ranting email, which is strikingly similar to his piece? Since I was out of the country and did not read Thapar’s ‘warning’ email, a friend sent me an sms that morning: “It is better to have a thousand enemies than have a friend like Karan Thapar.”<BR/>Wonderful to be liberated from that burden.<BR/>(Madhu Trehan is the author of Tehelka as Metaphor: Prism Me a Lie; Tell Me a Truth (Roli))jiva chohenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05427590261204568239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-21763920242958674202009-02-15T06:37:00.000+05:302009-02-15T06:37:00.000+05:30I have been watching his shows,i feel his is doing...I have been watching his shows,i feel his is doing a great job. Here some people think that he never allows people whom he is interviewing to talk, well i say most this kind happens when he interviewed persons doesn't answer his question precisely to the point which was poked by Mr. Thapar. <BR/><BR/>If i was about to interview a Minister or a politician,especially Indian politicians,i won't step in to tat without proper ground work nd Mr Thapar is doing the same,he takes the numbers or the proofs which can be accessed by ppl or known to people(am not talking the sources regarding name of persons,ofcourse most of case he never mentions tat).<BR/><BR/>Why do people think about Mr.Thapar's past,or stop comparing him with other similar kind show interviewers of any other country. <BR/><BR/>Most of interviews i have seen in devils advocate,i believe its not some sort of drama played by Mr.Thapar,instead he tries to reveal true colours of Interviewee and his party or his organization.<BR/><BR/>Out of this conservation,guys jus think do we really need reservations,are we not capable of ourselves to make our lives?? This reservation drama is played by politicians,to divide votes,they are following British Divide and rule policy.. Its we youth has to unite together and try to remove this caste system which divides us.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-85705940637968775212009-01-09T00:32:00.000+05:302009-01-09T00:32:00.000+05:30I sooooooooooooooooo agree. I havent seen this par...I sooooooooooooooooo agree. I havent seen this particular interview, but have seen other episodes of Devil's Advocate, and I think Karan Thapar SUCKS at his job! He is extremely exasperating with his tone and doesnt allow the interviewee to talk!Sakshihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11333055123782185295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-42619193287951948422008-07-28T06:44:00.000+05:302008-07-28T06:44:00.000+05:30How many of us believe that Thapar will be half as...How many of us believe that Thapar will be half as good as what he is seen to be if he were to do LIVE Interviews where in he will lose the facilty to 'edit'?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-6495631409180519282008-02-12T13:31:00.000+05:302008-02-12T13:31:00.000+05:30well now there are cetain people here who will say...well now there are cetain people here who will say that mr karan thapar is doing a good thing by bashing out our bureaucrats for not doing anything for india. I too also watch this episode and trust me,except for ram jethmalani's interview,all other seems to take out a personal vendetta on the indian bureaucrats.<BR/><BR/>And coming on the scene of MR PC, you cannot say that he is a bad person at all. There are few good people in our indian politics like mr.mani shankar aiyyar,mr. arun shourie and mr.p chidambram. The problem might be that they might be surrounded by some people who are empowering their decisions on which the party runs so ultimately these people also turn to be bad even though it can be made that p chidambram is good for the county. Rest he alone cannot help.peterparker - Servant of BHAGWAN PARASHURAMAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05564653768978489866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-38578034496352375132007-07-13T00:06:00.000+05:302007-07-13T00:06:00.000+05:30I appreciate Mr. Thapar, by not going for his styl...I appreciate Mr. Thapar, by not going for his style. Atleast there is someone in this large country to question politicians. Everyone has there own style.<BR/><BR/>It was always frustrating before, politicians were doing their "Manmani" and nobody was there to grill them in public. I beleive it has helped politicians to act responsibly. There is someone above them(public)who will demand explaination. <BR/><BR/>It is human basic nature to criticise. When he is handling many shows it happens.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-56523228267270121052007-03-04T00:55:00.000+05:302007-03-04T00:55:00.000+05:30Sujai,Its the only blog I have seen writing about ...Sujai,<BR/><BR/>Its the only blog I have seen writing about Karan thapar. <BR/><BR/>Your observations are true.<BR/><BR/>People should understand Karan thapars devils adovcate is " Drama" rather than " information seeking" program.<BR/><BR/>He is bad interviewr and a good entertainer. Kudos...for the work.GSKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06480185718033259179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-69429799206510957612007-01-28T23:40:00.000+05:302007-01-28T23:40:00.000+05:30I thought karan thapar was just perfect. the upper...I thought karan thapar was just perfect. the upper castes especially the brahmins are blamed for not "educating" the lower castes. the brahmins were never part of the contemporary education system till can we say 1800? i am a brahmin. my grandfather was extremely poor. i see a number of brahmins still poor. but some people accuse them of ruining india for 2000 years. i think these are the christian converts who think the world started with 1 a. d. Do you know that the Dalit converts can never rise up in the church? For the ones who banish their faith for money, how will another faith benefit? One who discards his own mother, how will he respect another woman. This logic is plain garbage. Give more reservations, extort money from the good people, suppress the holy and the pious in their own land, show more skin in the tv and in cinema for it is the age of the hedons! The Hindus are protected by the Lord Himself so declare the scriptures. Let me tell you the truth. There are no upper castes, lower castes. There are only good and evil people in the world. And the doer of good never gets evil. The wicked manipulators (like Shakuni) will bite the dust. This is the truthKrishnanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05394161723746247566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-1150983783388542182006-06-22T19:13:00.000+05:302006-06-22T19:13:00.000+05:30hi there the same topic is being discussed here . ...hi there the same topic is being discussed here . would be great if you could drop in <BR/><BR/>http://www.mayyam.com/hub/viewtopic.php?t=2672&start=60Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-1150954047144448462006-06-22T10:57:00.000+05:302006-06-22T10:57:00.000+05:30Oh brilliant brilliant blog...why do I love your w...Oh brilliant brilliant blog...why do I love your writing? <BR/>Is it because it strikes at (the so called) equilibrium and leaves it unnerved? Or is it because of Dante's quote on your tab? Is it because of your XIth pro-reservation entry, when the rest of the world has gone back to quibbling about salaries and treating rich patients? Or is it because of your transformation from the right to the left? <BR/><BR/>Here's to all the assholes in the world...THANKS FOR MAKING MY DAY!<BR/><BR/>psst...I have taken the liberty to forward this link to a group of people who I believe will love this blog as much as I do...don't mind.Anijohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00971579470297382403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-1150872427259323192006-06-21T12:17:00.000+05:302006-06-21T12:17:00.000+05:30Divya:Please feel free to provide a link to my blo...Divya:<BR/>Please feel free to provide a link to my blog.<BR/>Thank you,<BR/>SujaiSujaihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16539694685428659940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-1150839878700410272006-06-21T03:14:00.000+05:302006-06-21T03:14:00.000+05:30Hi,I recently stumbled upon this blog and I like t...Hi,<BR/><BR/>I recently stumbled upon this blog and I like the topics you cover here. Do you mind if I add a link from my blog?<BR/><BR/>Thanks,<BR/>DivyaDivyahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00908327643053004831noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-1150712953146639882006-06-19T15:59:00.000+05:302006-06-19T15:59:00.000+05:30btw... ardent opposer to obc reservations too agr...btw... <A HREF="http://realitycheck.wordpress.com/2006/06/12/politicians-vs-data-1-0/" REL="nofollow">ardent opposer to obc reservations </A> too agreed that thapar messed up...Cosmic Voiceshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05421652782045024255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-1150712846856907482006-06-19T15:57:00.000+05:302006-06-19T15:57:00.000+05:30Karan Thapar has just 2 simple techniques.1) Let y...Karan Thapar has just 2 simple techniques.<BR/><BR/>1) Let your imaginations fly wild in drawing up an interpretation, sprinkle with dramatic adjectives..<BR/><BR/>2)if the persons even shows the slightest hint of giving a proper response, interrupt him with another question<BR/><BR/>Grow up thapar.. and for change prove your mettle with industrialist, academcians etc..<BR/><BR/>Good Job, PCCosmic Voiceshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05421652782045024255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-1150631638635658692006-06-18T17:23:00.000+05:302006-06-18T17:23:00.000+05:30Perhaps Karan Thapar wants to be Bill O'Reilly of ...Perhaps Karan Thapar wants to be Bill O'Reilly of India?<BR/><BR/>Check out <A HREF="http://www.billoreilly.com/" REL="nofollow">Bill's Official Home on the Web</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-1150268596618781952006-06-14T12:33:00.000+05:302006-06-14T12:33:00.000+05:30Everybody knows what agenda Karan has. He is the s...Everybody knows what agenda Karan has. He is the spekesperson of the Indian upper caste. He is only a weak Ulhasnagar imitation of Tim Sebastian. I even liked Arjun Singh's attitude towards him.I don't agree with those who claim AS <BR/>was a looser on that day. He showed what kind of a shrewd bureaucrat he was.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-1150230091897445612006-06-14T01:51:00.000+05:302006-06-14T01:51:00.000+05:30Well... THis guy seems to be more interested in ar...Well... THis guy seems to be more interested in arguing in favour of reservations rather than an interview<BR/><BR/>It is better if he makes that an debateDoctor Brunohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04718690205239520878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-1150178233019041492006-06-13T11:27:00.000+05:302006-06-13T11:27:00.000+05:30I have seen quite a few Karan Thapar's interviews....I have seen quite a few Karan Thapar's interviews. <BR/>He constantly interrupts, makes biased statements and generally is an ass. As for reservation, he considers himself the spokesman of the upper castes. That he is a leading 'journalist' says a lot about the Indian media.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-1150155090257316792006-06-13T05:01:00.000+05:302006-06-13T05:01:00.000+05:30Sujai,You clearly seem to have made up your mind b...Sujai,<BR/><BR/>You clearly seem to have made up your mind based on where you stand on the issue. So, there really is not much point in debating on who was badgering whom.<BR/><BR/>But we can be objective about "facts." If Chidambaram is talking about studies, does anyone know what those studies are? Do you? OTOH, Karan is citing a published report and published numbers. For all I know, PC could be pulling numbers and studies out of his hat. I will beleive him when I see a published study. Until then, my claim is that there is little basis in "data" to justify the reservations. To prove otherwise, you need to show me the numbers. As they say in Missouri, SHow me. That is Karan asked. Whether he was petulant or boorish is besides the point and highly dependent on the viewers context. You find him boorish, others dont. I found KR Narayanan sullen and curmudgeonly. others find him the greatest Indian president. These things cannot be settled objectively. What can be settled objectively is that PC or for that matter anybody from the government has a comprehensive and coherent study to back up their decision. <BR/><BR/>Also, in any democracy, it is incumbent on the government to make its debates public, and to make known to the public the bases of the decisions (including studies and findings of commissions). The only exception I can think of is defence and secret-service related activities.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21825668.post-1150149564679410682006-06-13T03:29:00.000+05:302006-06-13T03:29:00.000+05:30Dear Munir:I saw the show and I read the snippets ...Dear Munir:<BR/>I saw the show and I read the snippets of the interview on CNN-IBN website. There is great deal of difference between the both. Practising sophistry is becoming another qualification of elitist media these days.<BR/><BR/>First, the article on the website does not capture the annoyance and exasperation that Karan Thapar caused on the show. Second, Karan Thapar did indeed throw some numbers at PC (especially the NSSO ones) to which PC said there are other numbers and reports that need to be looked at in addition to these and asked Karan if he had read any of the reports already available. To which Karan completely evaded the question. <BR/><BR/>While PC admitted that there is no official figure for OBC across the nation, he said that the four southern states have these numbers available. <BR/><BR/>PC Chidambaran said that there are many reports including those from southern states (he mentioned two of them in the interview)available- And will be part of the affidavit submitted to Supreme Court. <BR/><BR/>He said that he cannot go into details of each of them in an interview. They will be submitted in proper forum only after being approved by the Cabinet. He said he is part of the Cabinet and will review the affidavit and he said he does not know when it will be submitted to the Cabinet. <BR/><BR/>To which Karan said- 'that means it will never be submitted'. PC said thats a wrong conclusion to draw from what he said.Sujaihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16539694685428659940noreply@blogger.com