Those familiar with 'Jana Mana' telecast in Mangalore CCTV would wish they had such programme for their town. 'Jana Mana' telecast is reported to have crossed 250 episodes in Mangalore, and we haven't emulated it yet. We, in Mysore, have CCTV; we have people with resources, creative and material, to devise a 'Jana Mana' kind of programme; and, above all, a critical mass of social activists and public-spirited residents to make it work. Why, then, can't we do what they are doing in Mangalore ?
I have no doubt we can trot out umpteen excuses for not doing it. It would be nice if my influential friends such as Bhamy Shenoy, T S Satyan, Krishna Vattam, Raghottam Rao, M B Nagakumar and Vinod Maroli could share their thoughts with their friends on how we can make 'Jana Mana' happen in Mysore.
For those who don't know what we are talking about, 'Jana Mana' is a community-driven TV programme that is informative, educative and entertaining. It addresses people's everyday concerns and gets experts to answer public FAQs - how old is your neighbourhood church, how does one get to study nanotechnology, what are the ingredients that go into 'kori sukka' and how to tackle CET.
According a report in 'The Hindu', by M Raghuram, 'Jana Mana' has addressed over 7,800 questions it received to 250 experts and has generated considerable public interest on matters of common cencerns. Such build-up of public opinion has prompted the authorities to take up, in the last five years, 95 schemes that have improved quality of life in Mangalore
Yes, we do need not only program like Jana Mana which can answer the questions people have by experts, but also programs which expose the problems of Mysore, which expose the shenanigans of our elected leaders, bureaucratic obstacles and frauds committed against the customers by traders and service providers. But even when such interesting and educative programs are presented, I wonder how many of our Mysoreans will take interest in such programs. This is the biggest dilemma facing Mysore. How to motivate people to take interest in civic affairs. Educated people feel they will have very little impact on civic affairs. Uneducated and uninfomed people do take great interest in elections and if called to take part in protest marches, they do participate in large numbers. But their people power today is led by misguided leaders and exploited for their selfish interest. How to solve this problem is the biggest question today
With the brief introduction to "Jana Mana", I can compare it to public Radio and TV stations in USA like "National Public Radio (NPR)" and PBS TV.They are Non-Profit organizations which has exceptional programs for the development of the community, a very good entertainment, education and also debates about regional, National and International issues. It has EARNED the respect from all quarters, may it be thye community,bureaucray or the political front. The highlight of these 2 channels is, it is well equipped and supported by the contributions from the PEOPLE and leading companies in the area, to meet the ends. It is not a commercial unit. It is always difficult to get the required support from the people for such programs, until it is successful. It does take few dedicated personalities to start such an organization. It might be a good start if it is possible to associate with Jana Mana, Mangalore. Mr.GVK, if you can lead this effort, I extend my support in all possible ways.I can also contribute my time and try to mobilize as many Mysoreans as possible in US. The greatest challenge is to make it as the voice of the people, by the people and for the people!,
Sir, It is an excellent idea to involve people to bring them together as a social group interested in developing Mysore. It will also create awareness and create inter religous harmony which is badly required. It will be a start to revive certain issues in various fieilds which has an imprint of Mysore culture which is fast disappearing
I have no idea how in real terms the programme in Mangalore has created an impact, bringing about new awareness among people about their culture and opened their minds to new ideas. But the very idea excites me. What is important is to create a lively interest in interacting, to unshackle the mind beyond the 'humdrum' constraintof everyday living, to give a new meaning to life, to energise ourselves, to be receptive to new ideas and, in the process, learn more about ourselves and others, whether it is the pride of our heritage, culture, arts, music etc.
In fact, when people and community involve themselves in the process, I believe the drawbacks in society automatically gets corrected as new awareness comes from'Jana Mana' programme. Yes, I agree there is apathy and what is required is a push like Newton's law which gathers momentum. For this to happen, my feeling is some people of influence, including the media, should go to Mangalore and learn first hand about its impact so that they can come back and act as catalysts to start a movement. There are cynics galore and they fall by the wayside and even join the movement enthusiastically when the spark is lit.
Bapu Satyanarayana's comments come in the wake of a Zine5 write-up on the response we got to the 'Jana Mana' idea. (See 'No Ideas Please, We're Mysoreans' in 'Dateline Mysore' column of www.zine5.com)