Changing HINDU with the TIMES??

Overheard by one of my friends at a theatre playing 'Swades'.

P1: Saala, koi masala bhi nahi hai yaar, is movie mein.
P2: Haan chal chalte hai...pak raha hun mai.

I used to wonder how movies such as swades failed at the box office, whereas no-brainers like no-entry do wonderful business. Probably it's not that hard to figure out. Probably it's a national obsession with glamour. Probably people do not want to get in touch with reality. Or probably in this world of extremes, people want to forget reality for atleast those 3 hours when they are in a cinema theatre.

We were still in college, and those were times when the sensex was at 4000 levels (Whether it would head below 8k now is a different question altogether). The only paper we used to get in our mess was the The Hitavada. The guys collectively used to subscribe to The Times of India, Mumbai edition. The 2 business dailies of the nation would comfortably reach us a day late. Forget about The Hindu and the other prominent dailies. I used to love the content of The Hindu purely for its editorial content and the quality of articles. And that was the opinion of many. But I find many people shunning it mainly due to it being very bland. No or very less coverage to glamour and unwanted events, which otherwise we used to find in plenty in The Times. People dying of hunger don't find space, but a Britney spears' garment auction certainly would, just because the daily wouldn't sell. Overdose of sensationalism. It really is a world of misplaced priorites.

Off late, the Hindu too is losing its sheen, atleast here in its Chennai edition. Its moved from its un-biased views to a more partisan outlook. The Times seems to be enjoying the laurels, for the moment atleast, for its reporting and its editorial content. Would a prolonged presence change its views? Remains to be seen...