You probably think, when you read this column, this chap (me, that is) has an easy job. See some TV, write about it — how tough is that? News TV doesn’t exactly flood one with complex observations and nuanced thoughts, after all. Allow me to differ. This is a very tough job. Very.

Take, for example, this week when the Deoband meeting was big news. I had to do the following: on November 3, watch a chat on the Deoband news on NTDV’s India 60 Minutes Verdict; on November 4, watch a chat on Deoband news on NDTV’s Buck Stops Here; and as I write this on Friday, November 6, I know there’s a chat on Deoband news on NDTV’s Left, Right and Centre, which I shall, of course, have to watch, if only for the sake of fairness.

You understand? This is not easy. More so, because the same guests appear on the same channel’s different programmes on the same subject. I had to watch Sachin Pilot and Mahmood Madani on NDTV’s 60 Minutes as well as on Buck Stops Here. I wish I could say that Pilot and Madani and indeed the chats on the two programmes were delightfully different, each giving me a distinct viewing experience. Yes, I should single out Mushirul Hasan’s robust, sharp and necessary critique of political appearances in any faith-based gathering — never mind what the faith is — on Buck Stops Here. No one else seemed to remember to make this point. But that alone couldn’t cut it. So, I have to say, by the end of this week if I hear “inter-faith dialogue” or “Hindu-Muslim unity”, or “Vande Mataram” on NDTV again, I may scream. Why would NDTV want an utterly secular, peaceful chap like me to feel like that?

... contd.