15 Minutes of Fame

“In the future, everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes”.

Andy Warhol

Was that a prediction or premonition? Did Andy already know, from the way media was overpowering our lives, that this was bound to happen, sooner or later?

People have done crazy things for their time under the limelight. Example, the likes of Paris Hilton or our own desi drama queens aka Rakhi Sawant, Dolly Bindra, Raja Chaudhary & Sherlyn Chopra. Should I add Poonam Pandey to the list? Unfortunately, they have even managed to stretch their fifteen minutes into endless hours of torture for the viewers (at least for the female population; the men must still like them a lot, hehe). They haven’t even bothered to see how it is taken by the audience, are the people disgusted enough. It doesn’t matter to them. After all, this is fame we are talking about. Rakhi has even turned her life into one marathon reality TV series after another. And just when we heave a sigh of relief that it’s over, BANG she comes up with another one! NDTV Imagine deserves brickbats for showcasing her stunts in an attempt to keep the media hooked to her idiosyncrasies. The thing is, these starlets & wannabes know the art of recycling the same old junk – love, betrayal, tears & a big patch-up. Someone stop the nautanki, please! They’ve sailed beyond the limits of our tolerance & their stupidity.

I wonder about the people who get national coverage because of some unfortunate events like say the recent break out of H1NI flu or dengue fever & are interviewed on TV from maybe their hospital bed!! Do they think of that as their moment of being under the spotlight?

But leaving all that aside, what about us, have we, the aam junta, mere mortals, experienced our 15 minutes under the sun? Have we all had our chance at this mysterious thing called fame? I believe everyone has experienced their small stint of recognition at one point in time or another. For some, their fame would have come & gone in bits & pieces: winning a running race or even the athletic championship in school has made people feel important. Participation in club events makes us feel like a star in our circle. Some have warm memories of being the neighborhood star after their performance in the board exams or after they won an important contest or competition in school and college. For many NCC Cadets, being a part of the prestigious Republic Day celebrations in the country’s capital is truly their moment of glory. Most of us have had our time, however brief or momentary.
As for me, my claim to fame was when I won (is that the right word!) the gold medal/first rank in my M.A. Like every year, the ceremony was covered by the media & my neighbors told me the last shot of the news on a regional channel on the felicitation was me taking my certificate. A congratulatory message also appeared on a local Kannada newspaper. My mother was very happy & so was I.
Shouldn’t we stake claim to our 15 minutes of fame not by our antics but by our achievement? I am sure all of you, who have at one point, been the center of attention, deserved the applause you received, for the things you did. And those of you who haven’t yet been there; there will be a day for you too.