Let's sample the headlines ( and I mean top of the page headline) of India's leading newspapers on their website this afternoon.

Times of India : After win, Shilpa in forgiving mood

Hindustan Times : Jade shouldn't be called racist: Shilpa

Indian Express: Shilpa Shetty's career gets 'real' boost

The Hindu: Shilpa looking forward to return home

I felt revolted by the way our media is blowing up the whole thing.

First of all, some bottom of pyramid celebrity ( if she can be called one) shows her crudeness and lack of civility by calling Shilpa names and here we go....that's an attack on nation's pride. Ministry got involved, I was wondering if GoI might just call back our troops from Siachen, so as to teach Jade a lesson. Is it some inferiority complex of our country that makes us respond to something so low and trivial with such ferocity ? For God's sake it's a TV show, the person who said what she said has no locus standi, she may not even represent the British population. What's the furore about ?

And that too when someone got Rs. 3.5 crore to be in the show. Why did media go berserk?

Is our country so devoid of printable news that we now have to resort to printing minute by minute commentary of what's happening in Big Brother's house?

It's amazingly stupid, news I thought was the only medium that brings us close to reality but somehow there is this new form of news which I would label as escapist news that's taking centre stage.

I have not seen Indian TV news for some time but the depths to which channels like Aaj Tak etc had fallen was for all to see or just take the case of Times of India, British tabloids may be shamed by kinda reporting ToI have started doing.

I almost decided never to buy that newspaper ever again by my own money till they become a newspaper once more. Indian Express that way at least till I was in India was still a newspaper and not a tabloid.

And what surprises me that Abhishek-Aishwarya's marriage or John-Bipasha's breakup or salary of IIM grads make up bigger news in the country than Noida killings, Orissa droughts and Assam massacre.

We as a society have become so immune to hard realities of life that only sensationalizing of trivia interests us...nothing else. Isn't it escapism ? We want our news to be served to us like a dessert, sweet and juicy. No bitter truths, no hard debates. Just a relaxing piece of stories sensationalized and put together for my after-office entertainment.

Indian media has finally arrived.................huh !!!!

-sid