An Abundance of Talent

Regular weekend TV viewing, new programmes coming up by the dozen.. What was it this time? India's got Talent.. The New Season is out..

What never ceases to amaze is the abundance of talent that lies in our country called India.. Be it the recent episode of September 29, where one saw a 3 year Old drumming away to glory, or Amardeep Nath, who virtually seemed to have no bones in his body.. Compound that with people also coming who put in swords / needles in their bodies or the simply ridiculous and then with all that pain move cars, or take weights or even jump over tube lights.

One cannot fathom as to where Talent starts and stops, and where life's desperation's come in.. Some of the stories that one hears on these shows are literally heart wrenching, when one finds out that many people bear pain, just to survive... I recall an episode last year, where there was one person who used to eat Tube lights.. So painful was that, that Dharam Paaji, went into tears.. Simply because the man who did that, used to do it for a living!!

How much is real talent, and how much is necessity.. Talent, as one grows up learning is that it is something that one is proficient in, one is a master in, or excels in and improves upon. . But where does piercing your body and stating that one does that for a living promote talent..Where does talent come when it means that you suffer just to make two ends meet... Where does talent come in, when the family of the talented, cannot confirm if their bread winner will come back home alive..

One does wonder, should this be shown on National TV? Yes, you see the riders at the bottom, but still, is pain our only earner of fame? Do we not have real talent, that can be shown, stuff, that India as a country is made of, or do we pride on showing the bizarre... Is this what we as a country are heading off to, the way the Western world has prided themselves on...And what does remain common, is that the one that is really soulful and excellent, is mostly with people who are really struggling to make two ends meet.

Where do we fit in? I guess as human beings, we too have our next generation ready to take on the world.. They too have their talents, their areas of expertise, and how they utilize the good to excel in is our responsibility.. We may have some excellent dancers amongst our midst, or some one with a brilliant voice in our family.. How that is nurtured to ensure that it is real talent and not simply a derangement of the mind, is how the generations are guided to grow up with.. However what one does see, is that most of the talent is in abundance with people who have not had the opportunity to succeed, either through a good life or education.. The Educated ones are the ones that scare the most...

Brings me back to my question.. Where is the dividing line, between genius and madness.