news details |
|
|
| Plans for spiritual pop idol to fight stress | | |
BL KAK
NEW DELHI, JULY 8: Come October, young Indians influenced by liberal Western lifestyles and stressed by increasing work pressures will be provided a new reality television contest of hymn-singing idols. Apparent aim is to being spirituality to these young Indians.
India's largest spirituality TV channel, Aastha, will air the show. Producers of “Swaradhiraj” or “Supreme ruler of musical notes” — which is expected to be aired in October — say that contestants will sing spiritual songs of any religion. Arvind Joshi, an official from Aastha, has reportedly stated: “Youth today are going to discotheques. They are drinking too much, smoking too much and being influenced by Western media. Even divorce rates are increasing ... so we are trying to make them start thinking in the right direction”.
India is home to around 1.1 billion people, most of them Hindus but also including more than 140 million Muslims as well as Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains. A booming economy has brought prosperity to many of India’s urban areas, creating a 300-million-strong middle-class.
But it has, according to a survey, also led to more stressful lifestyles where a faster pace of life has left many urbanites working long hours and with little time to relax. This has resulted in a proliferation of faith-based television stations offering talk shows, astrological programmes and classes on yoga and alternative medicine as a soothing alternative to 24-hour news channels and soap operas.
“Spirituality is there in the youth already, but we are trying to consolidate it”, said Joshi. He added: “Devotional music is the one thing that can relieve stress from people and take them towards God and spirituality”. Quite an interesting offer: Instead of prizes of cash or cars normally offered to winners of India’s numerous singing reality shows, the winner will get a paid pilgrimage to a holy site of their choice and the chance to record an album of devotional songs.
Joshi said that the show’s set will resemble a spiritual retreat, possibly with a river or trees in the background.He added: “The set will create tranquility in the minds of viewers”.
A survey in January this year found that Indians have become more religious in the past five years, partly because of the stress of urban living, with as many as 93 percent believing in God.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
