What is the TRUTH after all?

Back to Sach ka Saamna. I wrote about reactions to the show. But now, something more intrigues me. What makes the contestants spill out their darkest secrets on National TV?? After all, Noone wants to wash dirty laundry in public. But here we have people from normal walks of life admitting to having extra marital affairs/one night stands/not loving their spouse/ being molested right in front of their families!!!
These people amaze me but I have to admit, they scare me too. I just cant help but wonder.. these everyday people.. What will make them to make confessions on TV?
What is it that drives them to do that….Money! you said??? Tell me, Are we all such pigs that we can put everything we have: Our family, at stake for a bunch of currency notes? I don’t think so.. That cannot be the reason. I mean.. Think about it. Is that what the world has come to? Because these are not 20 years old gambling away relationships, these are relatively older (in late 30s and 40s) people from a generation that upheld family values and morals above anything else; having pretty much everything at stake. They have families, children… And you are telling me they play with all this for a sum of money. I ask you…For what? Do what with the money.. 10 lakhs?? What maximum can you do with that sum in this age? NO. Money cannot be the answer.
This lady came on the show the other day. Meera Shah. She was like any other auntie of your neighbourhood. And this is all that she admitted to: an extra-marital affair, been molested as a seven year old and having been on vacation without telling her husband—who was seated right there, along with his daughter and brother-in-law and sister-in-law.
My heart skipped a beat with every confession honestly. Her daughter pressed the buzzer when she was asked if she is in love with a man other her husband.. I guess that pretty much ensures what the answer would be. Her brother eventually walked off the show and God, was I relieved that she quit after that!
My question buzzed my head like a stinging venom: Why?? Why did she choose to come to a public forum like this and confess to all this? Why?? For 10 lakhs? (which she won) You got to be kidding me!
And when I think of the alternative answer.. That’s what scares me! The repressed emotions, the compromises, the sacrifices one had made to build a family…
1. those were not always voluntary. And Sach Ka Saamna is a platform to go out and convey the message to your family: See, this is the truth. This is what I am. I have become how you wanted me to because I had responsibilities and cared for all of you. But I have feelings too, which sometimes weren’t what you would want from me! Its like a way to get back to the family and tell them though I put in so much of myself in this relationship, and see how much did you put of yourself? See how much you know me. (SKS quest: Do you feel trapped in your marriage? , Are the relationships which came with Marriage, a baggage?, Do you feel you should have married someone Else?)
2. The repressed emotions. In KANK, Rani Mukherji candidly asks: what if I find my true love after marriage? Good question indeed, though asked in a Karan Johar way. I will say, what if I find someone perfect for me after I am united in sacred matrimony by my family. I can do many things.. suppress these feelings for my now-family. (SKS quest: Are you in love with your husband?) or I give in to the emotion. (Infidelity, SKS quest: Did you have an extra marital affair?) Or, I just secretly nurse that love forever, hoping that it will go with time and my husband will prove to be my knight in shining armour after all!
3. Adjustments/Compromises: The contestants reveal the shallowness of their relationships, esp. with the spouse and these were the marriages which happened in Good Ol’days by everyone’s consent. See, how they have fared in all truth. Yes, she is a perfect wife and he is a perfect husband. But just scratch it a little, and you have SKS confessions.. An ugly truth that Indian society is all about living up an image and not the person you actually are.
4. Honesty: That I conclude from all the confessions, is never a part of any relationship. It looks like that the great Indian Middle class Family is a machine: every component doing their part, and the machine falters if even a small component goes wary. Well, not a good thing. Because Humans are not machines, and they will be happy and I mean ‘truly’ happy if they are where they want to be. I watched-Love Aj Kal, a scene captures everything I want to say: A newly wed bride sitting on the bed while her husband is making plans for their honeymoon. And she suddenly bursts out that she thinks that whatever it was between her and her Ex is still not over! That though now she is married, she is still thinking about her ex which means this is NOT right! Husband is bewildered and the girl just rushes to her Ex, if you have seen the movie you know what happens. If not, watch out. But this one scene explains how much an honest confession to people who matter (Not TV shows) can prevent a lot of heart burn and grievances later. A short term loss is better than a long term one after all. Same holds true for honest confessions. They could be difficult but they are the answer for all the shallowness that has crept in todays lifestyle.
5. Escape from Routine: Well, there is this category too who have had One Night stands despite being happily married. Why? Nope, no reason. They just had. And question: Why they would make such a confession, remains unanswered for this case. May be they are just too confident of their spouse or the fact that what they did was right. Well, Hats off to people who admit to that on TV, I do not know how their better halves would react to it. To each, his own. But, if you ask me, I would have shot my spouse if he would do that.
The list can go on and on.. But still I guess I do not have a definitive answer. The answer which came to my mind, I told you and it SHOCKS me about Middle class India. Because I belong to it. It disturbs me to know there could be so much love lost and between the people I might be knowing too. It shocks to know what the family values we boast about all the time, have actually been formed on so many unwilling sacrifices and adjustments. It shocks me to know so many people from normal walks of life are coming on TV to confess their deep dark secrets without the fear of their Neighbours’ opinions, their Family’s reaction, the outcome of the confession… For reasons unknown.. (or less know). They sure have guts, no doubts. But this whole confession thing sure has some darker under currents. The New Age India can take a bow. Our predecessors have given us a lot to think about by what is popularly known as… Sach Ka Saamna!


P.S. Another question buzzing in my head now: What was the husband thinking (smiling through it all) when Meera Shah made all those confessions?? Is he the all-supportive husband? Or, he was smiling coz he knew It was after all because of him that all that happened? Or, was it that he had done the same things too and was happy that he is not the only one guilty after all!