It is really sad that Doordarshan anchor Aayenah Pahuja has been constantly mocked by social networking sites. I feel extremely sorry for Aayenah who is distressed after the video making fun of her went viral. Why do people have wrong perception about journalist or news anchors and consider them to be encyclopedia? It’s no big deal if Aayenah had committed mistakes as all of us make blunders and to err is human. Just because we live in the era of social media it doesn’t mean that we make fun of anybody to such an extent where the person almost lose hopes and doesn’t feel like staying alive anymore. It causes innumerable damage to their self-esteem.
It is distressing to note that despite belonging to same fraternity our peers from electronic media and netizens have made a mockery of Aayenah which has damaged her career.
The another reason for video going viral was because it carried the tag of DD national. Please don’t gaga much about it, Aayenah is not the lone anchor who had committed mistake as there are many others who make lots blunders in pronunciation (watch the regional news channels you will find many of them). Some even destroy the language out of excitement and mistakes are bound to happen. The entire team should be held accountable and not only the host.
People who have made fun of Aayenah should have a look at their own faces in front of the mirror and ask themselves whether they have never committed any mistake. Her error or slip of tongue was nothing compared to our great former External Affairs Minister SM Krishna reading a speech of Portuguese External Affairs Minister. She should forget this incident at the earliest and move ahead in her life.
On the other hand, Doordarshan officials should also be held responsible for failing to take initiatives to train their staff efficiently. There is lack of skill development programme in our nation which is responsible for this mess. Not too long ago, a DD news anchor was sacked after she referred to Chinese President Xi Jinping as ‘Eleven’ Jinping, apparently confusing Xi’s name with the Roman numerals XI.
Of course even without supporting the people who are abusing the anchor in this case one has to admit that the DD should hire qualified and talented candidates and also give adequate training to them. The incident comes at a time when Doordarshan news is trying to reinvent itself to compete with private broadcasters.
