Your Friendly Philosopher & Guide

Ninety per cent of the people of any society are idiots, and rest of the 10 per cent rule upon them – either in the name of politics, either in the name of bureaucracy, either through judiciary system, either through the media or either through religious belief system. I think Television wasn’t called an Idiot Box – it might have been called Idiot’s Box!

Now these 90 per cent of the people tend to believe whatever they read in newspapers or whatever they watch on Television. They think media is the next savior for them after Jesus Christ. No wonder the women who are ‘whores’ in real life are considered to be role models after their ‘holier than thou’ characterization in mega serials. I don’t want to name them individually – because my blog won’t have that much server space.

All TV channels are supposed to fill boring morning slots either with astrology or programs connected to religion and spirituality. And before someone gets up, these programs are already over.

The producers catch hold of average looking astrologers with minimal oratory skills and make them sit the whole day in front of those hot lightings and shoot the programme for the whole week in a single day. Most of the times the astrologer is NOT paid a single penny, and the maximum amount that is paid if the astrologer insists is Rs 1000. The astrologer is happy with or without getting money – because he thinks he gets a good mileage being on the TV!

Now if you go for your own Astro program, the minimum expense will be Rs 50,000 for single episode, which includes the slot fee, and also the production cost. No astrologer is interested in donating money to the TV channel or to make people aware of this wonderful science/art by burning his own pocket. He surely expects returns.

If the astrologer has some minimum business sense, he will aspire to make at least double the money of what he has invested in making the program. So his target will be 1 lakh in a week. In that case he has to do consultation for 100 people who are ready to pay him Rs 1000, in 7 days, or some 200 people who are ready to pay him Rs 500, in 7 days. If he spends at least 30 mns with one client, he has to spend 7 hours talking in day. If he does that he will die of throat cancer in 6 months time.

So the best bet for any astrologers who come on television is to market something that needs less effort and that which will fetch more money. Hence most astrologers who come on television are either Numerologists or Gemmologists or someone who gives a lot of hope in the name of remedial measures. They never get into predictions, because they are aware that predictions won’t get them much money in return.

And why am I not on the television? Because I don’t give false hopes of changing destinies, I don’t suggest name change or lucky gem that might bring huge luck and make you the next Dhirubhai Ambai, I don’t want to promote astrology and create awareness among people – that is not my job, and lastly – I am not a businessman.