The NGC programming is fantastic. The well-written scripts, clear enunciation and breathtaking photography (and off late, digital imagery) make it a pleasurable experience. My favourite programs are nearly always ones which focus on some of the endangered species. I think such programmes deserve special attention from the government as they can go a long way in educating the masses about how grave the situation is. Maybe, it could offer some concessions to the channel for 'x' hours of such programming. There's a lot of stuff about dinosaurs and pre-historic creatures, which although thoroughly entertaining, doesn't fall under the purview of the 'special attention' I mentioned.
Take for example, the Siberian Tiger, the world's largest cat. Oh what I'd give to see it in the wild some day!! A most magnificent animal. I've seen several programmes dedicated to it, each one of them leaving me awestruck, but also sad. Sad, because there are only about 500 left in the wild today. There was a time when thousands of these beautiful creatures roamed the snowy forests of Russia and China. But a century of savage hunting & logging by irresponsible and selfish humans brought the population into double-digits! Its with the support & education by channels like the NGC that this figure is up to where it is today.
I was wondering how it would be to go on a tour to Siberia and its surrounding regions. A quick google search helped me to this link. Its an Australian Adventure Travel company and has a tour which sounds quite exciting.
Noticeably, I couldn't quickly find any Indian companies which seem to organize such exotic tours. Maybe they operate in a very niche market and are not really visible on the net. But this does look like a possible business opportunity. I know there have been b-plans presented with tours and tie-ups for such kind of places within the country, but there is a chance to build like a world-wide brand which does ONLY such kind of tours. If its sold well to the right people, maybe it could do well.
Coming to the Discovery Channel, unfortunately I lost interest once our cable operator started beaming only the Hindi version, which sucks, quite a bit. Earlier, the programmes on Health,
Science and Technology were engaging and informative. I'd go to the extent of saying that I learnt more from the DC than from some of my text-books. Now, sadly, the channel seems to be veering towards sensationalist programming, like one of the several terrible news channels around... trying to make a suspense thriller out of some natural situation, complete with acting, props et al. But that's what the public seems to be demanding.Look around the newspapers and you'll know what I'm talking about. The Times of India has been reduced to a newspaper with lots of sleazy pics, snippets of gore and some semblance of 'real news' in between. (And not to mention endless ads).
Check out the Pg.4 from today's TOI. This, apparently, is CITY 'news'. When is the world going to wake up!?!?
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