Maa Exchange

A shitty weekend followed by a super Manic Monday. There are a million things crying out for my attention at work, a zillion proofs of investment I need to gather so I can claim a good part of the money that I have slogged to earn through the year from the taxman's claws (and that would otherwise go into some fatass politician's pocket, not into improving my country's infrastructure) and a gazillion people who're pissing me off with their sheer idiocy. So while I fret and fume, and figure out how to survive the madness, read this post on a new reality show that I wrote last week.

What...don't you know we love talking crap here?

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Reality shows on singing and dancing. Shows where people answer questions to become millionnaires. Shows where a bunch of 'has-beens' and starlets who are complete strangers to each other are thrown into a house together for 90 days. Shows where celebrities are left to camp in scary jungles. Shows where celebrities participate in death-defying stunts to ostensibly conquer their fears. Shows on cooking skills of wannabe "masterchefs". Shows where a bunch of women squabble, bitch, plot, plan and disgrace themselves in public to win the affection of the sole guy. Shows where a celebrity couple without kids is made to care for someone else's child for a month. Shows where people are willing to reveal their deepest, darkest secrets on television even though it may ruin their lives forever. Shows where people are more than willing to lie down on the couch and let the shrink regress them to their past lives. Just when you thought Indian television had exhausted all possible reality show formats comes another reality show. Of course, most of these formats are borrowed from the West but there has to be some saturation point, innit?

The new reality show on the block is 'Maa Exchange' - the Indian version of 'Wipe Swap'. The original format would apparently have been too risque for the Indian audience given our concept of "family bonding" through television.

In this new reality show they take women from two disparate backgrounds and put them in each other's homes. These women have to run each other's houses for a week. The focus is on motherly and home-maker duties. For instance, a cleanliness freak woman will be put in the home of someone who thinks hygiene kills.

Week 1 saw Pooja Bedi "who runs her house very efficiently with the help of 3 maids" (their words, not mine) swap places with a woman who feeds her husband chapatis straight off the griddle, serves him hot tea whenever he wants and generally waits on him 24x7. I don't know if the show is stage managed but this woman was really bizarre - she believes dining tables belong at hotels, not at homes. That a house that's clean looks like a hotel. That it's OK to have breakfast at 3pm, lunch at 7pm and dinner at 3am. That kids who express their opinions infront of their parents/elders have had a bad upbringing. That people who thanks their drivers or house helps are being fake.

Next week will see a woman who's a cleanliness freak go into a home where the toilets have never seen a toilet cleaner.

It's a scary show, this one. And something I wouldn't do for even a lot of money (I don't know what my breaking point would be though. I'd like to say there won't be one but...it's money, honey). Rationally though I can't imagine being part of such a thing. It's not about stepping out of my comfort zone - just the thought of going to live in some stranger's house for a week and letting her live in mine and manage my house is kind of revolting to me. Kind of.

What about you? Can you see yourself participating in such a show?