Non-violent TV watching.. is there really such a thing?

If you are married or live with your significant other, then you will understand why the idea of non-violent TV viewing is actually a myth. The day optical fibers and coaxial cables brought with them a plethora of options in TV viewing, the almighty probably decreed that a man and woman can never agree on a single, mutually agreed upon TV show to watch.

This probably remains one of the biggest mysteries of all time, ranking up there with other unresolved enigmas such as what does Lady Gaga really look like underneath all that make-up? or how does Himesh's music really sell? or how does Victoria Beckham become a fashion icon by being anorexic and pouting for the camera? But lets not digress.

My biggest grouse really is when a seemingly intelligent young man who follows CNBC TV 18 like a religion and reads the Economic section of the TOI like the word of God, can also, in the same breath, watch with bated breath as Sly Stallone is beaten to pulp in a boxing ring, in a movie with a standard plot that can be summarized as: "Boxer is challenged by reigning champion of the time. Boxer accepts challenge. Boxer defeats champion in final showdown" repeat 6 times till boxer becomes a drug-abusing aging star. Or when said young man begins flipping channels and stops in awe at one where cars are flying and guns are blasting and there is general bloodshed, or if there is the presence of the timeless acting talents of either Bruce Willis or Nicholas Cage or the afore mentioned Sly.

Now, if you are a male and you haven't already shaken your fist at my blasphemous description, then I admire your constraint and will reward you with the view from the better half's side.

Now the better half is a very accommodating person. And believes in equality of the sexes and all that. But he doesn't fathom why I simply must find out who Rahul Mahajan chose to marry and why. And why, if I hate the show as much as I claim to do, must I still tune in sometimes to watch the vagaries in his wife-picking. Or why I must watch Carrie Bradshaw and her 40+ "girls" run around New York in heels. Or that the reason I watch this show is partly because of said heels (and clothes and bags).

If the above views do not apply to you, then you are probably in the courtship phase of your relationship or you fall in that wise 20% category of happy couples who have decided to avoid bloodshed by buying two TV sets for the home.