KBC4- A true Aha experience!

9 weeks, 36 episodes later KBC4 (for my non-Indian readers this is the 4th season of Indian version of "who wants to be a millionaire") has been a true revelation for me. I have followed all the past 3 seasons of this show but this season has been an absolutely fantastic experience. For me it's been an hour of relaxation after a long day, learning, recreation and perfect entertainment. In fact, I believe that this season the show transformed from a quiz show to an 'experience'.

For me there are some key takeaways from this show which captivated me:

Realizing you dreams

For last 10 years since the show started some millions of people (including myself) have been trying to get onto the 'hot seat' but very few have been lucky. But, people who managed to get in have persevered, getting through various stages and then finally using all their skills to get an opportunity on the 'hot seat'. Ah! the feeling there must be out of the world! However, what was enlightening and exciting was how people fared when the opportunity presented. Were they really prepared to seize the opportunity? Did the big moment get to them? Being face-to-face with a living legend like Big B can itself be nerve wracking, the array of emotions that the people went through, the decision making required (in terms of options & lifelines to choose, quit/not quit etc.)During the questions, handling the pressure situation was really a tough ask. However, people who prevailed like the person who was suffering from polio were really determined to succeed. The women who won 1 crore came from a very conservative & modest background with limited exposure to the outside world. However, she displayed amazing emotional quotient reminiscent of the kid in "Slumdog millionaire" using all her life experiences to prevail. Her performance would motivate millions of women in India to take a big step forward and do whatever it takes to realise their dreams. These are some of the awe inspiring success stories to take forward. Such people, not only, prepared well to get the opportunity but when the opportunity presented they knew how to seize it with both hands. Very few have the ability to deliver the knockout punch and how they did it on national television was a wonderful learning experience. Understanding this cycle of Preparation-->Opportunity-->Delivery is a key determinant of success.

Knowing real India

This time I believe there were more participants from tier 2/3/4 cities or villages. There were more women who reached the hot seat and the average age of participants would have been in thirties (my best guess). In general, the participants sounded very confident, some of them had big ambitions and were determined to show their capability to the world. We heard interesting anecdotes about how someone wants to create energy from husk, do deep research into fisheries to make life of fisherman better or improve the quality of education in remote corners of India. The demeanor of people was very positive. People were comfortable in front of Big B, often interrupting him to say what they wanted to say. Gone was the diffidence you could see a decade ago, no more did we see participants only from big cities. For a week or so we had few stars on the show and it started getting little boring. The personal stories of different participants were so compelling. Thankfully, better sense prevailed on the producers and they let the show run with common people.

What this season showcased was a truly confident and resurgent India. An India which is young, full of ideas, bright talented people buzzing with energy and ready to take on the world. Simply saying, we could see that India has arrived!

Big B

Yes, Big B is still a big takeaway for me from KBC4. I can write reams about one of my idols but what truly amazes me is he simply keeps getting better by the day. With every passing year my respect & love for him grows. His energy level, dedication, commitment and how he conducts himself is inspiring. The ability to make every participant comfortable and then strike a chord is exemplary. Some of his preludes and anecdotes from his experiences were some of the life lessons no book, training or management course would teach you. At 68, what more can you ask from him? His thoughts, actions, body language are in perfect sync. His performance was sublime. He took this show to a new pedestal. God bless him and let us hope & pray he continues to entertain us like this.

Taking a deeper look, every participant who has been on the show has come out a winner. Even the person who had opportunity to win 1 crore but lost is a winner. Contrary as it may sound but true it is!This show is about a life time experience, it is about experiencing the magical moments that you'll cherish forever.
From tomorrow i'm going to miss this amazing Aha experience; my hour of unwinding and bliss!