Our TV morning shows never cease to surprise us. On Nov 9, when Iqbal Day was being observed, quite a few morning shows dedicated their episodes to Allama Iqbal. Boy oh boy, we need to know which school our morning show hosts went to. One of them, we can’t name him because he gets angry at the drop of a hat, while talking to a guest looked at his computer and said, “viewers (Iqbal ke) baray mazay mazay ke shair bhej rahe hain” as if Iqbal was a humorous poet or someone who specialised in cooking.

Another, who appears on a channel that specialises in dramas, read a famous Iqbal couplet ‘Youn to Syed bhi ho Mirza bhi ho Afghan bhi ho’ by eliminating an important word in the second line, distorting the rhythm of the lines. Please, whoever thinks TV actors can speak without a script (even that’s doubtful) must rethink.