What’s your 'rashee'?

A film like What’s your Rashee? bombed at the box-office, Ashutosh Gowariker was rather spot on when it came to Indians being obsessed with their astro columns that are published in various newspapers and magazines.

In fact, when they world is filled with tedious information about crime, politics or even gossip, nothing touches the reader like the astrology column. “It is quite an addiction,” people say. After all, when an interesting statement like, ‘you will meet the love of your life today’ or ‘you will do well financially’ comes your way, it’s hard to give it a miss... In fact, the eternal question, ‘what’s your zodiac sign?’ is perhaps the most popular way to break ice among youngsters of today.

True or not, what is it that grips the reader about such columns? “The astrology column that comes out on print is my favourite read, especially the detailed ones that appear every weekend. I pretty much believe in luck and these columns give you a fresh breath on a doomed day. However, sometimes I even read for the fun of it... so much so that I read the columns from the old editions as well!” chuckles jewellery designer Deepti Sudhindra.
Model Sujith Sebastian, however, has a different view for these columns. “I’ve had several girls asking for my sun sign to start a conversation. However, I don’t really follow these columns. Nevertheless, I do look up to these when I want to know which celebrity shares my sun sign... that’s what interests me about such reads.”

While actor Tilak Sekar says, “I used to read astrology columns when I was in college, but now I hardly indulge myself in reading these. Though, I believe in luck, these columns seemed to be generalised. They hold good for a great past time!” 

Then again, if it’s known to be a ‘casual’ thing, why do people swear by it anyway? “People are inclined to it because it acts more like a mood booster,” explains contemporary dancer and actor Rukmini Vijaykumar. “These columns always have something good to say and one would hardly find something negative written. But, since they are generalised, it hardly applies to a larger audience.” Adding to it, model Apoorva Vishwanathan says, “Every individual has different traits. So, a five-line information about a certain sun-sign does not apply to everyone. For example, people say that according to my sun-sign I should be impatient, but in reality I’m not.”

Clearing the air about this column, astrologer S K Jain says, “The fact that every newspaper or magazine carries this column shows the fact that everyone is interested reading about astrology. But, giving information only about sun-sign will just not do. One needs to give information about the moon and the earth sign, too.

People are curious to know how their day will be like, so instead of giving a generic column written in a flowery language, these write-ups should be a little more focussed and intense.”