The selfie world |
The one glassy building:
Once there was a glass building with
completely different and attractive looking architecture near Ultadanga - the
VSNL building. Kaleidoscope, an aimless roamer in his neighbourhood was for the
first time asked by an elderly fellow 'where do you want to take up your job?'
Kaleido replied 'at that glass building near ultadanga'. 'Do you know which
office is there inside the building' the fellow continued. Kaleidoscope replied
'yes VSNL' 'And what is that?' - yes of course kaleidoscope didn't know the answer. He said 'i dont know
but i would be happy to see the
graveyard nearby from the top of that office during tiffin time!' Kaleidoscope
can't remember the rest of conversation,
but he does remember the attraction of that glassy architecture.
Many glassy buildings:
Later on he has seen many of such buildings
coming up at different places of his city. Then there came shopping
destinations which he thought he would never be able to go to buy. Now that
there are many and that he has grown up, he doesn't have much aspirations or
options to take up a job in the glassy buildings. However, looking from any of
the top buildings, remains an important part of his fantasies.
While these glassy buildings are
encroaching his city space, mushrooming everywhere to replace many of the
thickly historical experiences, kaleidoscope stsrred seeing them
differently. There is one beside
National Library and kaleidoscope is deprived of experiencing the colonial feel
which was as precious as the books that took hours to appear from some hidden
cave in the library. The postmodern bhasa bhawan replaces National Library. All
of a sudden renovation means replacing mosaic floors with tiles, windows with
sliding glass panels which reduces the open space to half and walls with
wallputty!
Selfie world:
Hence kaleidoscope's world is now converted
to a space that reflects your image too often. When you look at them they make
you look at yourself - perhaps the front camera clad selfie mode in action
everywhere. A world where there is no escape from selfie. You have to be
narcissistic, you must be able to fall in love with and then transform the body
according to your wish! You are made not to love everything of your body
because there are other better bodies to see nearby, and you are more and more
trying to change it. Yes, you chose to look 'good' because so many times you
are compared with your heroes possessing 'ideal types'.
As Kaleidoscope looks up beyond the glassy
buildings there seems to be the outer atmosphere - the sky. Only attaining that
high demands him to go through a series of colourful backlit flexes. Will they
ever allow kaleidoscope or for that matter others to trespass them?
Perhaps trespassing is not a possibility
without getting into 'properly' shaped. One should not only live but should
also die sexy.
The fleeting worlds:
The glassy buildings not only makes your
world a selfie world, but also makes you believe the transient nature and lack
of permanence and depthless presents. Hence, there once was hometown mall now
central mall and no one knows perhaps may be in a few years it would be office
space like Gariahat mall. Who knows how long IBM clad DLF I or the like will
stay? Glasses are easy to leave as they are! Aren't they? Additionally they
easily breakable and replaceable by something new. Therefore, here it is, a
transient depthless successions of architectures, or do they redefine depth in
time, depth in stratigraphy in a dynamic way in a way we can say postmodern!
Meanwhile, its again the sky from above and
a tall building calling! Meanwhile,
kaleodoscope knows attaining that high is restricted as the roofs are
dangerous in high buildings. Is it true? or does the glassy world hold you
back, because you are supposed to live (consume) and not rush for the sky! Not
yet, because you cannoy die till you aren't sexy!
The newly converted central mall in an extreme angle. |
Nice theorisation of selfie... to all selfiemaniacs of the world this is #Selfie
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