Recently I utilised a public holiday during the work-week to enjoy a pleasant day at the shore temple at Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram) on a day trip from Chennai. The heat was not punishing and the temple by the sea was not swarming with tourists. The setting was ideal for me to observe both the architecture and the visitor demographic.
I have been to this eighth-century architectural gallery of the ancient Pallava King Narasimavarmam II periodically. So I was saddened and surprised by two phenomena that I observed during the latest visit. One was the slow but steady wearing down of the relief sculptures on the temple by the salt-laden winds, despite the conservation strategies of the Archeological Survey of India. The other surprising element was the constant and omnipresent clicking of selfies on smartphones at various sites around.
Souvenirs
Photos and tourist locations have gone hand in hand probably since the invention of photography. Our photos capture our experience of beloved spaces as tangible souvenirs that we can carry with us for our lifetime and then pass on to posterity. But photography at sites of culture, exquisite natural beauty or history, have gradually come to construct the viewers’ perception of us as cultured individuals.
When photos were shown amongst friends and relatives, snippets of narratives about the art objects that were photographed with us were also shared. But such table talk about bits and pieces of culture, history, aesthetics, and different landscapes is gradually diminishing.
The background
The selfie culture that is currently taking the younger generation by storm is slightly disturbing. During my day out at the shore temple, I observed that most of my fellow visitors — who included university students, families with school-going children, and young couples — were more interested in the angle of their selfie shots than in the design of the surreal sculptures that were within arm’s reach. The ancient architecture on the coast was glanced at merely for the value they added to the background of their picture on their phones.
The focus of attention at this exotic location — where there were spectacular natural beauty in the sea, the beach with its frothy waves, and the unique set pieces of sculptural wonder — was the person who is photographing himself, or herself, alongside the partner, or friends, or relatives. People did not stand and stare at the monuments, reminding me ironically of the opening couplet of William Henry Davies’ poem “Leisure” (1911): “What is this life if, full of care/We have no time to stand and stare”. We do have the leisure and the time to stand and stare now, but our attention is directed inwards in a superficial way. The preoccupation of the majority was on their phone cameras and their energy was focussed on skillfully capturing their perfect smiles and poses. Discussions, or even curious chats about the role of these unique pagoda-like temples on the coast were missing; wonder, which would make the spectators stop and simply gaze at the architectural exuberance explicit in the nandis that sit comfortably on a boundary wall along the edifices, was not apparent among the visitors. They just made a quick round of the monuments, with breaks to take selfies.
Narcissism at work
I do not belittle people’s desire to capture on their screens their individual happiness, their bonds with partners, and their social circle. I am just worried by the suspicion that as a generation we are becoming too obsessed with ourselves and our personal relationships, a predisposition that erodes our interaction with our public space, art, historical monuments, and the natural world. Our narcissism and inwardness will blunt our curiosities and stunt the cultural growth trajectory of the younger generation.
Perhaps the fact that India witnessed a high number of selfie-related deaths last year is a fatal manifestation of the cultural malaise that needs to be checked.
Inquisitiveness towards art, literature and aesthetics need not be relegated to the domains of the specialists or the literate elite. Let us not push our masterpieces in art and nature to just quirky backdrops on our phones and photos.
divyaa@iiitdm.ac.in
