Pose and post, spread festive cheer without fake filters

Spice of Life: No matter how shattered our lives and how much pain we are in, no one will post a picture without a big smile and a philosophical caption

The festive season is here, and it’s time to bombard our social media accounts with selfies, photos and more photos. After all, festivals are more about pose and post than anything else. Let’s admit it, it’s not just the festivals but for every click, we have that one mechanical smile and pout that makes us look happy for the rest of the world. Pictures and poses are only supposed to be happy and smiling and nothing else.

Technology has given us so much, but somehow it has also taken away the special occasion feel, worthy enough to be preserved and captured. (Representational photo)

Recently, I came across a photograph shared by an old PhD student of my father. The picture was taken after his viva with the examiner, so it was a joyous moment of PhD completion. It must be a 25-year-old photo with no smiling faces except the very young me and my grinning elder sister. There was a pattern where teachers were sitting in the front, and the students were standing behind. All the young chaps, who must be students and their class friends, were blank and too serious to be clicked. It was like no big deal; imagine completing a PhD today and the emotional pose and posts.

Something caught my attention in that picture except my young father. Somehow, we tend to forget our parents were young too as we grow in life. To confirm my suspicion, I browsed through old family albums. Eureka! I was right, no one used to smile for photos and the poses have mostly the same pattern.

The first picture I saw was my grandparent’s family photo. Dadaji was sitting on a chair with my Dadi with one child in her lap, the rest of the four children standing in shorts and staring straight at the camera with no smiles. My maternal grandparents had a similar family picture where everyone was serious. Next was my parents’ wedding album. Not in a single photo was my mother smiling, not even in her weird, shy bride poses! My father looked too serious to be getting married.

My curious mind browsed childhood birthday pictures with a cap and a prominent safety pin holding a hanky in the front of my red frill frock. Of course, I was not interested in looking up or smiling but just staring at the cake and even crying in some pictures; phew! Today, my four-year-old nephew poses so well for any photo and chooses his clothes for birthdays.

Looking at uncountable and unreasonable selfies and videos today, I wonder, have we rediscovered the art of smiling? No matter how shattered our lives and how much pain we are in, no one will post a picture without a big smile and a philosophical caption.

A photograph today is no longer a memory. The camera doesn’t have a limitation of 36 shots. Photos were special memories at that time. They lacked the smile but had authenticity and reality without any fake filters to make it look beautiful. Technology has given us so much, but somehow it has also taken away the special occasion feel, worthy enough to be preserved and captured. The lonely selfies and fake smiles and the quest to showcase your best on social media have taken over family gatherings, the real feel and memoirs of a life well lived not just well captured. mudita.srvstv@gmail.com

The writer is a Mohali-based communication professional