It is always fascinating to follow the media campaigns of national political parties. Be it 'India Shining' or the symbolism of usage of the hand or the red color. Equally interesting are the hoardings put up by local politicians.

 

   Invariably, all the politicians make a trip to the local photo studio to get their photo done. So, you will see in them with idyllic backgrounds, with perfect background and yes, a cell phone in hand. It would have looked quite OK some 7-8 years back. A politician carrying a cell phone to flaunt his status and importance. I can't fathom why they still go for the stereotypical photograph of a cell phone weilding  man. There are others who would take a photo while they are walking, to make it look natural. As if the photo was not intended to be taken at all but was clicked by some enthusiastic supporter.

 

   Its not about only politicians. In every walk of life, you can see stereotypical pictures being taken. Yours Truly too has taken the quintessential cell phone pic. The fact that i hold a nokia 1100 is cleverly concealed though. Allmost half of the people that I know have thier cell phones pic.

 

I don't know how it got ingrained into popular culture but I don't think I would be able to control the urge to take a photograph with the minaret of the Taj in between  my fingertips when I go to Agra. Trick Photography,  you see! Borrowed from the Leaning Tower of Pisa by the way. There are other famous poses too. Leaning on to the wall for instance. Or, looking into the horizon while the photo is taken sideways. Or....aah..can you beat this, a friend of yours makign a V mark over your head while a group photo is being taken. That would make you a Devil by the way. Or, how about taking a pic while you lick your ice cream. Makes for dramatic appeal. Going to Ramoji Festival ? Aaah...thousands of photo opportunities.

 

      Let us move ahead and look at Institutional stereotypes. From the IIMs to the Daring ones who think beyond the IIMs, everytime an MBA college has  to take photos of thier students for business magazines or survey people, the students would be animatedly discussing something while one pretty girl stands with an open book in the midst of their sprawling lawn. And how do the students sip thier Chai? With Laptops open, an intellectual discussion over steaming chai. What happens on graduation day? All students leap into air after synchronisingly hushing papers into air.

 

      You Run a business? You can be running it in the interior lanes of Surat but when it comes to the website, do not forget to put models from foreign nations on the home page. They should be bright looking, real sharp. And yeah, if you want to show team effort, let them be huddled close, in a discussion room with a graph on the board. I have really become tired of seeing foreign students in advertisements for Indian educational institutions.

 

 

      You are a computer science engineer? Don't forget to take a pic while you are pretending to be working on the screen, wiht one hand on the keyboard and the other on the mouse.

 

 

   What about Museman? Ahh...he loves these must-have photos. Why, he now presents for his readers, one of the must-haves, termed as, 'leaning on the wall with a thumped up chest and tucked in paunch'. Signifies two things, I have lost considerable weight after leaving Bhubaneswar. Museman is now a student of Mangement, the software professional, now been gone for good!

 

Tailpiece: Museman is in search for his old readers. He will be regular henceforth. Come back, ye all.