Camera, family album, personal conversation & modern day bravado

Obviously, we had to be careful taking pictures. No swim suit pictures or half naked ones. The guy at the processing centre would be the first one to ogle at you when you were to go and collect the pictures. And mind you, he could even make copies of it and share it among his friends and you would be “exposed” to the world.  Every roll that we bought allowed us to click anywhere between 12 to 30 odd pictures. Once we developed the roll, we would have to reconcile to the horrible fact that only a few pictures were in focus.

The out of focus pictures had to be discarded. The good ones were then usually put into albums and stashed away in overflowing cupboards. These were taken out once every few months or years and nostalgically viewed or shown to close family members and friends, again to be stashed away for eternity. A few pictures would be enlarged into bigger sized pictures and eventually framed to be hung on walls.

 It was ditto with personal conversation.  Matters discussed within the four walls of the house were confined to the four walls of the house. Matters discussed with close friends, remained among those close friends and if your conversation were to be leaked outside this hallowed circle, you felt betrayed.

Year 2022: When I take a selfie, I want the world to see it. My new bikini, my new shorts, my gym, my bedroom, my parents, my girlfriend in a state of undress, my wife trying out her new petticoat, my new underwear, my biceps, my motherhood, my figure, my beachside picture, my pet, my new bed, my clothes, my baby in the crib, my new house, my new bathroom tiles, my new car, my new motorcycle, my vacation to hinterland, my plane ride, my train ride, eta al. Even Jack the Ripper now knows how your pretty wife looks or how miserably thin you look in your underwear.

As for personal conversation, there is nothing personal now. I hate my neighbor, I just got pregnant, I had a miscarriage, my grandmother died last night,  I am going for a week long holiday to Bali, my house will be empty for 20 days at a stretch, I love the Prime Minister’s new hat, I love his clothes, my adulation for my next door neighbour’s daughter, my favourite actor, my dog has been throwing up, my visit to the doc, I love wearing a bra, I hate wearing a bra, I am planning to buy the new Maruti Suzuki Brezza, I just missed my periods, I am pregnant, I am gay, I am bisexual, I am a heterosexual, I love sex, I love to ogle, my formula to improve the world, my two bits on how to run the country, the bonus I just got , et al. Jack the Ripper even gets to read this on various social media platforms written across the globe by CEOs, journalists, doctors, politicians, engineers, bakers, and every other Tome, Dick and Harry. Now that is what I call a world without boundaries!

Images courtesy: 

Image by Bruno /Germany from Pixabay (for photo album)

Image by StockSnap from Pixabay (for rolls)

Image by congerdesign from Pixabay  (for camera)