The Utterances of a Peculiar Mindset

Today is "Teachers' Day". I am recieving numerous SMSes and calls from today morning wishing me on the day. Though I'm not a professor anymore, I was into teaching for one year. I have enjoyed every single moment of my job as teaching. However, I'm not sure how enjoyable I was for my students :-)
Every person in this world owes a lot to his teacher. Its not always in the sense of monitory things but sometimes its abut credits too. Every person owes a lot of credit to his teachers.
I had put up a post about the "Teachers in my life" on last Teachers' Day. I wasn't into teaching that time. So my perception of a teacher was very different at that time. I used to hate few of my teachers for being too strict and some others for being too friendly.
Same year, I joined teaching within a weak of Teachers' Day. And after being in teaching for a year, I've now realized how tough it is to teach people, to manage the students, to solve their doubts and most importantly to manage your professional and personal life at the same time without letting any one o interfere with the other.
After being in teaching for whatever time I had put up, only thing I can say is Salute to all the teachers in this world. You are worth a lot of salutes. Mine is just one single part of these lakhs of salutes you deserve.

I don't know whether this should be called as new life or not. But I'm feeling like being in a totally new world these days. Away from the peer pressure of managing the departmental work at college, away from the tensions with teaching.. I'm enjoying my new days as a student. Learning new concept, hanging out with friends, and playing pranks in the classes.. OF course, the peer pressure is gonna be there but there will be 119 other students to share the pressure with me. So, it makes the pressure handling easier.

Anyways, here are two snaps of my new life. Awaiting snaps of my birthday celebration..

Get rid of blemishes, plump up those lips and bosom, whiten the teeth, fix the shape of your eyebrows and trim those inches from the waist...all without going under the knife.

A few magic clicks of the mouse and the transformations are complete. From celebs to just your average image conscious teen, picture perfect is the way to go these days.

Call it digital enhancing, retouching, airbrushing or doctoring, the photos have to be seen to be believed. Pleasantly plump to svelte siren can take a few brush strokes in the hands of the expert retouching artist.

Who says the camera doesn’t lie? Check out the photographs posted on any social networking site, the warts and wrinkles have just been airbrushed away.

No wonder photo studios everywhere are in makeover mode, with retouching artists taking courses abroad to hone their skills.

“Photographs don’t just mirror reality, they can improve it,” says Umesh Sabharwal of Kamala Nagar’s Prem Studio who learnt the art of retouching in the UK.

Sabharwal, who has been clicking photographs of candidates in DUSU elections for close to 14 years, says almost all his clients place a premium on how they look. “Earlier, when students came to get their pictures taken for the elections, they opted for simplicity. The glamour period really came in with a candidate called Shalu Mallik. Her’s was the first colour picture,” he recalls.

Then, beauty got a new angle. “One student looked so good in her poster that it went on sale for Rs 2 as boys wanted to hang it in their hostel rooms.”

The makeover doesn’t stop at clothes and make-up these days. “A lot of work goes into that image that smiles at you from the poster. More than issues, candidates are concerned with the face they present to the world.”

It’s a lead they’ve taken from celebrities whose airbrushed bodies grace everything -- from billboards to magazine covers. Marlene Dietrich always insisted on a huge mirror being behind a photographer so that she could correct his lighting. Today she wouldn’t bother; it can all be done later through a computer.

“Digital enhancement has made the photographer’s job minimal,” says leading fashion photographer Sumiko Murgai Nanda. Lighting can be enhanced, the colour of the garment can be changed to suit the background and a reed-thin model can turn voluptuous.

“There are no limits to what the software can do, the only constraint is the budget since retouching can be quite expensive,” says Nanda who, though she shoots digital, swears by film. “What you see is so not what you get,” says Nanda, that’s the reason she’s wary of model portfolios. “The model in person usually looks very different.”

Like all trends, this one started with celebrities but it’s the virtual world that has given it momentum. “Who looks at photos in albums? I’d rather post them on my profile so that my friends can check them out,” says Shilpa Vasudev, a 16-year-old who admits she chooses only the most flattering ones.

Self-obsession or just vanity?
The idea of makeovers has become part of popular culture, points out Dr Samir Parikh, consultant psychiatrist with Max hospital. “Looks do matter, both in real life and in virtual.”

And studios merely ensure that you put your best face forward. Sabharwal Lab in Gole Market offers various levels of retouching, from light to extreme.

“Customer choose what they want depending on whether they need it for a family photo, website, modelling portfolio and so on,” says Mohit, who runs the studio.

So whether you want your grandparents in colour instead of black and white or make your baby look that wee bit cuter, the studio can do it all.

As for the ethical question, that rarely troubles anyone. “Most pictures are about memories. They will be looked at years later so why not ensure that they look nice,” says Vishal Kapadia, who had his marriage photos retouched recently.

Harsh reality is not always what people want. And when one can airbrush irritating relatives out of a family photo, fake doesn’t seem all that bad.

Not everyone can perfect Angelina Jolie's pout or emulate Salma Hayek's dazzling persona, but there are millions out there who're trying. With images of supposed perfection assaulting them from every direction, high levels of efficiency mandatory in the workplace and exacting demands in society, many youngsters are now unable to cope. They are increasingly isolating themselves and today, they suffer from a malady called 'social anxiety' disorder, also known as social phobia.

Fear of scrutiny, heightened self-consciousness and apprehension about being judged are some of the reasons why youngsters would rather be on their own. A young employee who is marginally overweight, says, "I have great difficulty making friends. I don't like interacting with my colleagues either. I would rather be left alone with my laptop in my cubicle and listen to music on my iPod."

An IT professional, Pradip N, who is undergoing therapy for social anxiety shares, "I would get mentally disturbed while interacting with people in my office, which is why I had to seek help. I had no confidence and would worry myself sick before any meeting or presentation."

Says psychiatrist Dr B Kapur, "Every four out of 10 patients who come to me suffer from social anxiety disorder. This is especially amongst young adults and adolescents who are unable to cope with social situations. Many of them suffer from palpitation, headaches and nausea. It is not shyness as some believe. Social anxiety has to be recognised as a disorder and needs to be treated."

In public places such as work, meetings, or shopping, people who suffer from this disorder feel everyone is watching, staring and judging them. Many of them feel others are noticing every movement they make, critiquing and making negative judgments about them. It is believed that social anxiety is the third largest psychological problem in some parts of the world today, but unlike other psychological problems, it is not well understood, hence often misdiagnosed by healthcare professionals.

Says Bangalore-based psychiatrist, Dr M J Thomas, "Social phobias start in adolescence and are centred on fear of scrutiny. In the US, one out of eight people has this phobia. It is associated with low self-esteem, desire for perfection and fear of criticism. A person with social phobia anticipates and ruminates over the problems that can occur in case of social contact, resulting in avoidance of the situation and in extreme cases, social isolation. They experience rapid heartbeats, trembling, sweating, upset stomach, diarrhoea, muscle tension, blushing, confusion or a panic attack."

Says Dr Ajit Bhide, consultant psychiatrist, "Youngsters who are not socially adept get increasingly isolated in life. Low self-esteem is one of the main reasons. They'd rather be with their gizmos and chat with people online than meet them personally."

However, good news is -- social anxiety disorder can be treated with medical, cognitive and relaxative therapy. Explains Dr Thomas, "One theory is -- it may be related to an imbalance of a chemical called serotonin that transports signals between nerve cells in the brain. Interestingly, this is the same chemical imbalance linked to other mood and anxiety disorders. It may be precipitated by an embarrassing social event in the past."

Both medication and behaviour therapy have proven successful in treating social phobias. Gradual, controlled exposure to an anxiety-provoking situation helps. Patients are shown how to make eye contact, talk louder and slower, greet people and say good-byes, ask for favours, respond to requests and criticism. Eventually, they learn to mingle around.

Check out the Gmail video. Its amazing..