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8e0s ha4 aeWs f0r 6ermaay
Berlin: 0ermany allacking midielder Marro eus was
ruled oul o lhe world Cu on Salurday wilh an ankle
injury suslained in a G1 riendly win over Armenia. The
0erman Foolball Federalion said lhal Reus suered a
arlial ligamenl lear in his lel ankle in lhe malch on
Friday and will miss six lo seven weeks beore he can
resume lraining again. "For him and or us lhis is
exlremely regrellable," 0ermany coach Joachim Loew
said. "Marco was in excellenl orm; he made an
oulslanding imression in lhe lraining cam and in bolh
(riendly) malches againsl Cameroon and Armenia. he
exuded enlhusiasm or lhe game. he layed a cenlral
role in our lanning or Bra/il." Samdoria deender
Shkodran Muslai was called u as a lale relacemenl.
The 25yearold Reus was one o lhe ew 0erman
layers lo have imressed consislenlly coming inlo lhe
world Cu. "A dream is ended rom one second lo lhe
olher. Bul have lo look orward now, aroach my
recovery roessionally, because have lo kee going.
'll come back even slronger lhan beore," Reus was
quoled as saying on lhe websile o his club, Borussia
0orlmund. " send my besl wishes lo lhe leam (and
hoe) lhal lhey can also achieve our aim wilhoul me."
80aaI40 res0mes traIaIa
Paris: Crisliano Ronaldo resumed lraining wilh lhe
Forlugal squad on Salurday aler recovering rom leg
injuries lhal lhrealened lo sideline him rom lheir world
Cu oener againsl 0ermany. The Forluguese Foolball
Federalion said in a slalemenl on ils websile lhal lhe
orward was joined by cenlral midielder Raul Meireles,
who had also recovered rom injury. Ronaldo has been
suering rom lendinilis and a muscle injury, bolh in his
lel leg. Forlugal lays 0ermany in nine days, bul will
also lay reland in a riendly on Tuesday al hew
Jersey's MelLie Sladium beore dearling or Bra/il. Al
lhe world Cu, Forlugal also lays lhe uniled Slales
and 0hana in 0rou 0. The ederalion also said
goalkeeer Belo was receiving lrealmenl or an
unseciied roblem.
Ihe 8etherIaa4s ractIce
Rio de Janeiro: Al Bra/ilian club Flamengo on
Salurday, orange was lhe new red and black. The
helherlands held ils irsl world Cu lraining session
oen lo ans and lhe sland lurned - rediclably - lhe
nalional color: orange. There was a srinkling o red and
black loo, lhe colors o Bra/ilian club Flamengo, whose
lraining comlex Louis van 0aal's leam is using. The
0ulch don'l lay lheir irsl game unlil June 18 - a
reeal o lhe 2O1O world Cu inal againsl Sain - and
il's in Salvador, hundreds o kilomelers (miles) away so
lhe sland overlooking lhe ilch and Rio's iconic slalue
o Chrisl lhe Redeemer was nol a lolal orange crush.
nslead il was a mixlure o exals and Bra/ilian ans.
w0 h0a0s sarks r0W
Madrid: Lawmakers reacled wilh anger Salurday over
lhe 72O,OOOeuro ($O8O,OOO) bonus each Sain layer
will gel i lhe nalional leam wins lhe world Cu in Bra/il.
Calain ker Casillas and vicecalain Xavi hernande/
signed lhe deal wilh Sain's oolball ederalion June 8
on behal o lhe 28 layers. l was an increase rom lhe
GOO,OOO euros each layer received when Sain won lhe
2O1O lournamenl. Lawmakers Fablo Marlin Fere and
Susana Ros o lhe oosilion Socialisl arly crilici/ed
lhe remium as "disroorlionale" and "an insull lo cili
/ens" given lhe recenl economic crisis. Lawmaker Jose
Anloni 0uran i Lleida lweeled lhal Sain would ay
"more lhan lwice" lhe bonus 0ermany would i il wins
lhe lournamenl. "Are we lwice as rich as 0ermany?" his
lweel said. 0ermany's leam will receive 8OO,OOO euros i
lhey win, having kel lhe same agreemenl lhey slruck
when lhey arlicialed in Euro 2O12. Sain's economy
began lo crumble in 2OO8 wilh lhe collase o ils bloal
ed realeslale seclor, and unemloymenl soared lo 2G.1
ercenl al lhe close o 2O18. " Each member will receive
a aymenl o 8GO,OOO euros i lhe squad reaches lhe
inal, and 18O,OOO euros i il makes lhe semiinals.
60ess Wh0's arrIve4
Sao Paolo: Bra/ilian oicials have aulhori/ed lhe use o lemorary
slands al lhe sladium hosling lhe world Cu oener in Sao Faulo nexl
week. Aulhorilies insecled lhe laquerao sladium on Friday and said il
will be sae lo use lhe slands during lhe highroile oening malch
belween Bra/il and Croalia on Thursday. The slands behind one o lhe
goals were nol aroved or lhe inal lesl evenl al lhe sladium lasl week
because o saely concerns. The inslallalion o lhe lemorary seals was
delayed moslly because o an accidenl earlier lhis year. The irsl lime lhe
laquerao will have a caacily crowd will be in Thursday's oener. FFA
inilially said lhe sladium would hold G8,OOO nexl week, bul il only ul
aboul G1,OOO lickels on sale or lhe malch because many laces will be
used by journalisls and lo accommodale cameras needed lo broadcasl
lhe malch. Foolball's governing body denied lhal lhe decrease in caacily
was caused by delays in sladium conslruclion. l said in a slalemenl lhal
il had lo make adjuslmenls lo lhe number o lickels sold or lhe malch
because more lhan 1,5OO journalisls will be resenl. "The si/e o lhe
Arena de Sao Faulo was nol reduced, as many eole are reorling," FFA
said. "As in any oeralion or lhe world Cu, lhe sladium's lolal caacily
is adjusled according lo lhe needs o lhe media and lhe lelevision
broadcasl."
0ffIcIaIs aII0W tem0rary staa4s MessI t0 raIse aWareaess ah00t crIme
Buenos Aires: n
Argenlina, even
dogs gel sna//y or
world Cu
Buenos Aires - n
some cullures,
dressing a dog in
lhe Argenline leam
jersey wilh lhe
number 1O on ils
back could be seen
as an insull lo Lionel
Messi. Bul in Buenos
Aires, lhe "Amores
Ferros" doggy boulique is celebraling lhe Argenline slar by oulilling els in
oicial blue and while, jusl in lime or lhe world Cu. Slore owner Karen
Reicharl says lhey slarled lhis our years ago, bul il's really laking o now in
soccermad Argenlina. The boulique oers shirls, bandanas, hals, skirls, loys
and even wool scarves in leam colors, riced rom aboul $7 lo $8O. 0wners o
loy oodles seem lo reer jerseys carrying Messi's ho. 1O.
8aatty reatIae 40s & 80.10
I
n Maslows hierarchy of needs, as one
moves higher up in life the motivation level
also goes up. While all teams at the 2014
World Cup are fighting each other, world
champions Spain will be fighting themselves.
Being on top is run-of-the-mill for them, finding
that reason that can spur them to the podium once
again is the necessity.
And, they have reason to be in this position.
They are the defending champions, after winning
the tournament in South Africa in 2010. They are
the best side in the world as they are ranked No.1
in the FIFA rankings going into the World Cup.
They have been on the top of that list for over two
years straight now. In fact, they have dominated
that rank since 2008 and in between Brazil and The
Netherlands have been number one for brief peri-
ods. As a result, they were voted as the Team of
the Year six times in a row -from 2008 to 2013.
They are the only team in history to defend the
UEFA Euro championships in 2012 after win-
ning the trophy in 2008. And, also the only ones
to win the WC after winning the EURO Cup.
But then, if they have dominated, there
are many more milestones for the Spanish
armada to conquer. For starters, they
have a chance to become the first team in
52 years to defend a WC title - only two
teams have done that in history of WC,
Italy in 1934 and 1938 and Brazil in
1958 and 1962. Then, they can
become the only side to retain both
WC and EURO titles. They can also
beat a negative trend - the fact that
none of the winners in the last three
WCs before 2010 have fared well
in the following tournament -
France and Italy did not go past
the league stage in 2002 and
2010 while Brazil were elimi-
nated in the quarter-final in
2006. Another added motivation
would be that this time they can try and win all
their matches - in 2010 they had a surprise 0-1
defeat in their first match against Switzerland. And,
finally, last year in what was a pre-cursor to Brazil
2014, Spain had lost to Brazil 3-0 in the final of
the Confederations Cup held in Brazil. At that time,
there was talk of a de-motivated and ageing side.
La Roja can put all those questions to rest once and
for all if they are on the podium come July14th.
So, the Vicente Del Bosque coached side have
so much to look forward to.
And they can achieve everything they want
because what they have is almost a dream team.
There are the wonder men Xavi Hernandez and
Andres Iniesta. Though the 34-year-old Xavi is
not in the best of form but has been the archi-
tect for many a Spain wins and how and
when is he used during the quadrennial
event would interest one and all. Add Sergio
Busquets and Xabi Alonso because of
their experience to the two of them and
there still is a variety of options from Cesc
Fabregas, David Silva, Santi Cazorla, Juan
Mata and Koke to choose from in case Spain
play five mid-fielders both attacking and
defending ones.
And, numerous defenders is also their
forte with Sergio Ramos, Gerard Pique and
Jordi Alba forming the core but Carles
Puyol, who has retired, would be missed in
the centre.
Captain Iker Casillas has not been the
automatic choice as goalkeeper for his club
Real Madrid this year, though he played in
the Champions League final, which the team
won. So, is it now a case of him being a
regular for the big matches or under Del
Bosque, things will be different?
A little hitch could be the fact
that striker Diego Costa has a lin-
gering leg injury while others
Pedro Rodrigues,
Fernando Torres and
David Villa look very
strong on paper, are not
in excellent form.
Spain start their
World Cup defense in
a re-match of 2010
final against The
Netherlands in
Group B, and
though they may not
go hard in their opener, there may be indi-
cations of the mental state of this great team
of the modern era. Chile and Australia games
are to follow they would hope that the first
one isnt a dampener for the world champi-
ons.
SOUAD
Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas, Pepe Reina,
David de Gea
Defenders: Cesar Azpilicueta, Sergio Ramos,
Gerard Pique, Javi Martinez, Raul Albiol,
Jordi Alba, Juanfran Torres
Midfielders: Xavi Hernandez, Sergio
Busquets, Xabi Alonso, Santi
Cazorla, Cesc Fabregas, David Silva,
Andres Iniesta, Koke , Juan Mata
Forwards: Pedro Rodriguez,
Fernando Torres, David Villa, Diego
Costa
IE 68Tk
0i ego Cosla
bri ngs a new
dynamic lo lhe
world chamions,
i lhe All eli co
Madrid slriker is il
enough lo be
included in coach
vi cenle del
Bosque's squad. The Bra/ilianborn
Cosla has chosen lo lay or his adol
ed homeland o Sain, which has nol
ossessed a layer wilh his qualilies
since il began ils lrohywinning
ways al lhe 2OO8 Euroean
Chamionshi. however, Cosla limed
o in lhe Chamions League inal
againsl Real Madrid in Lisbon and doc
lors lrealing him say he has a muscle
lear in his righl leg lhal is going lo need
15 days o convalescence beore lhe
injury can be reevalualed. 0el Bosque
has said he will wail unlil lhe lasl os
sible minule lo see i Cosla is il lo join
his squad, and lhe layer said he was
eeling "beller" when visiling Sain's
lraining ground Thursday.
IkE 6k8IIIk8
ker Casillas has been relegaled lo
backu goalkeeer al Real Madrid in
lhe league, bul lhe Sain calain was
slellar in leading his club lo lhe Coa
del Rey and Chamions League
lilles. ho layer
has made as
many aear
ances or
Sai n as
C a s i l l a s ,
who will be al
hi s ei ghlh
major chami
onshi, including
our world Cus.
XkVI hEhkhEZ
Al 84, lhis could surely be Xavi
hernande/'s lasl world Cu.
Sain's key midield navigalor
has soken aboul his desire lo
lead lhe leam in Soulh
America, and il is hard lo imag
ine Xavi ailing lo be one o lhe
dierencemakers in lhe lourna
menl, esecially when molivaled.
Much o Sain's lay is direcled o
his bool, and much o
Sain's success over
lhe asl six years can
be allribuled lo his
abilily lo sel lhe lemo o a malch.
8EI kM8
0nly 27, Sergio Ramos has already
made 115 aearances or lhe nalion
al leam. And wilh Carles Fuyol gone,
lhe Real Madrid cenler back is lhe nal
ural successor lo lead lhe leam rom
lhe back.
while leam
male 0erard
Fique may
be more
alluned lo a
"sweeer"
role o car
rying lhe ball orward, Ramos has
been slellar in lhe cenlreo deense
where his seed, si/e and abilily lo
read lhe game means he rarely gels
beal. while much o lhe lalk o Sain's
success surrounds lhe midield, lhe
deense has nol conceded a goal in lhe
knockoul slages o lhe asl lwo
Euroean Chamionshis and lhe
world Cu - a san o 1O games.
khE8 IhIE8Tk
Sain's weallh o midield lalenl is a
key dierencemaker or lhe world
chamions, and Andres niesla is a key
cog in lhal engine. niesla, who
scored in lhe 11Glh minule
lo give Sain ils irsl world
Cu lille our years ago,
has had a subdued sea
son al Barcelona wilh
occasional lashes o bril
liance. Bul he seems lo
lurn il on or Sain,
when he normally
roves lo be a key
layer in unlock
ing deenses lhal
lend lo slack lhe
area and slay
behind lhe ball.
kF
W A T C H O U T F O R
TEAM: SPAN
6k6h: vicenle 0el Bosque
wC aearances 18
Tilles 1
FFA ranking 1
l| |+li|+|
X+1i |||+|J
Paris: Argenline inlernalional
and Barca slar IioneI Messi has
joined a global camaign,
dubbed (#TurnBackCrime),
launched by lhe nlerol lo raise
awareness aboul lhe dangers o
crime. The 2Gyearold
Argenline layer joins aclion slar
Jackie Chan, who was
announced as lhe camaign's
irsl ambassador, in raising
eole's awareness, reorls EFE.
"Messi is known lhe world over
as one o lhe grealesl layers o
all lime and his suorls or lhe hTERF0L Turn Back Crime camaign shows
his commilmenl lo air lay bolh on and o lhe ilch," said hTERF0L
secrelary general Ronald hoble, according lo lhe organisalion's oicial
websile. "we hoe lhal his suorl or lhe camaign will encourage more
eole around lhe world lo join us and say, logelher we can lurn back crime,"
hoble added.
l|+l] A|J|+ Pi|lu +||i1 |u| || wu|lJ Cup AP
A Ju W+|i| + +|||| |||li| || ||] u| A|||i|+
|+|iu|+l u| (u+J i| Bu|u Ai|, A|||i|+ AP
They are lhe world chamions and wilh il avouriles lo win lhe world
Cu. lhey lay lo lheir olenlial, a lilledeense isn'l very ar.
KRShhARAJ Sh0h JASAhA lells you aboul a henomenon lhis
summer known as Sain
Claudio Marohisio
Plays or taly
he likes lo conuse oonenls wilh his double oolwork
which is walchworlhy. Bul whal is also worlh a STZW^
is his holo shools or sorls maga/ines. The slylish
deender admils he adores lhe camera.
kor Casillas
Plays or Spain
As hol a goalie can gel lhis wC 2O14,
Casillas is anolher celebrily who is
smillen wilh his new born boy. "l's lhe
mosl moving momenl o my lie. he is
lhe mosl desired lhing," he lweeled.
Olivior Giroud
Plays or Franoo
The dashing slriker is known or his moves on lhe
ield and o il as well. Allhough he kees gelling
clicked by models in his rivale lime, 0iroud insisls
he is a one lady's man!
David Luiz
Plays or Brazil
They say his hair gives him an edge over his com
elilors bul Lui/ believes il only us his oomh ac
lor. The ocused Lui/ also wenl or a lhorough leelh
checku beore lhe big lournamenl.
You shoul oul loud when lhe oolball lands al lheir eel, squeal when an oonenl ouls on lhem,
go cra/y when lhey slrike a goal and brealhe heavy when lhey eel dejecled. Such is lhe aura lhal
lhese men/boys carry when lhey sle inlo lhe ield. Suh0AY F0hEER icks oul a ew men who
u lhe anle everylime lhey make a move
NEW DELH SUNDAY JUNE 8, 2014
ll's rol jusl aooul looloa||.
ll as rever oeer. ll |s
aooul le slrergl ard
oeaul] ol le rer l|gl|rg
lor le coveled lrop].
Te] are a de||gl lo Walc
or le l|e|d. l |ove er a||
- Jerr|ler Lopez
6961 G_b\T 3e` C`USYQ\
Pobin van Porsio
Plays or Nothorlands
The Calain o lhe leam, Fersie has a
lhing or colours and slyle. According
lo reorls, he doesn'l like lo be casual
aboul his dressing sense. Fersie is also
inlo malching accessories.
Juan Mata
Plays or Spain
when he allacks, Mala sels your ulse
racing. Bul lhe humble 2Gyearold
unmarried oolballer conessed lhal lhe
ride lo Manchesler was very emolional
as he was lraveling wilh his arenls.
Yoann Gourou
Plays or Franoo
There is no sloing lhis allacking mid
ielder whose anlics have been com
ared lo Zidane. Bul 0ourcu is nol lel
ling anylhing ruin his wC momenl. '
am here lo enjoy,' he lweeled.
Gerard Pique
Plays or Spain
ashing renIerbark and 8arreIona's
sIar, Fique goI inIo every gossip
mag aIIer he married 37yearoId
8hakira. 8uI mommy IeIIs you Ihe
guy is a handson daddy. "he
rhanges diapers; enjoys baIhing
him. ThaI's a reaI heIp Ior me,
8hakira IoId abouI Fique rerenIIy.
6ooI daddy meanWhiIe is Iooking Ior
a speriaI signage Io dediraIe a goaI
Io his baby!
Ikh8 hEw 0ELh
F
ootball fanatic John Abraham is ready and steady to
make the country live the magic of the 2014 FIFA
World Cup. The actor-producer, who is doing a film
based on the sport and has even invested in a football fran-
chise, believes the fever for the game will scale new heights
once Indian football finds its hero.
One sporting hero can totally change the fabric of a
sport in a country. For example, in tennis,
it was Sania Mirza, or for badminton, a
Saina Nehwal and much before her,
Prakash Padukone...look at what Tiger
Woods did to golf in the world. I think
Indian football requires that one
hero, John says. Bhaichung
Bhutia nearly made it there, but
we need one hero. The minute
we get that hero, watch foot-
ball change in this country.
It will take time, but it will
change, the multi-faceted
talent says who has
been roped in by
sports and enter-
tainment channel Sony
SIX as the 2014 FIFA World Cup
brand ambassador in India.
John grew up watching
Argentine footballer Diego
Maradonas skilful play thanks to his
father, who woke him up early
morning to catch up on football
matches. He started playing himself,
so much so that he now says: I would
have played for India, but I had to make
a choice between football and MBA.
But here, at 41, he is living his child-
hood passion via different ways. Apart
from widely promoting the World Cup
here, he has bought the Guwahati fran-
chise of the Indian Super League.
'Ia4Iaa f00thaII
aee4s a her0'
elf
An
selfie
called
S
o, even Artificial Intelligence
(AI) has developed an emotional
quotient or at least a degree of
self-awareness about its power.
This is not a script for Hollywoods
next sci-fi film, but the Mars
Rovers pictures of itself which NASA is
circulating widely.
Elephants, too, have become self-con-
scious. Last week, naturalists went gaga over a
calf who miraculously snapped itself by press-
ing the button of a camera phone that had
mistakenly fallen into its enclosure in the UK
after a tourist lost balance. Even if accidental,
the worlds first elfie has now gone viral.
And soaring high in the spirit of The
Fountainhead, humans are measuring their
conquest physical, metaphorical and spir-
itual by taking selfies atop our earthly
and man-made heights. Photographer Lee
Thompson, who is documenting the
progress of the FIFA world cup at Rio,
decided to have his moment of spiritual
ascension by getting up, close and personal
with the Christ the Redeemer statue. What
we got was an amazing worldview, of look-
ing at creation down below sitting on the
shoulders of Christ himself. The question is
who indeed needs redemption after such a
vainglorious moment? One who has got rid
of even vestigial humility.
Are we so enchanted by our own reflec-
tion than reality itself that we are ushering in
our own catastrophe? Or is this self-preaching
a way to rebuild identities in a world of ano-
dyne flatness? It is easy to dismiss the selfie
phenomenon as a frill and a fad, a trivial pur-
suit, one which has supplanted fashion itself
as the new style statement. But can one dis-
count its scope in our lives, society, economy
and polity? According to a latest survey, the
frequency of the use of the word selfie has
increased by 17,000 per cent over the past
year. Surely this is not just self-obsession
pushed to ridiculous extremes; it clearly has
emerged as the most potent force of self-
expression and a wider social acceptance by
virtue of its shareability.
>5G C?395D1< @B9C=
For centuries, the human being has been con-
trolling the way he wants to project himself to
the world. Selfies are just an egotistical extreme
of this basic tendency. At its best, it is about
overt self-confidence; at its worst it is about hid-
ing low self-esteem.
Psychologist Nikhil Raheja explains how
the selfie is astride the cusp of vanity and per-
sonality. People keep changing their DPs (dis-
play pictures) on Facebook and WhatsApp, sort
of reinventing their boring lives and expecting
people to appreciate them. They desperately
seek the approval of others, which tends to
affect their psychological health, he says.
The desperation with which the selfie-taker
seeks the approval of other people on a social
networking site, in the form of likes and com-
ments, is an outrageous indicator of the prevail-
ing low self-esteem in a society that is being
increasingly plateaued out by homogeneity. The
obsession with the self is gradually turning into
an epidemic, likely to head towards a culmina-
tion akin to that of Narcissus.
Self-regard and self-esteem have gone for a
toss. The response received on selfies now has
the power to determine whether you will have a
good or bad day, never mind your other
achievements. For instance, if you see 100 likes
on your picture, you are likely to begin your
day on a happy note. But only 20 likes might
be a spoiler. People are ready to throw away a
particular outfit or never repeat a hairdo if
they do not receive enough appreciation, says
Dr Raheja, who has been analysing behavioural
patterns of practitioners.
A behemoth acknowledgment certainly
raises self-esteem but one must not forget the
disastrous repercussions a lukewarm response
might have. A positive response to a selfie
might satiate the urge of being accepted to a
certain extent, but it can never boost self-con-
fidence. The social platforms where individu-
als seek acceptance make for a pseudo make-
believe world where they only receive instant
gratification from the people they remotely
know. Failing to receive a satisfactory
response on a selfie, however, might result in
shattered self-esteem and even lead to depres-
sion, explains Dr Raheja.
Selfies are not bad. All of us, at some point
or the other, have taken pictures of ourselves
and circulated them among our close friends,
sharing experiences and emotions. But they
should not become a parameter for human
existence, he adds.
Historically, self-portraits have been the
personal markers of those having arrived in
society, truthful enough to hide the blemishes.
The royalty graduated from paintings to pho-
tography, wearing their finest and looking their
best, hoping to get an edge over others by being
the odd one out. Explaining contemporary
echoes, Dr Raheja says, Considering that we
live in a dynamic world, people continue to be
obsessed but they want to do it in a slightly dif-
ferent way. An aberration always attracts more
attention than routine, and selfies began as an
aberration. Then it turned into a tool of self-
appraisal and finally became self-consuming.
Selfies, therefore, have become our individ-
ual way of story-telling in a glut of globalised
emotions. Sometimes they are raw and bold, like
the intense privacy series on beds, bathrooms,
warts and moles; sometimes abstract, like a
series on hands and feet as an impersonal exten-
sion of our personal self, some extravagant, like
positioning ourself against backdrops of what
defines ultra living, cars, travels, fashion and
restaurants, and some humorous ones like the
fish-pout and the by now ubiquitous duck-face.
But the overstatement of ideas has led to a bee-
hive mimicry that has all but reduced the very
purpose of the selfie, to stand out among every-
body, not become every man. The crazier you
become, the next person you want to beat
becomes the craziest. Society, according to
noted sociologist, Dr TK Oommen, is, therefore,
feeding off a phenomenon that constantly
reminds you what you do not have. A selfie is
an indication of the craving for recognition,
born out of the sense of deprivation. We feel val-
ued when we put ourselves out there and some-
body responds. So, a selfie is a power tool in our
incomplete lives, giving us unrestrained freedom
to do what we want.
The selfie is a subtext of the democratic
grammar of social media. As Dr Oommen says,
traditional media has always been the hallmark
of recognition. For you to become a newsmak-
er, you need to get into some place of recogni-
tion. To walk into some place of recognition,
you need to be invited. And to be invited, you
need to be a person of substance. You cannot
participate unless somebody else is willing or
wanting you in. But when it comes to the social
media, which encapsulates the selfie, one does-
nt have to depend on anybody for an entry.
This non-dependency on societal qualifications
and easy ability to attract eyeballs, being liked
and commented upon is encouraging many to
come out fearlessly.
In that sense, selfies have empowered sub-
cultures and the marginalised, helping them
overcome their inhibitions and communicate
their point of view. Pictures, they say, tell a
thousand words and the selfie, therefore, is the
new free speech. Be it activism (a selfie series of
breast cancer survivors recently initiated a huge
fund-raising drive), celebrity management (self-
ies document our idols better than paparazzi
and encourage them to announce their inner
truth at times) or politicians (from US
President Barack Obama to our own Prime
Minister Narendra Modi), selfies have helped
them stay connected and make a potent state-
ment at the very microbial level.
D85 1BD9CDBI ?6 1> 9=175
The cultural impact of the selfie is now being
felt in the traditional arts as well. Alpesh Dave is
a modest artist based in Ahmedabad. He doesnt
speak much of English, leave aside its morphed
faddisms, but has been quick to catch societys
sudden obsession with the self . He spends up
to eight hours a day making self-portraits, using
a needle and thread on canvas. He has recently
delivered 10 self-portraits to buyers in Delhi
through an eminent art gallery. Be it mixed
media, watercolours or oil, the demand for self-
portraits once a preserve of the most privi-
leged is going up exponentially.
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