non place

i was reading this book by marc auge-an introduction to the anthropology of super mordernity.the name may be suggestive of a boring complicated book but talks about a simple idea.people spend increasing amonts of time in soulless,impersonal places;motorways,airports,in front of cash machines,tv's,supermarkets etc. and these kind of places are referred to as non places where one tends to lose their identity.a place where an individual is connected in a uniform manner and no social life is possible. with the growth of airport terminals,train stations and commercial centres,we are losing our identity and concept of space.we owe this to the late capitalist experience.an individual or a traveller passes through these places without taking notice of placedness or lacality of the place,ie, he/she passes through an airport for example without actually experiencing them as places. within these spaces,the identity of a person is never an issue.the individual is same as anyone.these places suspend identities,relations,caste,creed,colour...it really doesn make a difference who you are. in such places individuals are reduced to solitude because social relations are minimal.these places minimize the familiar,the known and the recognizable.the most indicative of non places is the fact that there is no familiar face. everyone is doin their own thing.for eg;reading a book,checking tickets,buying groceries or staring into oblivion.we are directed through signs and symbols in such places.our identity is lost and we tend to follow man made instructions.i decided to get out of this structure and see all of this in a different light.and that was possible with me being behind the lens. it is probably one of my toughest projects coz i realised people are generally camera shy and with my bazooka sized camera and lens,it is a monumental task to capture these people without them taking notice of me or my camera.

Soundtrack Keywords marc auge introduction of anthropology super modernism airport people vivid india bangalore isolation identity directions planes