Graphic Reflections

This graphic tries to portray the ‘weight’ India’s billion strong (and growing) population exerts on the development process of the country. To develop the country or to ‘uplift’ such a huge population, India’s development process will have to be that much stronger, weightier and tougher.

Up till a few years ago in North India (from my experience of living in the cities of New Delhi and Jaipur), winters used to start from late October or early November and continue well into March. Winters here now start late in November and end as early as last week of February. The reason: Global Warming? Increasing vehicular and industrial emissions? Loss of trees? Have you felt the same in your area, have winters shrunk?

A very direct graphic to depict ‘Sustainable Development’. A country’s development (dictionary meaning: to grow, become more mature, advanced, or elaborate) process is only justified if it respects, protects and nurtures the natural environment—on which depends the existence of all life forms including Man.

Is India’s population eating up the country is the question this graphic (based on the famous computer game Pac-Man) tries to ask. While many say India’s workforce will be younger than China’s in the next few decades (right now China is world’s fastest growing major economy) and give China a run for its money, a few relevant questions that arise is ones mind are: will the (already crumbling) infrastructure in Indian cities be able to cope up with the demands of a rising polulation? Will India’s already-under-pressure natural resources be able to sustain the requirements of a mega population? And most importantly, which socie-economic classes do most current newborns in India belong to, what kind of education and healthcare are they likely to receive and how likely are they to get a piece of the economic growth pie?

This graphic is based on a pretty common upper and middle class notion in India that stereotypes poor people as thieves. Money or item of even small value missing or misplaced is considered to have been stolen by a known/unknown poor. It is not difficult to see that an overwhelming majority of poor people are not thieves and that a lot of them do menial tasks, often in inhuman conditions, to earn their bread. Those willing to leave aside their egos can seek inspiration from the lives of poor and see in them presence of a great many values. By peering into the lives of the poor one can sometimes see justification for their acts or behaviour.

Religious clashes deface and destabilise the country is what this graphic (based on the Gujarat riots of 2002) tries to portray. No religion teaches hatred, senseless destruction or killing; riots are often fuelled by sly political agendas and usually result in loss of life, peace and property among other things. Riots are almost always a setback to the development process.

One sometimes wonders if a big reason for world peace was development of the nuclear bomb, more strategic and less a tactical weapon, a deterrent that prevents one nation from attacking another thanks to the MAD (Mutual Assured Destruction) doctrine. The ultimate weapon of destruction perhaps ended up becoming the ultimate weapon of peace.

Though most people link explosion of a nuclear bomb to the horrors of Hiroshima, it is interesting to know that about 390 Nuclear Bombs were exploded above the Earth’s ground level between 1951 and 1963 alone—which—some say, exposed the entire population of our world to radioactivity!

We have enough firepower to destroy mother earth several times over. This grapic attempts to portray the same, though in an indirect manner. For the past few decades, the amount spent on weaponisation far outweighs the amount spent on providing food, clothing, shelter, healthcare and education for a majority of the world’s needy population. Man’s most dangerous enemy is Man himself, earth’s most dangerous enemy also seems to be man!

Originally created for a group exhibition of posters titled ‘Invasions’ (held at Palm Court, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, in May 2003), this, somewhat negative looking graphic attempts to question modernisation. Development today is often confused with modernisation and a western, resource intensive lifestyle does not necessarily raise peoples standard of living. For a country like India to ‘develop’, it is perhaps more important for its people to have clean air to breathe, a healthy living environment, food, clothing and shelter, and access to educational and healthcare facilities than to adopt western style life and give up age-old, simple and sustainable ways of living. A debatable point

A typographical pun on unmarked speed breakers, that are so common on Indian roads. There seems to be no standard for making speed breakers (or speed bumps) in India and a lot of them are constructed at will by colonies, villages, institutions, and even individual houses. Many of these (almost invisible speed breakers) pose danger especially to two wheelers at night and some even surprise people walking on the streets!