Modern technology has given us the power to transform our appearances into the best version of ourselves. Blemishes disappear, hair turns blacker, and faces are brightened — filters can take care of every imperfection. Haven’t we walked past the anonymous social media friend, simply because they seemed unrecognisable in their own skin?
Yet, there is one photograph that could make us unidentifiable even to ourselves and, ironically, it is the very image meant to prove who we are. The Aadhaar card photograph! Let’s be honest. How many times have we squirmed with embarrassment while producing it? And how often has the person checking our identification looked back with suspicion? The photograph is supposed to establish who we are, but more often than not, it seems to make us question ourselves.
Now imagine the same distorted image of yourself being put out there for public display. Squirming a little more, isn’t it? At least we should be grateful for small mercies that such identity proofs can be tucked away in a wallet. A public sculpture, on the other hand, has nowhere to hide. A few months ago, a sculpture of Bengal’s legendary actor, Uttam Kumar, was unveiled to mark his death anniversary. Imagine the shock when the statue was found to bear little resemblance to the star and looked rather comical! The bust came in for heavy criticism with the blame being placed on low budgets, impossible deadlines, and a conspicuous lack of professional artistic guidance. No matter the intention, somewhere between the idea and its execution, resemblance seems to have been lost in translation.
Unfortunately, it is Mahatma Gandhi who has had to put up with the most number of such artistic goof-ups. Last year, his statue was inaugurated in Guruvayur. When it was unveiled, the eager crowd was left stunned. The sculpture had no likeness to the Mahatma, except for the round glasses and the walking stick — two props that apparently were considered sufficient enough. A complaint was subsequently filed with the Collector, calling it an insult to the great man. Another Gandhi statue in Kerala faced a similar backlash in 2015. Public outrage erupted when the curtains were drawn at the inauguration of a sculpture in front of the Panchayat office in Idukki, revealing a statue that did not even look remotely like him. After considerable public disapproval, the poorly sculpted statue was covered up in the hope for better days.
Even renowned artists have not been spared the wrath of controversy. When a Gandhi sculpture was created in 1970 by one of India’s celebrated modernist sculptors, Ramkinkar Baij, for the Gandhi Mandap in Guwahati, it was lauded for its unconventional style. Years later, however, in 2017, the Assam government proposed demolishing it, calling it a distorted image. The proposal triggered immediate nationwide condemnation. Politicians were criticised for failing to understand the value of Baij’s modernist approach. The demolition plans were eventually dropped.
So, the next time you turn red-faced with embarrassment while producing your ID card, spare a thought for all those noble souls who have had to live with their own twisted likenesses in public, long after they have left the world.