Big brother is watching us !

Image courtesy : Free CCTV dome camera clip art

Recently there was theft of a bicycle in the building of my residence.The security guards posted at gate denied having seen anybody taking away any bicycle.The owner claimed it was new & produced the bill as proof .The matter ended, when the security guard on duty, was penalized & cost of bicycle recovered from his salary.One may wonder if the security guard receives a pay, from which the cost of a bicycle can be recovered.Maybe, the cost was recovered in installments ! There is another gate in the compound from where the bicycle could have been  delivered outside & that gate is not manned.Yet all this was never looked into as the cycle owner was cross that his cycle was stolen.

Another fall out of this theft has been installment of closed circuit televisions in the lifts ,at the  three entrances to the building,etc.All these  CCTVs are keeping a close watch on   the residents,visitors,workers like sweepers,salesmen,guests etal who ever enters the gates ! In many housing complexes,there are cameras installed in each flat to screen potential accused  ! 

After being watched by CCTVs in airports,ATMs,bank,railway stations,,shops,CCTVs have come so close ! Close to homes,I mean ! This is just like the future predicted by George Orwell in his novel 1984 wherein all individuals are being closely monitored by the State vide cameras.

And believe me ,we are being told, it is all for our benefit /s  ! Really ? The CCTV footage of the man, who brutally assaulted the woman at the ATM in Bangalore is there for all to see.The accused is still at large ! 

It is doubtful if CCTV footage of Preeti Rathi's attacker was caught due to CCTV footage at the Bandra terminus as it was reported to be unclear ! The woman died after struggling for life, in a city hospital.

The banks have now decided to limit the number of transactions  at ATMs   to five in a month ! That means just  five snaps  in a month ! This was coming.as a purported solution to prevent attacks on wannabe victims in isolated ATMs.This means just five photos  at Bank ATMs in a month  !  No wonder,the number of selfies on social networking sites has gone up exponentially !

We all are celebrities now.Whatever we do, is being recorded by cameras  at all places...Airports,ATMs,Banks,Bus Stops,Lifts,Offices,Railways stations,Shops,Traffic Signals & all this, is believe it or not ,for our safety & security ! From whom ? From ourselves,obviously since this is the age of mistrust ! This hardly makes us behave .In fact ,we have worsened...since we are being watched,we behave most atrociously & get away with it ! Just like the celebs ! 

We must cooperate in this exercise of  suspecting each other! This is just like Big Boss except, that all are winners at losing their privacy ! Very soon ,all these CCTVs can be linked with each other in one pan India grid .Hence,George Orwell's 1984 is going to get REAL ! 

Selfie was one of the most popular words of the year which went by.Just shows how much self centered & obsessed we all are ! Despite being under constant surveillance,we keep clicking ourselves & display it to the world at large ! 

Not only are we being followed, as we go about our mundane daily chores,we are being mobbed for our autographs & other details ! In the banks, we are asked for our identity, our signatures,residence proof ,income proof ,etal. Ditto for ATM cards,credit cards,telephone connections,electricity,,etc...in fact for each & everything.In fact ,it is called "KYC ": norms. It stands for "Know your customer " .Admirable indeed, except that customers learn about the bank,the ,the phone provider,the electricity company only after money has been paid .After that ,the wannabe consumer   wishes he or she  had never known them ! ......

 KYC is for all  customers-new as also   old ones as everything changes ! Yet, it is tedious to keep submitting KYC forms filled up on daily ,monthly & yearly basis ! And changes for the worse,the service that is sorry dis service by the banks s,insurance companies & the like .Our snaps are lapped up by all these service providers & that too autographed ones ! Product endorsements are the next stop for us ....actors,authors,models,sport stars,etal....beware ,we, the new age Stars have arrived !

MNCs like Colgate,Dove ,etc are using ordinary folks to promote their brands ! We never had it so good ,isn't it ? We are being paid for going public with our choices ! 

Very soon ,our voting is going to get public ! It will not be secret ballot any more ! CCTVs will show, who voted for whom ! Oops why CCTV,when there can be selfies by people  themselves casting their votes ? ! Selfie is  photo  by the self ,of the self, for the people ! Selfie is a natural progression of democracy  which is   by the people, of( f ) the people,  for the people !