The word ‘Khud Pasand’ in Urdu means one in love with his own self. Its equivalent in the English dictionary is Narcissist, a person overly self- involved. Contrary to it, is an altruistic person, chivalrous, charitable and noble.

The present world seems to be divided into two categories-the ones who have the ‘milk of human kindness’ overflowing in their being and the ones fuelled by self-love.

The former are the introverts, shy, diffident or too refined to peddle their own self before the world at large. They are fiercely protective of their private moments and abhor the blasé attitude of the latter. Saying cheese into the camera fills them with dread and the result is a precious moment filled with frowning glory.The ones who care and share are the ones who hear the voice of their conscience. They are forever walking on the tightrope of emotions and surrendering before tradition, kowtowing before ‘Mummy –Papa ka sapna’. They have an opinion but would never voice it for the fear of hurting loved ones, friends, bosses, kids and even servants. They always dread public opinion and would keep their plans aside for the fear of criticism. They become helpless marionettes ; distancing themselves from their own desires which are even more carefully locked withi`n the recesses of their own heart than the precious yellow metal in a bank locker.

A term invented in 1839, used for a self taken picture, was coined as a selfie. Proclaiming ‘ I, me and my self ‘ as their motto , the self absorbed people serve as a portrait of our materialistic times. Through a selfie, they hang out on every available tech-space, on android phones and social networking sites. A selfie epitomizes an obese appetite for life, the camera reflecting the photographer’s own canvas, his own emotions, his own life archived digitally.

The selfie taker, on the other hand, is a robust hedonist; ‘eat , drink and keep clicking ’ his motto. Recording intimate history, the selfie clicker does not have the word privacy in his lexis. A compulsive obsessive disorder makes him flaunt the everyday clicked moment; a well cooked meal laid out in style, working out in a gym, buying or wearing a new dress, at a fancy eatery, at a wedding, gyrating to a frivolous song. Every event in life has to be captured, flashed instantly for it will become stale as another one is looming on the horizon.

Cynics might not approve of the binary division of the world between the selfless and the selfies but with the world getting younger, the technology getting cheaper and the spotlight on self becoming more intense;a debate will tilt heavily in favour of the latter.

The world is in a Selfiana mood.Click, shoot and frame thyself!!