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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Two: Travel Incongruities > Guard, City Palace, Jaipur, India, 2008
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21-MAR-2008

Guard, City Palace, Jaipur, India, 2008

The mixture of old and new, then and now, business and pleasure, will usually spark incongruous juxtapositions. In this case, a security guard, wearing a traditional turban, and surrounded by a historic palace, takes what appears to be an urgent cellular call.

Leica V-Lux 1
1/100s f/4.0 at 33.7mm iso100 full exif

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Phil Douglis18-Jun-2008 17:24
Soon this kind of an image will no longer be an incongruity, Jenene. It will be rare to see people in public who are not talking on a cell phone. And not just in India -- there are now more cellular numbers in the US than there are land line numbers. It was once considered boorish to carry on, at full volume, a phone conversation in public. People used to do it because they felt it made them look more important. Today, everyone does it and nobody seems to mind.
JSWaters18-Jun-2008 05:37
This is very interesting to me on a personal level. I resisted a cell phone back in the 90's because I'd always gotten along fine without one. Finally relented, and used it sparingly. Upon moving to Singapore in 1998, I was stunned to see the level of cell phone use all around me - and there was no hesitation to have a private conversation or excuse oneself from a current one. I'm not casting stones...I think the advent of instant connection was something new in the Asian Continent, being previously unreliable - now, every call was an urgent call. Once went to a beautiful and traditional Indian wedding - all prominent family members were on the stage surrounding the bride and groom - all were answering their cell phones whenever they rang during the ceremony. A shock to be sure :-)
Jenene
Phil Douglis27-Apr-2008 06:53
Your image is very much in the spirit of this one, Tim. It is not unusual to even spot a guy driving a camel cart talking on a cell phone in India. I saw one, but just missed the shot. This one will have to suffice.
Tim May26-Apr-2008 20:41
I am reminded of my image of the monk in Laos with the walkman earphones: http://www.pbase.com/mityam/image/40378062 Traditional and modern make for an interesting mix.
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