Who cares for disproportionately pouted selfies now when we can don countless avatar guises in seconds? For almost a month, I resisted social media tactics from entrapping me in avatar-making sites, as they sprang up unabashedly while swiping the mobile screen. Once alive, they refuse to die. So, I finally succumbed to wishfulness and curiosity and opened the doors to embrace my new avatar.
Gaping at my cousin and friends’ artificial intelligence-delivered images as brides, “desi blond” figures, sportswomen, Barbie dolls, and jacket-borne bikers, looking down at me from social media platforms, was allure enough for a straight-faced pony-tailed teacher, hungry for adventure. Moreover, I told myself it was time to play hide and seek with myself. Perhaps the avatars will unravel my charisma and present it to the world. “Can they rescue me from the bin ‘forgettable’ and churn out something remarkable?”
Reality has a penchant for taking a toll on human lives, making them forget the “who, what, where, why, and how” of existence. But those avatar people are doing a fantastic job, saving us from the condemnation of life-long philosophising on what to make of ourselves and our lives. Having curated some readymade choices by sneaking up on our social media handles, they offer us a “new you!” Let the avatars be the change we want to see.
I was flabbergasted at my friend’s stunning avatar and makeover in a red bridal sari, flawless skin, and finely sculpted features that put the greatest painters, artists, and sculptors down history to shame. I saw her resurrection as one who smiled with brilliant, hypnotising eyes and velvety skin. Tresses flowed. Nothing flawed. What finally broke the waters was the stunning avatar of my sister, winking from a distance, mischievously hooting. I remembered how she would tell on me as a child to bring me some good spanking from mom. It seems the avatar furthered her powers.
I began scrolling, looking for a perfect avatar to represent this bundle of chaos — teacher, wife, mother, dreamer, rebel, wanderer, all in one. I scrolled for the choicest and trendiest avatar. First appeared the bridal avatars, in jaw-dropping Kanjeevarams and jasmine-adorned braids. The minutest of sensual details and ensemble were taken care of. This must pose a significant challenge to real-world brides, with make-up and photographers worth a fortune.
I wondered and regretted cutting a hole in my husband’s wallet and buying glamorous saris and lehengas for weddings. These avatars give everything for free. But then, I need not have gone to flashy wedding destinations, as the AI apps and games also take care of them. A famous socialite and her cook accidentally donned the same avatar and posted “accidentally” on media on the same day. Or was it an accident? A toast to the historic social revolution of the century!
Within minutes, I was done with my bridal avatar, in which my eyes looked puffy and strained and gave in a drooping jawline. I told myself to stop worrying about the snakes and ladders of life. But even then, I was disappointed in the AI-birthed avatars, for they, as everyone else, failed to look beyond the temporal puffiness of eyes and unravel the real me.
Surprisingly, instead of shutting off, I explored further. Humankind is synonymous with hope. And forgetful, too. I immersed myself in my superwoman avatar on a bike, with goggles and giggles. In some, I wore cowboy hats and boots; in others, I caressed leather jackets. I had the liberty to choose from an assortment of hair colours.
I particularly loved an avatar straddled across a bike, looking up towards the sky. A rebel indeed! The game controllers prodded me to share the avatar on social media. I suddenly became conscious of the suitability of my chosen avatar’s choice of apparel. “This avatar’s appearance and dress does not suit my small-town, woman-next-door profile? The dress needs to be socially co-orded. What will everyone say?” So, hang on, avatar. You may be the world’s next wonder, but gender and norms mean serious business. You better go by roles and rules.
I scrolled on. A message popped. “ZZZ is playing Avatar now. Invite her to play with you!” How lonely life gets, with hardly any time or energy to meet over warm lunches and joy-filled dinners! Online presence is enough to break the ice, nay, icebergs. I gaped at avatars of couples seemingly in love and families trying to hold hands. All that was needed to perfect relationships and patch them up (of course, on screen only) was to play avatar-avatar. Invite AI to create artificially generated mirages of picture-perfect homes and wholesome families.
The ones that stayed with me the longest were my traveller avatars. Soon, we were besties. With a leather suitcase in hand and a cross-body bag slung over the shoulder, I admired Pahalgam’s serenity, the Alps’ allure, the jumbled Eiffel Tower, the cobble-stoned Florence, the Brooklyn Bridge, and more. Was my hi-tech avatar communicating inner longings and desires or pushing me toward exploring the avatar within? Was the mind finally rising above matter?
I wondered if the avatars had the power to harm and heal. What if the avatars could make up for someone gone forever and heal those suffering separation and loss of loved ones? Could it fix their lives again so they can sing, laugh, and love each other? And fulfil promises? If not in the real world, then perhaps in the AI-created world, everything will be okay. We might grab the chance to “avatarise” our enemies on battlefields, embrace them, and make peace.
Life is just an avatar away.
alka28jain@gmail.com
