Norah Takkekar
Not archived but lived with
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The older generation kept their pictures in thick, heavy books, brought out at family gatherings, embarrassing moments, proud ones, funny, sad, beautiful, all the emotions rushing at once. Families once knew exactly where photos lived, wedding pictures in the red album, baby photos in the blue one, and the holiday pictures in the small green album. Every shot was deliberate; film and space were limited. Memories lived on a shelf, bought out during special occasions. The younger generation makes memories ambient. Photo films on the cupboard, fridge magnets, scrapbooks, polaroid walls, custom mugs and lamps and key-chains. It’s a way of declaring that memory isn’t something you visit, it’s something you live with.
New age albums
“I have separate albums created for each event in my gallery catering to a specific person or theme like family, food, nature, etc. The highlights on instagram like college, events, pretty images of the sky and thousands of memories on snap which are completely random, anything I see has potential I just take a snap, it could be a painting, a car, literally anything.” says Aarohi Girap a eighteen year old from Panjim. Instagram posts and highlights store cherished memories whether it’s birthdays, trips, quiet moments, all crafted into a visual archive. Pinterest collects the most aesthetic pictures, a public gallery of taste and aspiration. Video recordings of hilarious moments, failed attempts, inside jokes are edited and uploaded on YouTube, meant for a close circle or quick watches that bring a small smile on a low day. “When I want to relive a moment, I immediately rush to my phone gallery (since it’s much easier than searching for a physical photo) and find a picture from that very moment which made me want to click a picture of it.” says Huda Naroo a nineteen year old student from Panjim. These digital archives form a scattered but deeply personal digital diary always available in your pocket.
Memories blended into everyday life
The younger generation seems to love decorating their rooms and belongings whether it’s adding stickers to their laptops or posters to their bedroom walls, putting up family pictures onto the fridge or changing their lock-screen display to a picture of their loved one. The younger generation loves to incorporate their loved memories into their daily lives, to remind them about their loved ones and be grateful to have them around. “I have preserved a scrap book which I love to decorate with photos from any event or even small hang-out with friends. I used to cut out vacation photographs and turn them into fridge magnets when I was a child.” says Huda.
Making memories the perfect gift
Rather than choosing generic, overused gift ideas, younger people today are gravitating toward personalized gifts that feel thoughtful. “If it is someone’s birthday, I do love to print pictures out and create like a scrap book, flow chart of all the beautiful memories we have shared” says Aarohi. Whether it’s a photo book filled with shared memories or bouquet filled with pictures of their cat, because it’s tailored to their taste or tells a story unique to their relationship, it becomes something the receiver is far more likely to hold onto and cherish for years to come. “I see customers choosing poloroids/ poloroid ring albums, personalised playing cards, magazines etc. At our business, poloroid prints are among the most popular products. Customers also enjoy photo frames and personalized magazines. I think personalised mugs, pillows, key-chains are also in trend from many years even resin products as many people love preserving thing/ memories of their love ones like family, pets and friends” says Sanjana Arolkar an eighteen year old student, who also owns a small gifting business based in Mapusa. “My customers say they want to make their friends and family feel like celebrities, because even celebrities give similar trendy gifts plus photo-frames have become very common and these ideas are unique. This is a good way of making their friend/family feel special.” Adds Sanjana
Not extinct just evolved
While most photos today are taken and stored on phones today, many people still do like to printing their favourite memories. Instead of sticking to traditional photo albums, people now prefer to print them in creative ways. “Even though most photos are stored digitally today, printed photographs have a special charm. People enjoy seeing their memories displayed around their home instead of hidden in the photo gallery.” adds Sanjana. The core instinct hasn’t changed. People still want to preserve, share, and revisit their favourite memories. The difference is that now, instead of one-size-fits-all albums, we have options that let the photo live the way it deserves to whether it’s on a wall, in a story, or in your hands, but with a lot more personality. Aarohi says “Digital is instant and more convenient as you select a date and scroll, and you will be able to view the pictures whereas physical is more personal and nostalgic, more special as you can flip through them.”
