TITLE - There is no need for a hundred bees to get a hundred flowers to bloom
SIZE - 36'' x 48''
MEDIUM - Oil on canvas
YEAR – 2025
IMAGE COURTESY TO KETAKI SARPOTDAR
There is no need of hundred bees to make a hundred flowers to bloom.
‘’The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge’’ -Stephen Howking
One day, I received a WhatsApp message from my father about a particular myth about a bird known as Chatak and its seasonal behaviour, accompanied by a photograph of that bird. At the time, I told him, "Please do not send this to anyone else because it's a false information." However, over the years, I received the same message from different sources at various times. It was surprising to see; sometimes the same person had sent it again and again over the years.
Although this may seem like a small incident, it prompted me to reflect on how information is shared in today's world and the psychology behind each individual's mind-set during this process. My work, “There is no need for a hundred bees to make a hundred flowers bloom,” is based on this concept of disseminating information.
The main focus of the painting is the depiction of different generations of people in a room playing a game called KANGOSHTI in Marathi, or CHINESE WHISPER. I used the entire process of playing this game as a metaphor to illustrate the concept of passing information. In this game, the message gets modified not only by misperception but also intentionally from person to person, highlighting how easily information can be distorted.
Due to economic challenges, most people’s minds are already drained due to their own life's misery. At the same time, people today consume five times more information daily than before, represented in the painting by a vase abundantly filled with both real and artificial flowers. We are inundated with news notifications, messages, breaking news, opinions, and advertisements that follow us at every moment. The question remains: Is our brain equipped to handle this overwhelming influx of information? When the brain becomes overwhelmed, it often takes shortcuts, opting for simplicity over complexity and popularity over rational thought. These psychological phenomena can lead to deindividualization, where individuals lose their sense of self and simply follow the crowd. Like an incident that took place in Maudaha, where the local community mistakenly believed that a newly constructed public toilet was a temple. This misunderstanding arose because of the building's saffron color and its shape, which led people to offer prayers and make offerings there for an entire year. To prevent any further misconceptions, the building was eventually repainted pink.
In the process of transmitting information or knowledge, not everyone has a critical point of view. Many people are also afraid to express differing opinions, especially if it challenges their peers or group. This fear of going against the grain requires courage. Cognitive biases can also push individuals toward conformity; rather than thinking critically, they seek validation from others, particularly from peer influences. When people stop thinking for themselves, they become vulnerable. As Noam Chomsky once said, “When people are trained to consume information without questioning, to agree without understanding, they become easy to manage and even easier to deceive.” This raises an important question: who benefits when the population stops thinking for itself? Perhaps it is the companies that profit from our addiction to mindless content. Our engagement with numerous apps and social platforms diverts our attention, and these companies thrive on our endless scrolling and screen time.
In recent years, 24-hour news channels and podcasts have gained immense popularity. This rise has been accompanied by increasing cognitive biases, which some use to manipulate information over time. On these platforms, certain individuals propagate their ideologies using false information to enhance their popularity and gain personal benefits. Unfortunately, these platforms often broadcast these misleading claims without questioning their dubious and unreliable origins, all in the pursuit of views, likes, and high television ratings (TRP). This situation is reminiscent of the "woozle effect" phenomenon, where widely held public opinions may be misinformed. Subsequently, this same popular opinion is used by various forces and authorities to promote their own agendas.
Herd psychology can be beneficial for those in positions of authority, as it enables them to manipulate information and distort institutional knowledge to shape public opinion. Such manipulation can further their own beliefs and promote their ideologies. For example, the current Indian government has removed chapters on the Theory of Evolution from the 10th-grade science curriculum and selectively emphasized certain aspects of history related to the Mughals, which they consider more significant.