Many cultural spots and places of worship are leveraging online platforms to engage with people.
How does one experience culture during the lockdown? In this digital age, you may be watching a lot more TV, reading a lot more news or books on your phone or tablets, or even streaming videos through Facebook and OTT platforms like Netflix. And the remote capabilities of the internet are what many establishments – from cultural spaces to religious ones – are tapping into to keep their affairs going amid the lockdown. Socialising online The use of video conferencing software such as Zoom has become a go-to during this period of self-isolating. For those with access, it is now common to have video conference calls during the lockdown, whether with work, classmates, or friends. Going against the grain, as many other businesses count their losses, Zoom has had an unprecedented growth due to the lockdown. READ: Video conferencing app Zoom tops download charts in February and March: Report However, it may not be everyone’s cup of tea to operate platforms like Zoom. So, some public spaces have stuck to the YouTube and Facebook live options to invite people to join events that cannot be physically attended. Several artists – including Coldplay, Hozier, Lindsey Sterling – have performed at-home concerts on Instagram or YouTube live, where people could send in requests, and they could talk to their fans. Towards the end of March, Instagram announced a Live in your Living Room feature, which was a virtual music festival featuring many Indian artists like Monica Dogra and Arjun Kanuno. Cultural spaces coming online In Bengaluru, a local bookstore and cafe, Champaca, which often has speaking and book events at their space, decided to hop on to Zoom to have a themed speaking event on Sunday. Journalist-author Rohini Mohan spoke on the topic, ‘Writing as an act of hope’. “I write to document something, in the hope that there is justice in the future. I write to do something, to give something for my hands and legs to do while something is happening,” she said. She spoke for about half an hour and then took questions about being a writer, and about her books. It was interesting to see how the platform was being used to its maximum potential: Everyone got emails about the event, and once it started, about 40 people logged in. Everyone, except for the speakers, was muted until the end, when they asked questions. The listeners who tuned in were asked to use the virtual ‘raise hands’ option, so they could be unmuted, or they typed the question into the Zoom group chat which Rohini then answered. The Bengaluru International Centre (BIC), an important cultural space in the city, has also decided to take some discussions online. Their website announced that the centre is closed until May 31, 2020. However, the managers are using YouTube livestream as well, and are saving their sessions so that people can access them whenever they want. On platforms like BookMyShow, you can now find theatre performances and concerts, that you can register for free, and watch from the comfort of your home as well. Religious institutions leveraging digital platforms Churches across the world are closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent large gatherings. South Korea’s Patient 31, for instance, reportedly became the first of a fringe church in the country called Shincheonji, to be infected with COVID-19. Within a month of her diagnosis, thousands who were connected to the church tested positive for the virus. Churches became hesitant to open their doors to worshippers early on, even before the lockdown was announced. This year's Easter season falls in the first two weeks of April: right in the middle of the national lockdown. While religious centres look to avoid large crowds, many pressed on to provide online celebrations for devotees. The pastors of one of Bengaluru’s largest churches, St Mark’s Cathedral, posted a video of a pre-recorded Palm Sunday message on YouTube. In Rome, the Vatican church also streamed their Palm Sunday service through YouTube with a sparse gathering of about a dozen people in the church, after the pope cancelled the in-person service to the public. Thousands of people watched the livestream, and more are expected to stream the sermon on Good Friday and Easter Sunday. The video description for Sunday’s livestream was as follows: “Pope Francis presides over a Mass at 5 pm (Manila time) on Palm Sunday, April 5, in Vatican City, without the physical presence of the faithful due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.” In another example, the Nanjangud “Rathothsava of Srikanteshwara Swamy temple” in Mysuru, a chariot festival, which usually sees thousands of devotees attending every year, also had to have a low-key observance of the event. The city of Nanjangud in Mysuru district has reported a localised cluster of coronavirus cases, the exact source of which not been found yet. This year, the temple priests of Srikanteshwara temple pulled a mini chariot early morning of the festival, and did not gather a crowd. Follow @XpressBengaluru Every year lakhs of people attend the annual & age old Rathotsava at Nanjangudu. This year due to lockdown, srikanteshwara temple authority symbolically pulled mini chariot in the early morning .@NewIndianXpress @santwana99 @Tejasvi_Surya @mepratap pic.twitter.com/VoTJnWSY1t — TNIE Karnataka (@XpressBengaluru) April 4, 2020 Such steps are being taken even in Islam. The Friday sermons in mosques have been disallowed, and in many places, have moved online. It’s interesting to note that both the religious events, whether the temple or church, were carried out like they would previously: one with chanting of the shlokas and pulling the deity’s chariot through the city, and the other with the playing of the hymns and the declaration of the sermon as usual. The only difference is the lack of the followers being physically present.
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