This image gives us an insight into how climate change is approached by a group of people in India. It is a brief glimpse into the conjunction of traditional beliefs and practices, and contemporary challenges. Although toxicity is not a clear theme in the image nor the annotation, we might surmise that toxicities are dealt with in similar ways. We are left wondering, what actions are being taken alongside these practices, which might rise to the challenges of toxicity?
The image is a found image, taken from a news website. The image is carefully cropped, so that the 'trending stories' sidebar is included. The composition therefore encourages distraction away from the main article, towards other things happening simultaneously. The aesthetic is a kind of popular culture aesthetic, which evokes the mechanical response of clicking through, exploring new articles, and not staying for long in one place.
I would like to learn more about the importance of ritual in the face of major climate-related events, and the specific ritual that is being performed here. I think this would give more insight into the awareness of climate change and actions performed by different people to combat or cope with change.
This found image from an online news source shows the importance of faith and ritual in India's climate change action and discourse. The ethnographic insight gleaned from this concerns how human traditions intersect with contemporary challenges, specifically in India. The sentiment I get from this image is hopelessness. The men posing for the camera - directing their attention away from the ritual - indicates a kind of non-commital to the issue at hand. This is supported by the ethnographer's decision to include the 'trending stories' sidebar, which distracts in a similar way to the camera.