‘BOMBAY SHADOWS’ by Vritika Lalwani

Thesis Abstract:

Everyone today seems to be having a crisis because of a stressful day, heartache or chipped nails, but what are these crises, and why is today’s generation using the word so recklessly, to an extent that a series of recurring crises are finally forcing one to throw their hands in the air and claim that they’re suffering from an Existential Crisis.

On the observations made for my thesis, I’ve studied what precisely Existentialism is— both in terms of the classical philosophy and modern slang. Hence my hypothesis aims at exploring modern day Existentialism amongst a group that is poised to meet the ‘real world’ challenges and see how they cope or crumble in the face of reality. It also involves studying the young adult’s critical analysis of their own thoughts that reflect their choices, assumptions, beliefs, morals and values which could be proliferating their stress along with the method of their coping, if any. From the classical sense, Existentialism is not so applicable to Millennials today thus their crises is based more on personal identity, expressed through exaggerated grumbling.

However, it is possible that the said problem may genuinely be a cause for concern and could set the stage for a new type of Existential feeling. The obsession with technology and social media has let these Millennials find solace through collective humor, surprisingly close to classical theory, albeit on a new medium

Credit- Vritika Lalwani