A young man's suicide from Mumbai five-star, minutes after announcing it on social media, throws up the question -- what is the lure of legacy video, and what does it mean for those of us who watched it?
Arjun Bhardwaj's goodbye in the video, cigarette in hand. Illustration/Uday Mohite
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Student of Liberty High School, Hannah Baker has killed herself by slitting her wrists. As a suicide note, she leaves 13 tapes, which mention the 13 people responsible for her death. This is the premise of 13 Reasons Why, the Netflix series that is currently trending the world over. The show — which tackles homosexuality, slut shaming, bullying and rape — has been produced by pop star and actor Selena Gomez, and is based on a 2007 book of the same name by Jay Asher. In an interview, he said that he had initially thought of letting Hannah live, but then decided to kill her since it would then become a "cautionary tale".
Perhaps we should look at the death of 23-year-old Arjun Bhardwaj in similar light.
Last Monday afternoon, the third year BCom student of Vile Parle's Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies checked into a 19th floor room at Bandra's Taj Lands End, ordered wine and bacon pasta, and with a cigarette between his fingers began prepping for the end of his life. As the sun began to set on the Arabian Sea outside his window, Bhardwaj clicked it on his smartphone, immediately uploading it on Facebook, captioning it "a view to die for". How literal it was did not seem obvious to his many Facebook friends, who in the next minute received a notification that Bhardwaj was going live on Facebook with a video titled, 'A tutorial on how to commit suicide'. The Bandra five-star was the location tag.
Also read: Shocking data! Arjun Bhardwaj not an exception, a student commits suicide every hour in India
Over the next 1.5 minutes, dressed in the hotel's bathrobe, Bhardwaj, presumably high on wine which he takes a swig of now and then, proceeds to describe the five steps to killing oneself — getting drunk, writing suicide notes [cops found seven notes], ordering delish eats — all in an indifferent, matter-of-fact way. He then smiles at the camera, and says, "See you on the other side". Here's where the live video ends.
Bhardwaj wasn't the only one shooting himself. What were the chances that someone on the outside had noticed him struggle to break open the room window with a chair, and instinctively decided to film it. Clippings of that video went viral on Tuesday morning as news of the suicide rocked the country, showing a pixilated image of Bhardwaj finally breaking open and hurriedly jumping out. Sources in the police, speaking to mid-day for an earlier report had said, that even as Bhardwaj was trying to break open the window, the hotel staff alerted by the noise of the chair against glass was trying to open the room's door. "A staffer even shouted at him to stop, and he even turned back, but by the time they could reach him, he had already jumped off," the source said.
Dying with an audience
While Facebook introduced its Live section — which allows users to share live videos with other Facebook users, depending on privacy settings — in April 2016, live streaming applications have been around for a number of years, although not all popular in India. In the West, sites such as Periscope, LiveLeak and Justin.tv (which ceased operations in 2014) have all been used to stream suicides. The first among the reported live suicides was that of 19-year-old Florida resident Abraham K. Biggs's in 2008. Biggs had told users on a bodybuilding site that he would kill himself and invited them to watch him live. As many as 1,500 signed on to see him, with many egging him to hurry up. Multiple saved and edited clippings of Bhardwaj's own video — though the original one has been taken offline by Facebook — are now available on YouTube, where it was, at last count, viewed over 11 lakh times. Since then, Facebook has deactivated Bhardwaj's page, too.
In another case back home, in October 2013, before hanging himself from the ceiling in his Dhobi Ghat home, Sunil Ugade, 38, recorded a 20-minute video, claiming his love for his ex-wife Anuradha and blaming her for his suicide. API Ajit Kadam, the investigating officer, says Ugade, a taxi driver, had turned up at the Agripada police station in an inebriated state asking them to look for his 'missing wife', Anuradha, who he had left seven years ago and remarried immediately after. "While Anuradha had gone missing in Pune, where she was living with her sister, Ugade had no connection with her. Ugade said he suspected his wife was having an affair with a man called Abdul Wahab, who was also his neighbour and friend. Wahab said that the affair had occurred seven years ago and that he was not in touch with Anuradha any longer. So, I couldn't take any action."
Kadam says Wahab and Ugade had a fight after which Ugade recorded the video. Ugade's eldest daughter from his second marriage, who was around 13 years old at the time, found the video in his phone and had already circulated it to his contacts, before the police could reach the spot.
Dr Harish Shetty, LH Hiranandani Hospital
Such final acts, says psychiatrist at Powai's LH Hiranandani Hospital, Dr Harish Shetty, "Helps share a legacy, make yourself a part of history — be it through a letter or a video. It provides a sense of closure. The idea is to reach out to as many people as possible, which can only happen through social media. Sometimes, more than a goodbye, it is also to make a point, saying others in the same position should get help."
Speaking specifically of Bhardwaj, Dr Katherine Ramsland, a professor of forensic psychology at DeSales University in Pennsylvania, where she also teaches criminal justice, says his wasn't a cry for help. Instead, he wanted to be remembered for using the final moments for something that would shock people. "The suicide itself resembles both a 'psychache' and a feeling of being trapped, of seeing no future. He is connected enough to people to write notes to them, so he does have some hope, but there is also a sense of insurmountable humiliation in his life that makes those same relationships painful. He feels like a failure," she tells mid-day in an email interview.
Zirak Marker, child and adolescent psychiatrist, psychotherapist and medical director of Mpower, says the calm that Bhardwaj displays in the video is reflective of those who have made up their minds. "It's the people who post pictures of themselves ingesting a few tablets, or harming themselves superficially, are those who are reaching out for help."
In the Netflix Original 13 Reasons Why, protagonist Hannah Baker kills herself and leaves 13 tapes blaming all the people who led to her suicide. The series is all the rage world over.
The Bhardwaj jigsaw
When Bhardwaj, a resident of Bengaluru, went live on Monday evening at 6.20 pm, among other friends who were notified of the 'suicide tutorial' was 27-year-old Srikanth Rayasam. "Arjun had been a fan of the superhero culture. So, I thought the video would have something to do with Suicide Squad (DC Comics anti-hero team)," says the Bandra resident, referring to DC Comics' 2016 film. Rayasam knew Bhardwaj through a Foodies of Mumbai group he ran. "Arjun would ping me once in a while, asking for gig tickets and always promising to turn up for events… but never did." He now wished he had responded. Another member of the same group, Shruti Menon, 27, who works with the NGO Vitamin Angels, also saw the notification. "Honestly, I wasn't sure whether it was a serious thing or not. But, I went ahead and dropped him a message. It was too late I guess." She has since watched the video multiple times, because it took time to sink in, she says. Yet, in the many times she spoke to Bhardwaj in the last two years, she can't recall any worrying sign. "College, study, frustration was the usual rant — the kind we all go through in college. He reached out to me about internship opportunities and general advice on economics for college. He was always upbeat and enthusiastic," she says, adding, "Did I ever think he was more worried than others? No. He never seemed to be crazy worried. Early last year, he reached out to me for an internship, but then in typical Arjun style, there was initial excitement and no follow through." What bothers her about the news reports that followed are allusions to his fascination with death. "It's based on one Instagram post. If that kind of analysis had to be done on our lives, I would probably be called gravely depressed. People [social media reactions to his death] talked about how he's a loser. It was enraging."
There are other versions that have popped up since Monday. Bengaluru based stand-up comedian Praveen Kumar, who stays in Koramangala, has been neighbours with Bhardwaj's family for nearly five years. Kumar would meet Bhardwaj when he visited his folks back home during holidays. "He was a jovial and cheerful person, who was interested in gaming and tech-related stuff. He was also quite enterprising — when he was in school, he made a short film featuring the boys in our colony, which was screened at our Diwali function." Kumar adds that Bhardwaj wanted to be a stand-up comic and would often head to him for advice. "I helped him with books and told him a few things he could do. He was a huge fan of Kanan Gill and Biswa [Kalyan Rath] and would ask me to tell him when they came over to my place. That never materialised, however," Kumar says. He adds that Bhardwaj did try his luck at two open mics in Bengaluru. "I did not attend them, but as far as I recall, he was not too happy about the way they fared." Like any other college kid, Kumar, says, Bhardwaj, would post group selfies. "I don't recall him sharing anything that suggested he was suffering from depression."
Samyuktha Shodangi, Bhardwaj's classmate from 11th grade at Vizag's ETASI-Timpany School, says, he came across as a brat, arrogant and annoying at first. "But, he was like that because he was happy with his own set of friends and didn't feel the need to make more. If you struck up a conversation with him, he was a fun person to be around. His humour, care-a-damn attitude made him confident and likeable."
She adds, "I have gone through depression myself, and know how hard it is to turn to people. I get Arjun's point of view if he didn't share [his worries] with somebody. But, I've also heard that he did reach out to his friends who gave him the deaf ear. Had it not been for such ignorant people, Arjun could have been with us today." Does she know if he reached out to any of their common friends? "As far as I know, he did not reach out to us personally."
The trolls say 'jump already'
Before his FB page was deactivated, Bhardwaj's timeline was full of comments by people calling him "rich brat" and "coward", to "He's a psychopath who ends his life for nothing", "You could have become a suicide bomber and made it count" and "One who hurts his parents will never rest in peace".
"There are many people who egg on a person who is in trouble. For example, in a case in the US, a boy was going to jump off, someone sitting in another part of the country was saying 'come on, jump off already'," says Dr David D Luxton, Affiliate Associate Professor at the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, who in 2012 co-authored a paper titled Social Media and Suicide: A Public Health Perspective, with Jennifer D June and Jonathan M Fairall. In the paper, they write: A primary concern with suicide or self-harm videos is that they may normalise and reinforce self-injurious behaviours or cause disinhibition.
It's something Dr Ramsland says can have a "contagion effect for those already pondering their demise. They see him seeming to be free of his concerns and they watch his success, so it could trigger others who are already fragile or impressionable."
Echoing her sentiments Dr Marker says that many troubled minds use social media to find like-minded people, who may support their deviance. For example, self-harmers look for self-harmers, and people suffering from food disorders look for others like them. "They find groups that tell them how to self harm without letting their parents know, or groups that help them lose even more weight."
Narcissistic disorder
Clinical psychologist Varkha Chulani says Narcissistic Personality Disorder, driven by social media, is a modern challenge before her community. "It's hard to tell who's real [depressive] and who's faking it. People self-deceive, and don't admit the truth even to themselves sometimes," she says. Experts say it is characterised by the constant need for admiration and attention and a lack of empathy for others. Millennials then are perfect prey because they may be drifting from their families, and the influence and acceptance of peers is crucial. How you are seen by the world, and social media, then becomes paramount.
Being socially responsible
It is unclear whether Facebook (which remains India's most well-used social media platform) deactivated Bhardwaj's account on its own or after it was reported to them — they refused to comment for the purpose of this article — but, with over 1.86 billion users across the globe, it has over the last couple of years made concerted efforts to have a suicide prevention policy in place.
Johnson Thomas (centre) of AASRA
Four years ago, it partnered with AASRA, an India-wide charity organisation that provides anonymous, professional counselling to battle depression. Johnson Thomas, director of AASRA, says, "Facebook approached us to partner with them at a time when 'Facebook suicides' — wherein people would express suicidal thoughts on FB — were rampant. They developed an algorithm which would read suicide-related content shared by the user. They would then connect with the user and direct them to us. Last year, they developed a link that they could send to the person concerned. It takes the person through steps to help defuse such thoughts." Thomas adds that AASRA gets Facebook suicide alerts at least four times a week. "We cannot go searching for such content, we can only intervene when we are alerted." But, he calls this an emotional first aid. "We are not providing therapy. We are stopping you from doing anything drastic at the moment, so that you can get therapy later if you want to. And, every day is different. Just because I saved you today, that doesn't mean you won't feel suicidal tomorrow. I can only say that I got you out of the suicidal mode now," Thomas says 30 per cent of their callers are repeat callers.
A Twitter India spokesperson said the networking site directs users expressing suicidal thoughts to a page, that advises them to contact agencies specialising in crisis intervention and suicide prevention.
The police's role
On March 27, the Indian Parliament passed the landmark Mental Healthcare Bill 2016 which decriminalises suicide (negating Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code) and stated that a person who attempts suicide should be presumed to have severe stress, and therefore, shall not be punished. And as per the bill, it becomes the government's duty to provide care, treatment and rehabilitation to a person who attempted suicide, to reduce the risk of recurrence of any attempt.
And, the Mumbai police is taking this responsibility seriously. On April 2, a day before Bhardwaj's suicide, the city police's official Twitter handle @MumbaiPolice debuted its #WeAreListening hashtag. With posts such as "Always better to speak up than give up #WeAreListening" it's a plea to people to approach the police, before things spiral out of control.
"There is no way for us to monitor every user on social media and see what they post. That's why we are running this campaign on social media, urging people to see us as their 3 am friend," says Deven Bharti, joint commissioner of police (law and order). He cites the example of a similar helpline that is already operational for senior citizens. "They call us when they feel lonely, and our men are there to listen. They've even delivered medicines at their doorsteps in the night," he adds. While Bharti says there have been cases where they have been able to prevent suicides, following alerts on social media, he refuses to disclose details. However, he cites an October 2016 incident in which someone had posted a photo of a man loitering near the Bandra-Worli Sea-Link. "When our cops reached the spot, they realised the man was contemplating suicide, and they talked him out of it in the nick of time."
Dr Katherine Ramsland, a professor of forensic psychology at DeSales University in Pennsylvania
Tysen Benz
Teen dies over girlfriend's suicide prank
Tysen Benz, from Michigan, US, died a day after Arjun Bharadwaj, after he was pulled off life support three weeks after he hanged himself. His mother Katherine Goss alleges that Tysen's girlfriend used her and their friends' social media accounts to convince him that she had killed herself. "So, he believed her and said, 'I'm going to kill myself.'" After seeing the posts about his girlfriend, Tysen replied over social media that he was going to die, but no one involved in the prank reported this to an adult, Goss said.
Who takes onus?
Almost everyone rants on FB. How is one to differentiate between a crib and someone who is crying out for help?
The best way, says Dr Shetty, is to screen them all. "That's what you do when an epidemic breaks out, right? You screen everyone. The same applies here too. There is no way to tell whether or not a person is suffering from depression, unless they are tested. I had once spotted a poem on death shared on Facebook by a young boy. When I reached out to him, and tested him, he turned out to be a patient of depression. That may not be the case all the time, but you never know until you ask. That onus lies on friends and family."
With inputs from Anju Maskeri and Asif Rizvi
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