All about Flash Mob

In today's time when social media is at the helm of communication world, flash mob is that baby of social media which has caught world's attention by storm. In fact, flash mob is precisely meant to do that i.e. catch attention. Feminism in nature in that sense but we love it, don't we. 

If you go by the dictionary meaning of the term 'Flash Mob', coined in 2003, it means:

'A large public gathering at which people perform an unusual or seemingly random act and then disperse, typically organized by means of internet or social media.'

For practical purposes, Flash mob is typically done for the purposes of entertainment, satire, artistic expressions and sometimes for expressing dissent, may be revolting in a non-violence manner. If put together efficiently it has the power and potential to strike big in terms of meeting what it was intended for.

India's first real sensational flash mob took place in Mumbai at a railway station in 2011. It was the day which celebrated third anniversary of 26/11 (terrorist attack in India). 200 dancers grooved to the tune of 'Rang de Basanti' to pay tribute to all the people who lost their lives in that attack.

Since then there have been many other flash mobs with specific intentions. Not just India, people from across globe have started to use flash mob as a burly mean to let it out. Some people mistake planned events for flash mob. Any planned event or performances organized for advertisement or politics etc can not be termed as flash mob.

While social media has been instrumental in engaging people to concept of flash mob, one other very significant ingredient is 'spread the word' concept. Reaching out to people from all casts, culture and religions of society multiplies the impact of flash mob esp if done for a social cause.

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Some people have acted as thorn in the flesh and objected to flash mob citing security, criminal act as issues with it. For a fact, Germany has stopped flash mobs by strictly enforcing the law of requiring a permit to use any public space for an event. In United Kingdom, numbers of flash mobs have been stopped owing to concerns for public health and safety.

Not sure if it should be allowed or not. Not sure if it will grow in the times to come or not. All that is certain is it is making its voice heard loud and clear. What is your take?