[Reader-list] Fwd: Feel free, Mr. Husain. Go paint Qatari leaders

[meera rammohan]

Well, there are two things here:

Is the work of offensive to someone?
Did the artist, writer or filmmaker etc INTEND  to denigrate Hindu gods?

I think that the limits of decency cannot be specified, especially in art.
This is because, they are generally considered to be expressions of creative
energy of an artist. Even the smallest thing (if the climate is ripe for it)
can give rise to offence. When an attitude of tolerance does not exist
towards other religions (in this case Hindus towards Muslims and vice versa)
the smallest remark, or gesture can be construed as offensive to the other
party. This is the foundation of prejudice.

The other thing is a lack of understanding of the process and value of art
itself exists among a vast majority of conservative Hindus who feel that
they need to constantly "protect" a culture and tradition which can very
well take care of itself! Something so vital, close to the people's hearts
cannot be taken away overnight because of a single painting, in my opinion!

When I look at all the other paintings of Husain, I am amazed by the
abstract expressionism, a free-wheeling and bold interpretation of several
universal themes, as for instance in his Mahabharata series. From those huge
canvasses which depict Ganga and Yamuna, Arjuna and Chariot, Bhishma, Bhima
etc it seems like his conceptual abilities are extraordinarily
creative---and his artistic skill is expansive and brilliant. It cannot be
limited to just one world-view under narrow labels of "Hindu" "Islamic" and
so forth. He has freely used imagery, iconic representations from one set of
symbols based on Hindu religion and mythology----but the images transcend
mere religion. Obviously these are not MEANT to be worshipped as one would
the same goddesses at a temple----we need to only look upon them as art,
without boundaries.

I doubt that an artist of his calibre would have gone about purposely to
"denigrate" these symbols. As Husain himself said "Nudity is to construed as
purity". In Western European and modern art Nude paintings have their own
value mainly due to their powerful, bold representation of form.

When we see Durga astride the tiger, I feel a powerful force that is
mightier than normal is at work. She has 3 faces (can it be because she
received boons from all 3 gods Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) and I am not sure
if there is any sexual act here at all! It is almost as though she has
assumed the form of Narasimha (with the face and front part being lion and
the back is Woman in her fierce aspect). The legs of Durga are as sturdy as
trees, and she is capable of quelling and cutting off the head of any demon.
She is therefore not any ordinary goddess (even according to conventional
Hinduism). Similarly the nude Sita on Hanuman is not shocking to my
mind---because I can see by the body language of Sita a certain despair,
sorrow and pain---she is holding on for dear life. Hanuman is leaping, with
one leg across mountains which he has left behind, while the other enormous
leg has already leapt across the ranges in front. The whole picture is one
of power and pathos put together. Also the goddess forms of Saraswati,
Lakshmi, Sita, while being nude----still do not convey any idea of vulgarity
or pornography (at least to me). The breasts themselves are drawn with
elegance.

I am not sure why I should feel offended by all this actually----the images
do not speak to me of a depraved mind----but one that is steeped in visual
expansiveness.
My intention here is not to "defend" Husain----no, not at all. I think
anyone can express their anguish and their sense of affront if they believe
their religion is being purposely maligned. But the propanda around this is
so full of hysteria that it does not allow for any sane discussion. The
images have now been so besmirched, it is almost taken for granted that they
are vulgar beyond all imagining. We need to cultivate a better climate for
debate, discussion and opinion-making in this country.
Meera



On Thu, Mar 11, 2010 at 3:35 PM, Rakesh Iyer <rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi
>
> I have forwarded this mail Anupam wanted to send to the forum but was only
> sent to me, probably as a mistake. Hope that is indeed the case.
>
> My views are also put up here verbatim as put up in a personal chat with
> him:
>
> i never said husain is right or wrong . i said that in india, one can do
> whatever he/she feels with hindu identities or not but for muslims and
> christian identities, if something is said or done there would be a hue and
> cry and apologists would try to beat each other in the name of minority
> appeasement if there is one field where  appeasement is done, this is the
> field. this should stop
>
> Rakesh
>
> In reply to "Re: [Reader-list] Feel free, Mr. Husain. Go paint Qatari
> leaders"
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: anupam chakravartty <c.anupam at gmail.com>
> Date: Thu, Mar 11, 2010 at 3:27 PM
> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Feel free, Mr. Husain. Go paint Qatari leaders
> To: Rakesh Iyer <rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com>
>
>
> Dear Rakesh and all,
>
> What is wrong in painting a nude saraswati copulating with a tiger?
> what exactly do you find offensive here? gods marry, gods have
> children, but there it seems is a problem in explicitly stating that
> gods were also having sexual intercourse. is it a sign of a healthy
> society when only things not allowed to be asserted while others
> remain unstated as if it is some sort of an incestuous trade which is
> going on? You should ask for a ban on the hindu scriptures as well
> where direct and indirect references of copulation of gods are stated.
> there are written testimonies of incest, unnatural sex, of
> mythological gods impregnating mortals that have been documented very
> well in form of scriptures.
>
> Moreover,  when i go to a shiva temple i worship the phallus of Shiva.
> in the so-called moral discourse being conjured here especially to
> suit the demands of zealots, this act of me going and worshiping a
> phallus should be seen as a crime.  i should be jailed for worshiping
> the phallus of a god (how perverse is that!). but then believers
> including me and my mother, we pour milk on it. that's visually
> stimulating but since it is a ritual, we do not question it.
>
> since when, worshiping a god ( in monotheistic) has to do with respect
> and reverence? then what about this statement: 'Thou art that".
> praying comes from the word praise. singing is a form of reverence.
> painting the phallus is my respect. but my request to all vanguards of
> hindu religion, do not impose this outdated victorian model of
> worshiping on everyone. you are a disease, eroding the very same
> foundations on which you rest. and please! i do not want this do paise
> ka respect to a god by blaming an artist, when all other things about
> belief, about religion, about religiousity  with a bunch of
> islamophobes, a set of hardened fundamentalists, crooks minting money
> in the name of religion have done nothing but disservice to humanity.
>
> over and over again, hussain is being asked to paint Prophet Mohammad.
> Do you have any kind of visual reference of Prophet Mohammad in which
> the above things being attributed to Indian deities from the very
> scriptures is also true in his case? Islamic thought to be specific
> doesnt have such thoughts associated with it. the old testament over
> the years have being "denigrated" several times. what would you say
> about renaissance painter, Hieronymus Bosch who painted Garden of
> Earthly Delights depicting biblical scenes? it is considered as a
> masterpiece.
>
> sometimes, stating the obvious is a little difficult, with general
> social order as a given. but we have moved beyond Renaissance.
> artists, writers, engineers, accountants, even soldiers, labourers,
> mostly everyone at some of point of time state the obvious or want
> answers for them. what are you going to do about all of them? did
> someone deny your faith in god, by painting the god in nude? it did
> not in my case. i felt overwhelmed
>
> a whole lot of us believe in gods (there are 33 crores of them
> according to several religious estimates). conjuring images of a
> pantheon linked by tragedies, relationships, alliances, the stories
> around them have always been a part of the visual tradition. hussain
> has been exploring these themes. he should be lauded for his efforts
> instead.
>
> - Anupam
>
> On 3/11/10, Rakesh Iyer <rakesh.rnbdj at gmail.com> wrote:
> > I would say just one thing. In India, it's only possible to denigrate
> Hindu
> > gods and goddesses, abuse them, paint them in nude, and then get sympathy
> of
> > a large cross-section of people, including the secularists and the
> > pseudo-secularists. But when it comes to Islam and Christianity, try
> doing
> > that, and you will find violence being organized on the slightest of
> > pretexts. And the pseudo-secularists would go on a humbug spree to stop
> > this. And Hindus have started aping them too.
> >
> > Why this appeasement? What is this all about? Is it secularism? Are we
> > willing to turn our country into a neo-Taliban society where any
> criticism
> > about Islam and Christianity will be dealt with capital punishment and
> > violence on the streets?
> >
> > @Shuddha: It's not the question of rights. It's the question of
> enforcement
> > of these rights. Howsoever much Hussain may try, the state would never
> act
> > to ensure that the rights are enforced. And it's one thing to say Muslims
> > have rights to paint the Prophet in a 'negative' sense, it's another
> thing
> > doing it. Remember the protests in India over cartoons published in a
> > certain newspaper in a certain European country named 'Denmark'?
> >
> > Rakesh
> > _________________________________________
> > reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city.
> > Critiques & Collaborations
> > To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with
> subscribe
> > in the subject header.
> > To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list
> > List archive: &lt;https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/>
> _________________________________________
> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city.
> Critiques & Collaborations
> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with
> subscribe in the subject header.
> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list
> List archive: &lt;https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/>
>