This is one of those times I'm glad I'm not an artist. Gladder still I'm not pretending to be one...
We live in a country of tolerances. Electrical and religious, cultural and alcoholic...it's a land etched with diversities and red banarasi stains. Blood stains too. Hey, it's a large population...it doesn't hurt to lose a few, right?
Depends on which few. No. I'm not getting into the debate of the valuation of human life. Past that. Give me an artist as opposed to a slum-lord. Easy choices. Blueberry cheesecake, tall women, and wine. Not in that order. But there is logic to it. Unfortunately, for a certain Baroda Univ arts grad there wasn't very much in the view taken of his final project. Sheesh!!And to think I griped about an hour long viva...
See, said scholar offended the sensibilities of certain minority communities by his interpretation of their deities. Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't most religions say that idolatry is not really what it's all about?Naturally, we can't possibly move away from clanging ghantas loudly and opening our eyes as wide as virgins as we renew our faith every Sunday. It's our Pharisian self-assurance. Our fig leaf.
The leaves rotted as they walked into the hall and assaulted the artist and the faculty. And the paintings weren't even on display. Which is besides the point. Who-the-fuck gave anyone the god-sworn responsibility of deciding that someone offended cultural sensibilities!!!And this in a Baroda...in a Gujarat. It's actually surprising the chaps forgot to carry pickaxes and a shovel. A dull thud is heard. The offended minorities drag protagonist to the sacrificial stone. Blood-rimmed eyes watch them as they do so...whispered curses and prayers go up. There are still those who choke on blood spilt...
The oddity is...we actually believe that we have the right to moral policing. A people who gave the world the Kamasutra and the I'm-so-horny-let's-get-it-on-now-now-now friezes of Khajuraho. Strange how our absurdist sentimentalities kick into play when we can't get a rise out of them. Pun totally intended. I mean, we obviously aren't about to let an interpretation rend mythology. It's the etymology of the word that gets me each time....it stems from Greek....storytelling. Opinion. Interpretation. Id. Superego. Please abide the writers' guffawing..We stymied free will because we chose to silence ours eons ago. Stop, eject. Change side. The bastardisation of a now-jingoistic Nehruvian dream.
And we, the intelligentsia(supposedly) will prostitute the ideologies for all Jehangir Art Gallery is worth...for you see, the artist comm, being the delicate intellectuals that they are, went forth and held a morcha in true Stalinist mode. Names were taken and oaths sworn. People wore kurtas and drooped their heads like a dog that's been humping a light pole all day. I would have painted another deity in the nude to show solidarity....but that's just me being me. I think I would have saved money on handing out radios and hired a woohoo-kickass lawyer instead....but that's just the investment banker talking now.
Perhaps I should start pretending...
2 comments:
I totally agree with the whole Moral Policing thing... Its weird that some of us are so insecure and pretend to be naive and all 'tantrummy' when it comes to openmindedness about sex and for that matter, the 'Kamasutra and the I'm-so-horny-let's-get-it-on-now-now-now friezes of Khajuraho' (well worded by the way.. Im still in splits :)).. Some of us could just do ourselves a favour and grow up..
The writing's top class.. fluid.. good stuff !!..
PS: another sin- blueberry cheesecake :D
so, ur like...moral policing the moral police? :p
naah, i sorta agree. this is what happens when one 'feels' rather than 'thinks'. the tragic part is that even the feeling happens at such a low plane...if only they'd go higher (no puns intended anywhere) they'd perhaps feel art too, and appreciate it for being one person's expression of her world. and maybe even stop being so presumptious as to think theyre important enough for an artist to actually expend effort and inspiration and paint to hurt their sensibilities. roman mob tendencies seem to be universal and timeless, but then so do the brutus' and antonys. dunno whether that's a good thing.
what say?
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