Blood Loyalty to a Political "Ma Shakti"

[Guest guest]

The BBC today published this story by Sanjeev Srivastava about an

Indian painter's "blood loyalty" to Jayalalitha, the controversial

Tamil film-actress-turned-politician who is now (once again) Tamil

Nadu's chief minister. A link to the original article (complete with

images of the artist's blood paintings) is below:

 

MADRAS: February 25, 2004: In the southern Indian state of Tamil

Nadu, where the dividing line between politics and cinema is

blurred, fans often go to extreme lengths to display their

affection.

 

A painter based in the state capital, Madras, has made a habit of

demonstrating his admiration for the state's chief minister

Jayalalitha, by painting in blood. He says that he worships the

chief minister as "Ma Shakti", or the goddess of power.

 

Shihan Hussaini, who also describes himself as a sculptor and karate

teacher, painted 56 portraits of the chief minister in his blood to

coincide with her 56th birthday this week. Mr Hussaini drew about

1,500 ml of his own blood over the past three weeks to collect his

unusual paint.

 

"There were times when I passed out. But I persisted," Mr Hussaini

told BBC News Online. He even hired a part-time nurse to help him

draw the blood.

 

Mr Hussaini does not believe that blood is an unusual medium for a

painter.

 

"It shows my admiration for Ms Jayalalitha, who is a woman of great

courage," says Mr Hussaini.

 

"She has suffered so much in life and undergone so much trauma and

humiliation from her political rivals. But she has the guts to

always fight back and emerge victorious."

 

But could not he have paid homage by using regular paint?

 

"No. Blood is the most expressive of all mediums," says Mr Hussaini.

 

"It creates a rare bond and shows how much respect I have for my

leader. I will do just about anything for her," he says.

 

Mr Hussaini believes his actions might also increase blood donations

in the state.

 

"People will realise that even after drawing out 1500 ml of blood in

three weeks, one can remain healthy," he says.

 

This is not the first time Mr Hussaini has painted his leader in

blood.

 

In 1994, he arranged for 101 cars to drive over his right hand,

after which he is reported to have carried out the improbable

sounding feat of using the same hand to break 5,000 tiles and 1,000

bricks.

 

"And then with my shattered and bloody hand I drew a portrait of my

leader in my blood."

 

DIEHARD FOLLOWINGS

 

Mr Hussaini was summoned by Ms Jayalalitha after this unusual show

of worship.

 

She asked him not to hurt himself again and granted Mr Hussaini's

request for land for a martial arts school. However 10 years on, Mr

Hussaini is still waiting for the plot of land. So to draw his

leader's attention, he has returned to his blood paintings.

 

"But this time I have not hurt myself, following the chief

minister's advice," says Mr Hussaini.

 

Surprisingly, such incidents of devotion are not unusual in Tamil

Nadu, where many politicians and film stars enjoy die-hard

followings. A man chopped off one of his fingers as an offering to

Ms Jayalalitha on her 55th birthday. In 2002, another supporter of

Ms Jayalalitha cut off his tongue and offered it at the famous

Tirupati temple.

 

When the founder of Ms Jayalalitha's AIADMK party, MG Ramachandran,

fell sick some years ago, hundreds of his fans travelled miles to

offer prayers at a temple.

 

URL:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/3484992.stm

 

Published: 2004/02/25 10:04:17 GMT