Guest guest Posted June 5, 2006 Report Share Posted June 5, 2006 Sanctity of religions This morning I was invited to go on Radio 4 to discuss the controversial Hussain exhibition that was called off in London. I had a great deal to say but the time allocated to me within the discussion format was 2 minutes out of a 4 minute slot. I did my best. Let me give you some background to this issue that concerns the Hindus. A painter called Hussain has been drawing the popular Hindu deities in the nude (Seeta, Lakshmi, Saraswati) and often shows them copulating with animals. He was holding an exhibition of some of his paintings in London. If the Hindus were not to stand up and protest then I would think that something is very seriously wrong with the Hindus. A small group of British born Hindu youngsters had planned a peaceful protest. Before the protest could be held someone had gone into the gallery and vandalised two of the paintings so the exhibition was called off. As soon as this happened, a bunch of Hindus-in-name including Lord Desai, jumped on the bandwagon of condemning these Hindu youngsters. 30 or so other academics with Hindu names also signed a petition in the Guardian newspaper condemning these youngsters as responsible for closing down an art exhibition which meant that artistic expression had suffered. BBC had invited these youngsters to participate in a debate on the Sunday programme. One of them had to debate this issue with a lecturer from Cambridge University. The youngsters requested that I speak on their behalf so I participated. I am very furious at these Hindus-in-name academics including Lord Desai. These secular westernised Hindus claim to represent Hindu view, and yet every Hindu organisation I talked to prior to the programme including all the main temple bodies have condemned them. My short response on the programme was: Just as an artist has freedom to express his art, the Hindus have full right to express their displeasure of such art through peaceful protest. They do not have to resort to violence or vandalism as the weapon of non-violent protest is good enough. Don't forget it demolished the British empire. What I wanted to add (but did not get a chance to say) was that art in the head of the artist may enjoy full freedom of expression but when it hits the canvas it has already entered a contextual realm and has to work within the acceptable framework of that realm. Showing Jesus in nappies or prophet of Islam in cartoon or a Gurudwara as a den of sin is certainly violating some such framework. The Science lobby is becoming very aware that science can be both used or misused by mankind and hence due care must be taken in its invocation but the Art lobby seems to think that it is free of any such responsibilities. Art like Science can elevate or denigrate mankind and needs to be invoked in a responsible manner. Convincing Westernised Oriental Gentleman like Lord Desai may not be easy but then the Hindus have seen off far worse brand of secularists in the past. You can hear the interview on this link but you may have to fast forward to about 10 minutes before my short debate takes place .. http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/sunday/index.shtml jay lakhani Vivekananda Centre London Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 5, 2006 Report Share Posted June 5, 2006 Hi Jay, In my opinion Hussain is a 'Sick' man. His own life is a chaos. These persons can only think of drawing such obscene arts and do not care hurting other's emotions because they themselves lead subhuman lives. To them wine, women and wealth are the only things of life and it is no wonder that they fail to hold high ideals. They will never understand that how we feel Devi Saraswati is not an idol made by clay and color, but she is like the divine mother who with her infinite kindness and knowledge make us learn the truth of life, even caring more than our real mothers. How I remember my very first day when I was just a a child of three years, the family priest made me learn the first Bengali letter in front of the mother Goddess. and how the eyes of our old teachers in the school would become tearful while chanting slokas during Saraswati puja. Do these feelings are really meaningless in front of those so called secular artists? They find pleasure in hurting and humiliating some people's feelings and still we call them humans? Humanity stands for giving respect to each other's believes and that is real secularism. Secularism does not mean being disrespectful to other's believes. The funny part of Hussain's story is he is very 'Courageous' to draw the nude pictures of Hindu deities but can he display his courage at least for once by drawing the picture of any prophet of Islam, the religion to which he himself belongs and make an exhibition? How low will we go? Check out Messenger’s low PC-to-Phone call rates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 5, 2006 Report Share Posted June 5, 2006 Satyajit, Good Observation and excellent comment Thanks Vijay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 6, 2006 Report Share Posted June 6, 2006 Dear Jay, I think you have hit the nail on the head when you pointed out the difference between an artists thinking and his expression on paper and canvas. Both are entirely different realms. I am sorry you were not allowed to express that in your talk. As author Salman Rushdie has pointed out, what has been written cannot really be unwritten. The effect is permanent and will hit the readers at the point they read and will act on their subconscious mind for all times to come. The nude paintings of Hindu gods and goddesses as well as their depiction on wine bottles and toilet seats should be condemned in the strongest terms possible. Regards, Jagannath. In Ramakrishna , " Vivekananda Centre " <vivekananda wrote: > > > Sanctity of religions > What I wanted to add (but did not get a chance to say) was that art in the head of the artist may enjoy full freedom of expression but when it hits the canvas it has already entered a contextual realm and has to work within the acceptable framework of that realm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 8, 2006 Report Share Posted June 8, 2006 Well said Satrajit, I think it is good that the exhibition by Hussain has been closed. He seems a person with absolutely no finesse and sensitvity to release such obscene paintings trashing other peoples faith. Some people use what is called artistic license to slander and libel other religions for political and personal gains. IT shows their lack of education and finesse. Such people are cowards who would never commit such an offence against their own kind. Vijaya Kambhampati. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 9, 2006 Report Share Posted June 9, 2006 Absolutely!!! I too feel the same. However, sometimes I wonder, why are we not as ruthless and aggressive as they are for their faith?? And to add more to it, we always have split opinions for everything. We must all be united. Regards, Harsha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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