Maqbool Fida Hussain and artistic freedom

 

The iconic artist M.F.Hussain has been offered Qatari citizenship and according to his son ,is likely to take it up. The reason why, even after being born and bred in India, and a bonafide Indian citizen, he cannot come back to India is because of the number of cases filed against him in courts, and the demonstrations by Hindu organisations which “could” hamper his safety. The apparent cause of all this is his portrayal of Goddess Saraswati and Goddess Durga in the nude.

However ,that is not all.There are other portrayals of Hindu icons like Sita (Hindu symbol of chastity) sitting naked on Ravana’s lap as Hanuman comes to resue her.

Next a naked Sita is portrayed sitting on Hanuman’s tail. Was this the way Hanuman rescued Sita?

A bull with Parvati as Lord Shiva looks on.

Goddess Durga with a tiger.

There are many liberals like N.Ram of the HINDU who are devastated by Hussain’s decision. He writes:-“I know no one more genuinely and deeply committed to the composite, multi-religious, and secular values of Indian civilisation than M. F. Husain. He breathes the spirit of modernity, progress, and tolerance. The whole narrative of what forced him into exile, including the shameful failure of the executive and the legal system to enable his safe return, revolves round the issues of freedom of expression and creativity and what secular nationhood is all about.”

And yet when Hussain paints The Prophet’s daughter and his mother and daughter, he is more circumspect.

So who is the real Hussain?

A painter with biased artistic freedom—who can strip religious icons of their clothes and at the same time is unwilling to do so for another religion. Is he really and freely exercising his artistic choice? Or is this a publicity gimmick gone horribly undone? Why are artists and sculptors allowed to overcome borders which all other professions are forced to maintain. We can appreciate the beauty of the human form as well as anybody else.Is this sense enhanced by unclothing our religious images?

Are not our intelligentsia falling over themselves to display their so called secularism? Or is it that we are not moving with the times and clinging on to prudery when we have a tradition like Khajuraho and Konarak?

Again, these paintings were done 25 years back. It was only when they were reproduced in an art book that all hell broke loose. So was the latter publicity the reason for this outburst. If the paintings had stayed in an obscure gallery, Hussain might have been in Mumbai long ago!!!!!

Finally, the moot question is this…..

Do we regret Hussain’s departure or do we say “Good Riddance?”

It is a mixed feeling, somewhat akin to the feelings when Salman Rushdie or Taslima Nasreen were prevented from free movement---only that the intelligentsia on the latter occasion kept their mouths and pens well covered and spouted their opinions on the same artistic freedom with reluctance and stutters. After all, unfortunately and commonly, being progressive and liberal is almost synonymous with being biased!!!!

Anandi, Ankik, Shilpa, Rajiv and others

I did not know you. But now I do. I know how you felt when you went to school for the first time.And when exams came. And when you went to see a film. Or when you curled up to read a book.When you laughed at a PJ, or when you had an Ice Cream. When you appeared on a stage for the first time. When the wind blew in from the Ganges and the black clouds came down and the first rains fell from the skies on your upturned faces.When you held your own camera in your hand and lovingly brushed your fingers over it. When you took your first real photograph.When you studied for your Board Exams and the apprehensions before it. When your results were declared. when you joined IIT or BIT Mesra. The discussions before joining Fergusson in Pune in English. And the film shoot. And the impromptu singing. And the holiday travels. And the discussions…And the laughter..And Life itself.

For I have a daughter and a son who went through this. Up to this I know you, as every parent will, wherever they may be. But after that I do not know you or ever will. As neither will I ever comprehend the machinations in the mind of those who did what they did. For they are incomprehensible. I only know that if a collective will of the human race is a force, then they will be squashed underneath it.

I did not know you. I now do. I know your families and their pain and the tears. The passage of time is inevitable.Your potential will never be realised. But you will be there in us, in our actions as we strive to correct a terrible wrong.

Yes, I know you.

We will always know you.

 

 

Lost –without a mobile.

I have been using a mobile phone for the last 10 years. Having graduated from the pagers( I still have it in the bottom of a drawer), a mobile communication system was a boon for doctors like us.  As mobiles started to penetrate every household, our calls increased. Instead of an emergency contact facility, it became a chat tool, music player, video player, camera and entertainment system. So when I left it behind in the car while rushing to the airport for a 2 day conference trip to Delhi, my world literally collapsed.

 

Having discovered its absence during the security check, I rushed to make a phone call. At 8.45 AM, all the landline phones inside the post-security waiting room at Kolkata were non functional. A fellow traveller, looked sympathetically at me and offered his phone. He must have been in my predicament at some time!!! My driver confirmed that I had dropped the phone in my car and it was impossible for him to return it in time. I resigned myself to my fate of spending two WHOLE DAYS without a phone……

I gazed enviously at the passengers on the aircraft before take off, as they chatted away grinning and laughing or shouting over the damned device. The announcement for switching off the phone was not for me. Some persons took out a earplug and started listening to the music. I remembered all the songs on my Nokia as never before. Some actually started playing games on it!!!

As the plane landed, all the switched on phones started oscillating , vibrating, spouting all types of ring tones and songs. Some confirmed their arrivals. Others were busy calling up cars. I sat stony faced, with a peculiar emptiness in my pocket.

I managed to locate the car. The first thing that the driver said was not funny… “Saab, kitne baar aapko phone lagane ka koshish kiya—lekin connection nahi mila…”. I mumbled something like a “Phone car mein chod diya…”. He regarded me very sympathetically. “Tab to Badi mushkil ho gya”, he reflected. I grumpily looked out of the car at a fog laden Delhi.

Throughout that day, I had to control my automatic movement to pull out a mobile phone… I started grabbing my colleagues’ phone. I managed a couple of “safe arrival” calls. I missed knowing about my children, family,patients , colleagues etcetera. I missed the SMSes, the camera, the music… I could not call a car. The charges for a local call from the hotel room was Rs.53.

However after 6—8 hours, I had adjusted to the tranquillity. Suddenly, I could listen to lectures peacefully, talk to my colleagues without interruption, watch a television programme without interference, and even read a whole—yes, a  WHOLE BOOK—a feat left unaccomplished for quite some years…. There were ,of course, minor hiccups along the way. I could not call  and tell a colleague that I was standing with the luggage just a few metres away!!! I almost missed the bus to the airport.

Finally, I arrived home. Ranjana handed over the phone with an accusing look. Pluto barked away at my forgetfulness. I switched it on and immediately it started ringing. “I am a patient of yours and I could not contact you. My backpain has recurred and you were unavailable!!!” “This medicine is unavailable and I could not talk to you about a substitute…”. Finally I got away after a mobile phone dinner. I settled down for some wonderful sweets made by Ranjana. As I sunk into the sofa, plate balanced in my hand, the phone sung once again. I leapt up, dropped a sweet, grabbed the phone and panted “Hello”.

Life was normal again.

But I wish I could do it again. Or would I really take that risk???

Maybe we all should try it out once in a while….