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!!!!