Is there a cure?

Tell me, is there a cure for this obsession? If it is not obsession what could it be?

Yea.. it is me and religion again! But this one was a shocker and I am yet to come to terms with it. In Kerala one is used to chopped off hands, feet, head and hence one may ask .. so what is new? Well, the Keralites take politics very seriously and would be the only species that is ready to die and to kill another ever so ardently in the name of a political party. And since this lawlessness was so ridiculously  let off in many instances, we dulled our conscience and now it is showing it's ugly head in the name of religion. Sadly communism couldn’t cure us from our religious idiocy and whatever good it ever did for Kerala is now being slowly wiped off by the same party.

Now, why should I be blaming the Communists alone when the Congress itself is no better? But the difference is that the Communists used stay away from religion in the yesteryears while now we see them woo every religious leader ardently for votes. We now see all the parties lift and then lower these leaders as and when it suits them. And in turn these religious leaders think themselves to be greater than what they really are. We see them dictate to the faithful from their thrones; asking them to chose the party of their choice.

Kerala is still in shock after the news that the hands of a teacher was chopped off since he offended a certain section of the society. The incident happened some time back and caused much protests and furor. The said teacher was then arrested and continues to be under suspension from the college. But this punishment seemed not enough for a few and hence the unthinkable happened. And the family was threatened earlier too. Now, I am not supporting this teacher if he thought that his religion is above any criticism so as to throw mud on another. But from the facts that I gathered over the net, I read that the play from which he copied the offending part was written by a Muslim himself. It seems the original author himself witnessed a mad man speak thus to God and this was turned into a play. Somehow the name got changed to Mohamed which as you know is the most common name for a Muslim. Honestly speaking, I am not sure if this teacher intentionally changed it but our Education Minister called him a stupid teacher. Well, he could be stupid, but when did one start measuring levels of stupidity only for religious matters? One can point out much sillier, stupider species in his own ministry and not to mention in other political parties too. Can we say “off with their heads/hands/legs/tongue”?

And when did we start behaving like the ancient world or the ones not so far from our country's border?

And if there are sinister elements behind this to disrupt the communal harmony in Kerala then it is time to act.  But I do see a lull among the political parties. Are they scheming to turn this around for their own political gains?

Let me hope that the law of the land rises to the occasion and punishes the culprits.

Can Husain return?

I am no artist and if I see a modern painting I would muster all my intelligence and try to match the name of the painting with the artist’s illustration. Most of the time I fail the test. Guess one needs imagination too. Hence personally my adulation would always be for a picture that is straightforward and which can be seen by my own eyes.

I believe an artist sees the world in many different ways and his/her illustrations may or may not strike a chord with the viewers. One may also see something entirely different from what the artist set out to illustrate.

Anyway this is not about paintings. But because of my ignorance about artists and paintings I never knew that 94 year old M F Husain has been living in exile (in Dubai) for the past few years.

Did India really sent an artist away from his country of birth for his paintings?

Wikipedia gave the following:

One of the most highly rated artists in the world today, his work sells at astonishing prices and are grabbed almost instantly by international art collectors.

According to Forbes magazine, he has been called the "Picasso of India".[1]

At the age of 92 Husain was to be given the prestigious Raja Ravi Varma award by the government of Kerala.[10]

In early 2008, Husain’s Battle of Ganga and Jamuna: Mahabharata 12, a large diptych, from the Hindu epic, fetched $1.6 million, setting a world record at Christie's South Asian Modern and Contemporary Art sale.[3]

Unfortunately the higher in stature he grew, the bigger the controversies too. Every religious / patriotic sensibility seems to have been battered by this frail old man.

In the 1990s some of Husain's works became controversial because of their portrayal of Hindu deities in the nude or in an allegedly sexual manner.[12]. The paintings in question were created in 1970, but did not become an issue until 1996, when they were printed inVichar Mimansa, a Hindi monthly magazine, which published them in an article headlined "M.F. Husain: A Painter or Butcher".

Husain's film Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities[26] was pulled out of movie theatres a day after some Muslim organisations raised objections to one of the songs in it.[27] The All-India Ulema Council complained that the Qawwali song ‘Noor-un-Ala-Noor’ was blasphemous.

And now he wants to return to India as per this report.

Centre plans to pave way for M F Husain's early return

Is the stage set for the next political drama?

Daughters

Came across this chilling video as I went blog trotting and passed by Vinod’s blog post. It left me depressed and helpless since I couldn’t help seeing my daughter in her. I can do nothing but I can at least vent my feelings on my blog. I do not know where it has happened but can very well guess. But for sure it continues to happen. I will never understand how murder can be a lesser sin. I will also never understand how a girl/woman who was until then a daughter or a sister or a mother becomes an object to be crushed out, be it for any reason.

But when I look at my daughter who will soon turn 13, I am worried. How will this world be when she is ready to face it? Will she be too strong or too weak to face this world? If she is strong, will her strength make her suffer? I do not know.

But all I know now is that there are many helpless girls out in our world crying for help that is never coming.

I think I was lucky to be born in a place and time that was less complicated. So maybe I can only pray that my daughter’s world will also be thus. But then I also pray that these men who have never “sinned” will soon be born as woman in the same place.