India's barefoot artist, Maqbool Fida Hussain, is no more. The maestro died in a foreign land, as a Qatari citizen, longing to come back to his motherland, a wish that could never see the light of the day. An artist, whose freedom of expression was curtailed, wings clipped and was made an alien in his own land.
Hindus revere their deities with a religious fervour, unseen in any part of the world. This is their sacred space. Hussain was accused of invading this sacred space, by depicting the deities in the nude. The so-called profanity of his expression invited wrath of the moral guardians who cried sacrilege. The atmosphere became vocal with protests and disapproval, all fueled by the political parties with an agenda. An acquaintance who was very vocal in his protest said, "How can an artist take the liberty of making such obscene paintings? This is not our culture." I wondered what this person was talking about. Since when did nudity become obscene in the art world? The stone sculptures of Khajuraho are a mute testimony to the fact that erotica was never viewed with contempt or prudery. These sculptures have stood the ravages of time dates back to around 10th c CE. And Hussain belonged to this era!
So why was he sent in exile? Was it because he was a non-Hindu who dared to paint the Goddesses from the Hindu pantheon? Or was it because the political parties, starved of ideas, got some issue to take up? Either way, Hussain's exile was coloured with a political hue and the parties in question managed to throw him out of the country. For centuries, Lord Krishna has been depicted as amorous hero. Even the miniature paintings show him not hiding his carnal desires. We then have the Tantra literature representing the erotica and of course Vatsayana's Kamasutra. Yet, the so-called moral guardians influence the public, create an uproar, condemning the freedom of expression in the name of morality. Morality, I feel, is a grossly misunderstood term in every century. Little wonder that Hussain's painting was dubbed amoral. As our logic professor had aptly pointed out, "What we have today is Victorian Hinduism."
Now that the voice has been quietened forever, a certain Raj wants to build a museum in his honour. Reason- Mr.Hussain was a pucca Mumbaikar and the museum should be on this soil. How more hilarious can this get? We have suffered the ignominy of an irretrievable loss. All we can do is pray for his soul to rest in peace. Amen.
Hindus revere their deities with a religious fervour, unseen in any part of the world. This is their sacred space. Hussain was accused of invading this sacred space, by depicting the deities in the nude. The so-called profanity of his expression invited wrath of the moral guardians who cried sacrilege. The atmosphere became vocal with protests and disapproval, all fueled by the political parties with an agenda. An acquaintance who was very vocal in his protest said, "How can an artist take the liberty of making such obscene paintings? This is not our culture." I wondered what this person was talking about. Since when did nudity become obscene in the art world? The stone sculptures of Khajuraho are a mute testimony to the fact that erotica was never viewed with contempt or prudery. These sculptures have stood the ravages of time dates back to around 10th c CE. And Hussain belonged to this era!
So why was he sent in exile? Was it because he was a non-Hindu who dared to paint the Goddesses from the Hindu pantheon? Or was it because the political parties, starved of ideas, got some issue to take up? Either way, Hussain's exile was coloured with a political hue and the parties in question managed to throw him out of the country. For centuries, Lord Krishna has been depicted as amorous hero. Even the miniature paintings show him not hiding his carnal desires. We then have the Tantra literature representing the erotica and of course Vatsayana's Kamasutra. Yet, the so-called moral guardians influence the public, create an uproar, condemning the freedom of expression in the name of morality. Morality, I feel, is a grossly misunderstood term in every century. Little wonder that Hussain's painting was dubbed amoral. As our logic professor had aptly pointed out, "What we have today is Victorian Hinduism."
Now that the voice has been quietened forever, a certain Raj wants to build a museum in his honour. Reason- Mr.Hussain was a pucca Mumbaikar and the museum should be on this soil. How more hilarious can this get? We have suffered the ignominy of an irretrievable loss. All we can do is pray for his soul to rest in peace. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment