.........of Goddesses, Nudes and their Slut Walks

 

The so-called 'Slut Walk' must be in its throes in New Delhi, even as I write this piece. Newspapers today are flooded with debates between supporters and protesters to the concept of holding such a ladies march. But ideally there shouldn't be a difference of opinion within Indian civil(-ized) society, atleast on the core issue of violence against women. It is plainly not acceptable on human terms.

It would have been more ironic to have such a walk held in the by-lanes of Mumbai. The city is currently camped by clay-sculptors creating thousands of deity idols. Mumbai is gearing itself for the upcoming Ganesha, Gauri and Navaratri festivals. Gauri - for the uninitiated - is a Hindu Goddess of Creation... and Navaratri is a 9-day festival wherein Durga Maata - the goddess of Power is worshiped. Ancient customs, traditions and mythology of India - all hint towards worship of women.

The mention of Gauri and Durga Maata takes me into memories of my childhood spent in Bhusawal. I must have been around eight years old. The Ganesha-Gauri festivals were nearing. My small town was abuzz with advance preparations for the festivals. Having seen our adults perform pooja and sing bhajans (prayer songs) through the years, we children too decided to mimic them. We decided that our pandals would be constructed out of scrap, and garlands be created out of flowers plucked from vases at home. But none of us had pocket-money enough to arrange for a clay idol. So we decided to carve one for ourselves. Every day from then on, the 'artists' amongst us sneaked into a local sculpture studio to learn the craft. Children wouldn't be let in, and we made it a habit to peep through gaps in the tarpaulin.

Hundreds of nude female figures in clay were arranged in front of each artisan. We felt scandalized every time a carver touched one of those nudes. Slowly and steadily, the carvers perfected vital stats of all figurines. Somehow, the whole process seemed like stealthily watching a porn movie... Every child wants to grow up fast, and we were glad to have arrived on our opportunity to adulthood. Our secret visits to the studio continued. Another few days, and they began carving different drapes of sarees on the nude figures. Soon a set of skilled painters replaced the carvers... and the idols were coloured in skin, silk and gold. Before our little brains could estimate, hundreds of goddesses lay before us with their glorious sindoors and blessing hands. We were frightened, guilty, sad and already apologizing to Durga and Gauri for having imagined them as "nudes". There's no way a mother-goddess can be perceived that way!

Today, decades later, I am faced with the same shift of paradigms. Modern artists have forever faced fury of rightist groups. Whether perversion lies in the eyes of observers or the mind of the artist, is a debatable topic. Why doesn't that artist paint his own mother in nude, is what the moralists ask. On the other hand, India earns millions through tourism at Khajuraho. The point is not whether a goddess has been represented naked on the temples - the point is that our minds do not succumb to perversion even after seeing a lady in nude, once we decide that she's a goddess worth only our worship.

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