Tag: Religious Sentiments

‘Those Upset With ‘Kaali’ Poster Know Little About Divine Imagery’

By LokMarg

Arundhati Ghosh, a Bengaluru-based poet and cultural practitioner, says those protesting against ‘Kaali’ poster know little about the goddess and its roop. Her views:

In the huge and diverse pantheon of Hindu gods and goddesses, there are all kinds of deities and divine forms. These Gods express a complex realm of emotions: love, desire, fear and anger. We see these attributes, and others, in them, so clearly in the stories we hear about them. There are so many such stories about Gods like say Indra or Krshna.

In mythology, we often imagine gods and goddesses in our own image, and also give them our own interpretations. Kali is the goddess of the night. She is the practitioner of good versus evil. She lives in shamshans (cremation grounds) among the dark and the dead. She is often Shiva’s consort – Shiva who smokes up. She has multiple roop – forms, faces, images.

My beloved form of Goddess Kali is naked and wears a garland of bones, weapons in her hand, a chopped head, tongue out, fierce in appearance, darker than darkness. My mother prays to Shyama Ma, the colour of Shyam, not so densely dark as the colour of my Kali. Shyama is fully dressed, the neighbourhood goddess.

Leena Manimekalai is facing outrage over a poster of her film ‘Kaali’

Kali can come in any roop, any form with any face, and we accept her according to our longing. I have no objection to my mother’s Kali, and she has none to mine. The moment we try to cull it down into a single, one-dimensional image, then it becomes dangerous.

ALSO READ: ‘Kaali Poster Seeks To Mock And Provoke Hindus’

There are different sets of beliefs and practices in the worship of Kali. The Tarapith Kali in the Rampurhat subdivision of Birbhum district of West Bengal is completely different from the Kamakhya devi in Guwahati, Assam. Ramakrishna Paramhans’s Ma Kali is different from Ma Tara of Bamakhyapa of Tarapith. At Dakhineshwar in Kolkata, Ramakrishna’s Kali is extremely mamatamoyi – full of compassion and kindness. At other places she can be aggressive and angry. It depends on which roop Goddess Kali come to you. And you accept all her forms too.

Kali is both a mother and a daughter to Bengalis. Indeed, it is more complex than simply getting upset over an image. Those who are getting so upset these days don’t even seem to be Kali worshippers – since they seem to know so little about these differences. Hence, this poster controversy is nothing but bunkum.

As told to Amit Sengupta

‘Kaali Poster Is A Hateful Attempt To Mock & Provoke Hindus’

By LokMarg

Ved Prakash Shukla, a priest and an advocate in Lucknow Civil Court, has filed an FIR against filmmaker Leena Manimekalai for hurting religious sentiment. His stand:

The very sight of a film poster showing revered Hindu goddess Kaali smoking a cigarette is nauseating and offensive. I am angered beyond words. Why is Hindu religion so easily accessible to defamation and provocations in the name of creative liberty?

Indian culture believes in cordial existence in harmony with all forms of life. We see divine presence in every form; kan-kan me bhagwan hai. One whole lifetime will fall short if one were to visit and grasp our scriptures, holy places and their importance.

To mock at such a pious belief system for cheap publicity is no longer acceptable to us. Hinduism has been a soft target of objectionable depictions of our Gods and Goddesses. This presents a derogatory or comical image of our deities in the mind of our new generation.

This is also one of the reasons that disturbs social harmony in our country and seeks to create disturbance to gain media attention. These kinds of people and entities who are flourishing on deriding Hinduism should to be taught a lesson for life once and for all. And therefore I took legal recourse against the filmmaker Leena Manimekalai, producers Asha Associates and editor Shravan Onachan.

Hindus are a non-violent community but not constant mocking of our beliefs must stop at some point of time. Where do we draw the line! I see such film promotions a deliberate act to create sensation and stir an aggressive response. I realise that they want Hindus to react but why are law enforcement agencies quiet on this. Are they waiting for a violent response that leads to disorder and discord?

ALSO READ: Coexistence, A Unifying Factor For Indians

Indians have always believed in the ideology of Jeeo Aur Jeene Do (Live and let live) but this should not be taken for granted. A strong message needs to be sent to this sort of film fraternity that our legal punitive system is strong enough to bring them to book no matter where they are. We should not wait for a ‘creeper’ to grow to such an extent that it starts leeching away the tree itself.

Any divisive force that seeks to sow discord in our society must not go unpunished. I am hopeful that there will be exemplary legal action on the film makers of Kaali so that others will also be discouraged from indulging in such hateful actions in future.

This should also not send a message that anyone can walk away after making such divisive efforts. This is also, in a way, an agenda to weaken our country by crossing the lines of our religious beliefs. But it is enough–a line needs to be drawn and if it is not done now, it will be too late.

As told to Rajat Rai

‘Torn Between The Choice To Be Humorous Or Be Safe’

By LokMarg

Shubham Kashyap, 24, a stand-up comedian, says the recent arrest of Munawar Faruqui only shows we have forgotten to laugh at ourselves. Kashyap would prefer a shoe missile from the audience than vitriolic trolling on social media

I have been doing stand-up comedy for nearly three years now, but each year it is getting more difficult to write jokes that wouldn’t offend anyone. There’s always someone waiting in the wings to get offended by the most miniscule of things.

Comedy is no longer a laughing matter and comedians have to constantly keep walking on eggshells, maybe glass shards, to not get caught in a controversy. We had thought 2021 would be a better year for us, but on the very first day of the year (January 1, 2021), a fellow stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui was arrested from Indore.

The pandemic taught us the need to laugh at ourselves. Just see what we have done to the world by taking ourselves so seriously. People in our country can get offended at every chance they get. They consume offence for breakfast, lunch and dinner. To be caught between the need to express your creativity and the need to stay safe is unnerving.

ALSO READ: As A Cartoonist, I Must Question The Establishment

I was appalled at the way Faruqui and others were treated, what with the fact that his bail kept getting postponed, even though there was no evidence. As about the YouTube clip that was uploaded last year, he had already apologised for it.

I wonder when the culture in our country surrounding laughter changed so much; probably post-2014. From a country that prided itself on the culture of rajya vidushak (a court jester who could make fun of kings) for thousands of years, we have reached a state where making fun of, or questioning, the establishment can land you in trouble.

Kashyap says we now live with straitjacket labels as either Anti-Nationals or Bhakts

Holi festivals were always associated with Hasya Kavi Sammelans and celebrated with someone titled as the Moorkhadhiraj (king of fools) each year. We knew then how to laugh at ourselves earlier. Now we live with straitjackets labels: People who laugh at a BJP joke are dubbed anti-nationals while people who laugh at the Left are called Bhakts.

I would also like to add that religion is a sensitive matter and to make jokes on a religion that you have not lived, understood or practised deeply, might put you in a difficult situation. Religion is beyond reason for most people and they think emotionally on the matters of faith.

So, if you really have to crack a joke on religion, do it for the religion that you ‘practise’. Also, there is a fine line between genuinely questioning people, countries, religions in a humorous way and couching your dislike for one behind the veil of humour. Even though the violence cannot be justified, what appears in magazines like Charlie Hebdo or Jyllanden Post can definitely not pass as humour.

ALSO READ: Charlie Hebdo And The Laxman Rekha

I have been performing in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi-NCR and carry a reputation for being able to evoke uproarious laughs (attahas), using over-the-top Kanpur style as well as Lucknow’s delicate sense of humour (tehzeeb). But now I feel cracking a joke in UP and NCR could be risky.

I once received a flying shoe missile from the audience for one of my jokes. But shoes hurt less than the social media trolling. In 2016, I had cracked a joke on Modiji’s promise of ₹15 lakh on Promise Day (in Valentine’s Week), and my email inbox felt like a volcano waiting to explode. I have tried to live and learn amid such experiences.

Year 2020 was tough and I hope 2021 teaches everyone to chill a little. May stand up comedians crack better jokes; may freedom of expression be understood for what it is (the right to extend your arm ends where the other person’s nose begins). May we learn to be more offended by how living beings are treated! May laughter go viral!!

As Told To Yog Maya Singh