bad taste & sub judice

reconstruction or visual

reporting cannibalism?

By Kulamarva Balakrishna

Vienna,Wednesday,February 27,2008: In my mother
India, of late things are happening that could have
been believed to have happened some seven thousand
years ago.But why? Such things happen even in
Germany. In my autobiography of egotism, chapter
one I have reported about Sabine Hilschenz, a mother
of a dozen or more having killed her own eight babies
and on their lifeless bodies growing vegetables and
flowers.I was reminded of Ganga, the river as the queen
of king Shantanu having done to death by drowing
her seven infants.A Mahabharata episode.Here one
has to compare only a mother killing at birth so
many of her own babies,nothing more.In details
there is no comparison.

Almost two years ago, in a village called Nithari
being a part of a huge Industrial complex of several
villages clubbed together andknown as NOIDA in
Uttar Pradesh,near New Delhi a resident businessman
got his house servant bring in almost 37 female
young ones,raped them, before cutting them into
pieces for eating.Investigations are on.Not all the
37 poor girls or their left overs are traced in dumping
places.On some cases as yet.What have been
traced are before a court of law which is engaged in
the process of implementing the rule of law.That
means the case in a mass is sub judice. But that
did not prevent India´s about dozen creative geniuses
from presenting in a gallery the gory episode in details.

After all Mahabharata war of eighteen days was
subject of a running commentary as the =great=
war was under progress by sage Sanjaya
acting as special broadcasting correspondent
to the blind father of the one of the warring parties
in a chosen war game stadium near New Delhi.
The epic Mahabharata itself is the result of sage
Krishna Dvaipayana´s later known as Vedavyasa
for editing the scriptures,own autobiography since
he played the gigolo grand father role of the
two groups of fighting princes related to each
other as cousins.He came observing as war
progressed at the Kurukshetra Stadium where
eighteen divisions then known as Akshohinis
were assembled to fight it out.It was here common
man´s yoga book Bhagavadgita revealed in
simple Samskrit language.At several points he
had to be protected while reporting special
broadcasting correspondent, Sanjaya, from
war mongers identifying as he belonged to the
PRESS.Kurukshetra today is a city rehabilitating
refugees from Pakistan after the partition of Indian
subcontinent.Haryana State Government attracts
tourists there claiming that in a pond known as
Sannihit Sarovar there,contending Kaurava
Crown Prince said to have hid himself under
water when he saw no chances of winning the war.

India´s probably the world´s first poet Valmiki
also wrote the epic Ramayana as the events of
the story were going on.He in fact made the twin
sons of Rama, the hero of Ramayana sing the
epic,named Kusha and Lava before the Hero!
May be Aryan Hindu India going backwards
in time by divine grace! India remains the same
because the events took place thousands of years
ago near New Delhi.It is again near a New Delhi
Gallery the gory details of contemporary
cannibalism of females indulged in are visually
being presented. It is worth recalling this region
in India today is known to abort more than two
female pregnancies out of every ten! Should we
take it then the presentation as a journalistic
art?

Here is Mr.Lalit Kumar´s report
for The Times of India News Network:

=Lalit Kumar, TNN

GHAZIABAD: Art often borrows from life, courting
controversy. When books, films, theatre and
paintings depict something contemporary, the risk
is greater.A local art gallery is in the eye of a
storm for allegedly trying to sell paintings of the
Nithari rape,murder (and cannibalism,omitted
for some unknown reason.kb) victims made by a
number of artists.

The local police say they were "being distasteful
and indulging in commercial exploitation" but they
are referring the one dozen paintings to "experts
because we do not want to appear to be indulging
in moral policing. Art is not our domain."

A police officer said a report (complaint) had been filed
against the Vaishali-based art gallery owners at
Indirapuram police station. The complaint was made
by Karanvir, whose daughter, Madhu, was among
those murdered at Pandher’s house, number D-5,
Nithari, Noida.In fact, a number of kin of the Nithari
victims had on Tuesday demonstrated outside the
gallery, demanding arrest of Neeraj Nigam and
Chandan, owners of the gallery.

They had also demanded arrest of the artists. A
case has been registered under section 292 of the
Indian Penal Code, which pertains to commercial
exploitation of obscene depictions.According to
Ghaziabad police chief Deepak Ratan: "Some of
the paintings, as we see them from the catalogue
of the exhibition, do not seem to be relevant to the
grim subject of the Nithari rapes and killings, to
begin with.

These could easily also be regarded as distasteful.
But, obscenity, in strictly legal terms, is another
issue altogether. And, we are seeking expert opinion
on that."No one has been arrested yet. Khalid Khan,
counsel for Karanvir in the Nithari case, said: "At
least two of the so-called works of art in the exhibition
are far removed from being art at all. This is commercial
exploitation of the grim tragedy. The police should
arrest the gallery owners and the artists."

Babul Lal, father of Rachna, who was raped and
murdered in Nithari, said, "There cannot be a greater
insult to the memory of those killed than to have them
depicted like this, like what we see in D grade Hindi
movies. This is not art." (end)=