The other day I was at the airport, waiting to board and reading a magazine. A man, seemingly in his 40s came sat beside me and beside him sat the lady who accompanied him.
He peeked into the magazine I was reading and immediately signalled the lady accompanying him to get up. They both got up and went sat elsewhere leaving several empty seats between us. I didn’t think much of it. May be it was just too hot around where I sat. I definitely had not farted 🙂
The incident repeated with another couple within the next few minutes. This time, the folks getting up seemed to hurl abuses at me. Only then, realisation dawned.
I was reading a fashion magazine. I was reading the page on the right. The full page on the left had the picture of a female model showing off her curves albeit not entirely revealing. What was so wrong about me or with what I was doing? I was after all reading a magazine to fulfil my curiosity much like I would read an automobile, business or sports magazine.
During the flight, I tried to connect the dots…India…land of the Kamasutra…second most populous country on the planet…and Sex is a taboo? Really? I then discovered, it wasn’t always this way. Sex became a taboo and we are all about double standards! Here’s a pictorial in-complete, non-comprehensive walkthrough of sexuality in India through the ages.
Krishna Leela – Our Dear Lord Krishna is portrayed as quite the Romantic
Krishna Leela, Image: festivalchaska.blogspot.in
In Hindu mythology, our sacred texts are filled with Maharishi’s enchanted with beautiful heavenly Apsaras.
Menaka seduces Vishvamitra, Photo: Wikipedia. Art by Raja Ravi Varma
Ancient Indian Hindu text written between 400BCE and 200CE by Vatsyayana is the oldest, most notable and most definitive text on human sexual behaviour – constitutes 1250 verses in 36 chapters.
Vatsyayana Kamasutra
Our forefathers and foremothers wished to pass on valuable knowledge to us via graphic art painstakingly carved and crafted over generations. They etched erotic art outside temples so following brahmacharya until they became men, they could learn about the world and prepare themselves to become householders through examining these sculptures and the worldly desires they depicted (Wikipedia).
Khajuraho built between 950 and 1150 is the most famous for erotic art. It’s been famously called the apogee of erotic art.
Khajuraho Temple Art, Photo: theclassytraveler.com
Hindu kings built magnificent architectural wonders publicly to house harems. Hawa Mahal, Jaipur has 953 windows to allow royal ladies to observe everyday life in the street below without being seen.
Built 1799, Hawa Mahal Jaipur Harem, Photo: Flickr
The Mughals built entire cities with “well developed infrastructure” to propagate the art form.
Mughal Harem, Photo: www.exoticindia.com
The Great Mahatma, father of our nation is known for his experiments with sexuality along side his famous biography “My Experiments with Truth”
Mahatma Gandhi
Some enterprising Indians launched India’s very own desi porn – a graphic cartoon comic strip called Savita Bhabhi until the Information & Broadcasting Ministry, Government of India shut it down.
Savita Bhabhi movie
An enterprising woman entrepreneur immortalised “Silk”, India’s most sought-after erotic actress of all time who acted in 450 movies across 5 languages in a career spanning 17 years. The Dirty Picture became a Blockbuster and catapulted a struggling actress to national acclaim for her acting.
(I have the dubious distinction of watching this movie from the first row at the theater. Never before have I seen so much flesh on celluloid so close.)
The Dirty Picture Movie Poster, Photo: www.ihdwallpapers.com
Of Indian descent, she came to Bollywood from the western porn industry. The Indians warmed up to her instantly. She’s the hot-topic of conversation on Whatsapp groups, at coffee shops and her horrex (less horror, more sex) movies are raking in the big mullah. She could be denied a hotel room once in a while – attribute that to our double standards. She’s made the woman entrepreneur the undefeated queen of legal porn!
Where is the Film Censor Board? Probably in the theatres.
Sunny Leone
So, long story short – how did we get here – the second most populous country on the planet? Figure it out!
India Billion Plus Population, Photo: newseastwest.com
So, here’s how Sex in India became a taboo – “The British Raj era put India much more at the mercy of Britain’s official guardians of morality. Victorian values stigmatized Indian sexual liberalism. The pluralism of Hinduism, and its liberal attitudes were condemned as ‘barbaric’ and proof of inferiority of the East. The effects of British education, administration, scholarship of Indian history and biased literature all led to the effective ‘colonization’ of the Indian mind with European values. This led some Indians wanting to conform their religious practices and moral values to Victorian ideas of “high” civilization.” – Wikipedia
Our Gods, Maharishis, Sages, Emperors, Kings, Nobles, Mahatmas, Leaders, Forefathers & Foremothers have all practiced and encouraged sexual liberalism. It’s been publicly acknowledged as a natural act – not a taboo. We need to rediscover it. Liberalism isn’t about plurality. We need an attitudinal shift – openness to frank discussion, debate and education since ignorance and dogma can cause great harm.
And did I mention – the first couple that got up and walked away from my side in the boarding area ended up right next to me on the flight. 🙂
