India has over the years produces many notable artists like Raja Ravi Verma, Tyab Mehta, Amrita Shar-Gil, Francis Newton Souza, Ganesh Pyne, A.Ramachandran, C.Raja Raja Varma, Anjolie Ela Menon. But the one name which stands out above all is that of M.F.Hussain. He is perhaps the most successful and most controversial of all the Indian artists till date and a proof of his success is the record breaking price that his 1971 painting “Battle of Ganga and Jamuna: Mahabharata 12″ has fetched at the Christie’s South Asian Modern and Contemporary Art sale in New York recently.
Battle of Ganga and Jamuna: Mahabharata 12
The Painting sold for a cool $1.6 million to set the world record for the highest priced Indian Art. His list of achievements goes on and on. He has been awarded the prestigious Padma Shree in 1955, the Padma Bhushan in 1973 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1991, by the Government of India. He was also specially invited at the “Sao Paulo Biennial” in 1971 to exhibit alongside Pablo Picasso.
Hussain’s “Self-Karachi” and “Horse”
In spite of all his successes, M.F Hussain has always been a controversial figure in the Indian art scene. He has been accused by the Hindu hardliners of hurting their religious sentiments. The situation was further aggravated by his depiction of India as a nude goddess. In 2006, he publicly apologized for the incident and offered to take the painting out of the auction house. Most recently during the Christie’s auction, the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) protested against Hussain for hurting their sentiments by painting Hindu gods and goddesses in a derogatory and vulgar form.
Ganga Jamuna: The Controversial Painting
Now, the question arises, should the artists be free to express whatever they want in the name of creativity, or should they refrain from hurting the sentiments of the masses? The cartoon incident concerning the Muslim community was an example of how far the sentiments could be hurt. One similar incident happened in Gujarat’s MS University when an art student was jailed for depicting Hindu goddesses in vulgar poses. There are numerous incidents of similar nature where the creativity has interfered with the sensitivity.
The answer to the above question is not a straight forward one. Especially in a country like India which is so highly heterogeneous, this question takes on a completely different meaning. India is a secular and democratic country where every individual has the right to express whatever he/she wants to. But, even a sixth grader will tell you that along with the fundamental rights there are the fundamental duties. We as citizens don’t want our rights to be taken away, but also we should be aware of our duties. We should also be tolerant of what others express and say. There should always be a fine line between the duties and the rights. M F Hussain has every right to draw what he wants to. But repeating the same theme (nudity), when he knows that it hurts the sentiments of a particular group again and again, reflects the lack of commitment to the fundamental duties on his part. The Hindu Organisations should also refrain from blowing the matter out of proportion every time Hussain exhibits or auctions something. They should learn to filter out the things which they do not like. Hussain’s paintings are his personal thoughts and views, which he expects nobody to believe in or follow. They should learn to view art as art only and not as any propaganda statement.
Finally, I would like to mention that ultimately in this battle of sentiments, rights, duties and protests, the primary looser is the artist and the arts. Let us be patient and tolerant and let the arts and culture flourish.
CRY stands for “Child Rights and You”. It is a non-profit organization devoted towards improving the living conditions of millions of children across India. This banner has no commercial purpose at all.
