Hindutva groups in the US protest against the movie 'Sita Sings the Blues' and display of Hussain paintings at art show

The Times of India

Hindu groups protest screening of 'Sita Sings the Blues'

August 18, 2011, 04.41PM IST

Several local Hindu organizations joined forces Aug. 6 to protest the San Jose Museum of Art's screening of Nina Paley's 2008 animated film, "Sita Sings the Blues" - which intersperses events from the Indian epic Ramayana with the artist's own life - at the Camera 12 theater here.

"I'm very angry about this film and feel very humiliated by the portrayal of Lord Ram in this very perverted way," Khanderao Kand told India-West at the rally, adding that he particularly objected to a scene in the film where Ram kicks a pregnant Sita. "Negative portrayals of Hinduism cause discrimination and religious intolerance," he said.

But museum officials said they were going ahead with the screening that afternoon. "We do not support artistic censorship," Deb Norberg, deputy director for the SJMA, told India-West.

Paley's film intersperses the legend of Lord Ram ordering his pregnant wife Sita out of his court following her imprisonment by Ravana, with the filmmaker's biographical tale about her own failed marriage, which begins happily in San Francisco, Calif., and ends badly in Trivandrum, India. The film is set off by a superb, smoky soundtrack sung by Annette Hanshaw.

"Sita is a most sacrificing, self-abasing woman who places herself below Ram, but at the same time is elevated to a goddess," Paley told India-West in a brief telephone interview, adding that she was inspired by Sita's dying for love. Lord Ram is not depicted well in the film, conceded Paley, but added, "No one has to like it."

Protestors simultaneously decried the museum's showcasing of the late M.F. Husain's depiction of a nude, blue Sita, an untitled work in his Ramayana series. The painting is part of a special exhibition, "Roots in the Air, Branches Below," a collection of Indian art on loan from several Indian American collectors residing in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The exhibit is on display until Sept. 5 and features the artists Tyeb Mehta and Jamini Roy, among others. Three Husains, including a portrait of Mother Teresa, are also in the collection.

Husain came under fire several times in his eight-decade long career, primarily for depicting Hindu goddesses in the nude. One of India's best-known artists, Husain died in exile in London last June.

Representatives of several organizations met with SJMA representatives Aug. 4 to ask the institution to cancel its screening.

"We had a cordial conversation, but decided to go ahead with our program," Sherrill Ingalls, press contact for the museum, told India-West Aug. 4, adding, "We support artistic freedom."

Nilesh Shirodkar, a volunteer with the Forum for Hindu Awakening, also attended the Aug. 4 meeting. "We spoke about the denigration of our revered Hindu deities in this film, but they told us they could not retract the show. So we have staged this peaceful protest," he told India-West.

The activists began their rally mid-morning on the steps of the museum, and then marched two blocks over to Camera 12, carrying signs exhorting Paley not to blame Hinduism for her failed marriage and chanting "M.F. Husain, shame, shame," along with "Sita Sings the Blues, but Nina Paley has no clue."

At one point, the activists vehemently repeated, "Nina Paley, go to hell," until an organizer intervened and asked the group to tone it down, in view of the several children participating in the rally.

Vijay Simha, national joint secretary of the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh USA, echoed Kand's remarks. "I feel offended and concerned by this kind of slur to our value system," he told India-West. "Ram is the ideal father, husband and king. Millions of Hindus are inspired by his character and worship him daily."

"Ram symbolizes everything noble for a Hindu," said Simha, adding that SJMA should have cancelled its program after learning that the film had upset Hindu sensibilities.

"Trying to promote India's rich culture in such a way is appalling," Gaurang Desai, a volunteer with the Friends of India Society, told India-West. "Depicting the goddess Sita in a sexual way is denigrating," he said, adding that the SJMA "should not have hosted such an event in the name of India."

Asked about nude carvings and sculptures abundant in Indian temple art dating back several thousand years, Desai said he had no objection to nudity in art, but did oppose the sexualizing of Hindu goddesses.

After the screening, protestors marched back to the museum and staged a sit-in at its capacious cobblestoned entrance. Norberg and Ingalls then met with a small group of activists on the museum's steps.

"They expressed their concerns and asked us to stay in touch with them for future programs," Norberg told India-West after the meeting. "We are in disagreement with them but we have made their material available at the museum," she said.

A screening of "Sita Sings the Blues" was cancelled last month at the Starlight Pavilion in New York, after the Forum for Hindu Awakening and the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti sent more than 1,000 e-mails protesting the event to 26-year-old organizer Rohan Narine. The film was shown at Narine's parents' home instead.

India-West