I read a column in the newspaper today about M.F Hussain living in Dubai because he's under threat from Hindu fundamentalists for painting half naked women. The issue is that he's a Muslim and is therefore making a mockery of the Hindu faith by painting naked hotties....ok....
This made me think.
I'm half Muslim and half Hindu Tamilian Bhramin. Two faiths that have butted heads for atleast as long as i've been alive. A brave thing for my parents to have faced some 30 odd years ago. From the stories i've heard from them their marriage and it's consequences were much like an '80's Bollywood movie. Screaming mother, brother filled with righteous indignation that slapped the heroine( my mommy:)) and disowning from family, community, religion. Hell even their dog's seemed pissed in the photo's!
We grew up, my brother and i, as the black sheep in a snowy white flock where everyone was EITHER Hindu or Muslim. Not both. So we were viewed sceptically through most of our childhoods by both sides of uncles, aunts, cousins and cats. kept at a distance lest we started singing qawali's at diwali or wear bindi's to eid:)
But my family ie. mom,dad, brother and dog have always led a sort melting pot life. It's a house that plays Abida Parveen and M.S. Subhalakshmi equally and often at the same time. My parents were in their 20's in the 70's and we're all "convent" educated so the Beatles and Elvis rang in most New Years while Bing Crosby sang at most Christmases where Santa put things in our stockings( nylon socks with a red bow. Sadly we didn't know what "proper" stockings looked like till satellite TV:))
All my life i've been asked "But what are you?"....for the life of me I don't know. I'm a half Muslim, half Hindu girl with an accent that sounds like the queen regularly pops by my house for tea. I respect and value all my faiths and all my cultural values.
I refuse to tick one box. Pick one side.
So will the Sangh Parivar, The Congress, Akali Dal ...whoever the fuck like to tell me what they plan to do with us half breed kuntri mongrels that don't tick one box and don't feel outraged by M.F. Hussian's paintings? Don't kid yourself powers that be. India and it's citizens are not so easy to slot anymore.
If you want to disown me from my country on account of my half breedness (might happen dude these government types are crazy!) can i name my country Kashvistan?
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1 comment:
hey, thinkin u write really well...
as for the government...theyre still trying to figure out who put the word secular in front of our country adn what it means!!
see unlike, the lucky convent educated few of us, the word "secular" is still rocket science!
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