The Creed of Tolerancy

When we went for that vacation to Tarkarli, we had been warned by her dad to be careful, to be wary of the Shiv Sainiks and other fundamentalist Hindu groups who have been harassing yougsters in many parts of the country. The reason for harassment could be anything from celebrating Valentine's Day (which I personally find quite stupid, but no reason to harass anyone for) to getting 'intimate' in public (warped as their insanely narrow definition of 'intimate' may be), or even standing in too much proximity if the twosome in question happen to not be entangled in the ties of matrimony. The fact that the weekend we went on holiday also happened to accommodate Valentine's Day only heightened her dad's concerns.

So it was no surprise when a cop we were asking for directions started questioning me as to why I was driving topless. The aircon in the car was on, I was shirt-less and yet, I was sweating. And I pointed out as much to the cop, who to my mild surprise, looked us over once, said to himself more than to us that we were on holiday and pointed us on our way.

Anyway, some days back, MF Husain was trying to decide whether to give up his Indian citizenship and become a national of Qatar instead, the country he has been living in ever since his self-imposed exile triggered by the many threats issued against him. These threats, not very different from the fatwa issued by the Ayotallah against Salman Rushdie, were set out by fundamentalist Hindu groups whose fanaticism led them to proclaim his paintings of Hindu goddesses and Mother India as obscene and hence making him worthy of premature death.

This is not about raking up the issue however. I saw this bit on one of the gazillion TV screens in the office and casually remarked to a colleague about how I thought it was fucked up. The response was "It's a good thing only, that fucker should stay out". At my "What the...?!", the response changed. It went "Actually, no, he should come back. Else, how will we ever beat up the mother-fucker?"

When I argued about artistic freedom to interpret and the subjectivity of obscenity, I was told that I should respect other peoples' opinions, and to live and let live. Now that's rich, don't you think? I mean, how often do you get an intolerant cunt asking you to respect others' opinions? And this particular individual talking of obscenity? I mean, he is the kind of creep who stands on the office balcony looking down at women exercising a few floors below just so he can see some jiggling boobs. People like him brandishing intolerance for obscenity really takes the cake.

And oh, I also have a word for anyone talking about the zodiac. This arse-wipe and me share the same birthdate. And if anyone tells me (in person) that he and me are alike, be ready for a nice punch on the face. After all, a display of intolerance will only be fair, won't it?