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Two new showrooms/office spaces, double height (135 sq m each with bath) for lease in upscale Campal/Miramar beach area, Panaji, Goa. Contact: goaengineer...@aol.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dear Sir, I followed with keen interest the Editor’s email exchanges with Sayeesh Naik (GT 8 Sep) with reference to the Editorial appearing on 21st August. I must add that I too have found this Editorial on "Dr Subodh Kerkar’s Art" a little hard to digest. In this context, I recount the speech of the great American President John F. Kennedy, made at the Amherst College in Massachusetts in honor of poet Robert Frost. The former President made a fitting case for a nation to represent itself not only through its strength but also through its art by observing and I quote "If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him." History will illustrate that Countries have progressed whenever human thought and the creative process has been given a free reign to flower and prosper. If the limits of human thought are to be clipped in the name of religion, then we will see no Galileo. By seeking to adopt a cautious approach, the Editorial seriously misses the plot and tries to give a kind of legitimacy to the politics of threat and intimidation. It is extremely sad and disappointing to note that the ugly genie of “religious intolerance” keeps popping out of lamp time and again and Artists are being subjected to the worst campaign of politically motivated censorship in years. This is despite the fact that our Constitution under Constitution Article 19(1) (a) guarantees every citizen the fundamental rights of freedom of speech and expression and the highest Courts of our land have consistently defined the limits of these Freedoms and ruled in favour of the Artists. One such legal precedent was set way back in 1954 when various charges were filed against Artist Akbar Padamsee for his erotic works of Art. The Artist was arrested on charges of obscenity and cases filed in the Courts of law. The matter was finally disposed in the Honorable High Court which, in its landmark Judgment, held that since art exhibitions are meant for those who voluntarily step into the gallery to view them, they do not constitute a violation of obscenity under the IPC. The Court categorically observed that viewers enter such exhibitions at their own discretion, and can hence choose not to enter if they feel they may be offended by the exhibits on display. Creative forms of expressions like Art, Films, Books, etc cannot be banned simply because hyper-sensitive groups find the same offensive. If this were to happen, we would move back into the dark ages. Furthermore, the spiritual tenets of Hinduism have always celebrated diversity and Dr Kerkar’s Art is consistent with such traditions which see its Gods and Goddesses in various forms, postures and figures - both clad as well as unclad. Just as beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder so does obscenity. An Artist’s work is an exercise in creativity and should be viewed with an open mind. Those whose sentiments are offended at the drop of a hat can choose to stay away from Art galleries. Let’s not allow our Society to be transformed into an intolerant society. The principles of liberalism and tolerance must prevail! Regards Sandeep Heble