Songs slap

Live singing with loud dholak playing of lilting old Bollywood numbers by a squad of transgenders who have invaded to collect levy from a family blessed with a newborn is filling the air this bright spring morning. Move on toilets for transgenders sparks off debate in Chennai (Indian Express - ‎Mar 8, 2009‎) is perhaps another side of the picture.

"Dev. D has shocked and delighted many in its unusually explicit references to sex and sexuality," writes Rachel Dwyer (Love’s labour not lost HT - Tue, 10 Mar 2009). AIDS and allied issues, however, continue to dog the oldest profession. [TNM]

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[Wednesday, June 13, 2007 Millions of people like me have absolutely no direct interface with Tantra
Tusar N. Mohapatra Says: June 13th, 2007 at 6:12 am I am not sure of the model of ontology that you have in mind by which you harmonize both Preya and Shreya, but in the scheme of The Mother and Sri Aurobindo, sex doesn’t gel with Sadhana. Absolutely no elbowroom there. Even the Vaishnavic/Platonic love and emotion is also disallowed.
You are one of the rare Westerners in the blogosphere who have some awareness of and inclination towards the Indian tradition. But the glorified notion of Tantra celebrating sex is a little bit misplaced. Millions of people like me have absolutely no direct interface with Tantra as it operates in the margin in dubious manner. So, the legitimacy that you are proposing linking it with a politically correct/libertarian view of sex doesn’t match with the ground situation obtaining in India.
Further, the idea of sex has already been stretched from “The Pleasure of the Text” to “History of Sexuality.” An astute investigator like Foucault, who embarked upon an ambitious adventure to unravel the mystery of sex (in Vol. I), subsequently backed out and wrote just commentaries on the theme of sex as available in the Classical literature (in Vol. II & III). So, the way you venture to tackle a complex phenomenon like sex across cultures is too hazardous.
May I clarify that I am not objecting on moral grounds; rather my concerns are of method and informed debate so that unbiased scholarship emerges. Open Integral
Posted by Tusar N Mohapatra at 6:46 PM]