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Mostly Misguided

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Not having had access to it, one cannot say what is shown in the ‘documentary’ on Goddess Kaali by Director Leena Manimekalai (money-make-a-lie?), but its poster has stirred up a row – this time with the ‘defenders’ of the Hindu faith. It is natural for people to envision deities in their own image, therefore, on the face of it, the director’s Maa Kaali is probably how she sees the Goddess within her. Going by the poster, it would be a Woke, cigarette puffing, LGBT supporting feminist. If that is the case, it should not bother people, except for the fact that cigarettes are bad for health and, even tangentially, Maa Kaali should not be promoting their use.

Unfortunately, however, it could also be a ‘money-making-lie’. In the world of social media, notoriety gets even greater publicity than mere fame. Nothing better than to promote oneself and one’s film by generating a controversy! The agitated Hindus probably suspect that the Divine has been trivialised in this fashion, which obviously needs to be discouraged. Hence, the protests! Inadvertent disrespect can be understood, but to do so deliberately cannot become a habit.

Social media, of course, has provided everybody the space to jump into such controversies – even those who should know better. One doesn’t know, for instance, what TMC MP Mohua Mitra is seeking to convey when she insists that Maa Kaali is an alcohol drinking meat-eater. She missed out on the severing heads and drinking blood part. What does that prove? While people work out the answer, her own party has quietly disassociated itself from her ‘personal opinion’. There are enough allegations of being anti-Hindu against it already.

Perhaps, seeing the documentary might shed more light on the issue. For, it must be remembered, that Shakti and Shiva accept even the flawed offerings of their devotees, for they are just an extension of their selves, an illusion, mere sport! Let those aggrieved take such issues to the courts, but not be too confident that there will any light shed on the matter – there could be just more of the recent sound and fury signifying nothing except the vacuity of certain minds!