Protest: San Jose Museum of Art displays Husain’s paintings, to show ‘Sita Sings the Blues’

As per the information received from Forum for Hindu Awakening, it has came to light that San Jose Museum of Art is going to show  the movie ‘Sita Sings the Blues’ on 6^th August, which denigrates Ramayana and depicts Sri Ram, Goddess Sita and Sri Hanuman.in bad light.  Also San Jose Museum is showcasing nude paintings of Hindu Deities by Anti-Hindu and Anti-National painter M F Husain in its exhibition of Modern and Contemporary Art of India. Now it is the duty of all Hindus to protest lawfully against San Jose Museum, so that it should not exhibit ‘Sita Sings the Blues’ movie and it should also remove paintings of Anti-Hindu M F Husain. So also San Jose Museum should render unconditional apology to Hindus for hurting their religious sentiments.

Devout Hindus are protesting lawfully on following Contact Details: San Jose Museum of Art 110 South Market Street San Jose, CA 95113 Phone: +1 408 271 6840 E-mail : [email protected],               [email protected],               [email protected],               [email protected]

Protest letter by Forum For Hindu Awakening to San Jose Museum of Art

From: Forum for Hindu Awakening
Date: Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 11:37 AM
Subject: Exclude ‘Sita Sings the Blues’ and Husain’s ‘Ramayan’ painting from exhibition
To: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Namaste,
 
We have received complaints from several Hindus in the San Francisco Bay Area about your showing the film ‘Sita Sings the Blues’ at the San Jose museum this Saturday (6th August). We would like to bring to your attention that ‘Sita Sings the Blues’, which its producers claim to be based on Sage Valmiki’s Ramayan, is actually a denigrating parody of the Ramayan, a Holy epic of Hindus ! Through this animation film, animator Nina Paley has drawn irreverent parallels between her own heartbreak and the divine story of Mother Sita, who has been worshipped for ages by Hindus as the symbol of purity and devotion. Nina Paley has not retracted this film despite protests from 1000s of Hindus worldwide, showing her malicious intent and complete insensitivity towards the Hindu community.

 
While browsing through your website about this event, we came to a related exhibition, Roots in the Air, Branches Below that showcases contemporary art from India. Chosen works of Indian artists like M. F. Husain are included in this exhibition. M. F. Husain had gained notoriety for hurting the sentiments of millions of Hindus with denigrating depictions of Hindus’ symbols of reverence, as in this work you are showcasing: http://www.sjmusart.org/roots-air-branches-below-modern-and-contemporary-art-india/works/Husain-M-F-Untitled1978.php

This work is described on your website as follows : “In this painting… Husain broke from tradition by depicting Sita nude – an example of the way he reinterprets Indian epics.” The worldwide Hindu community has denounced such art of Husain as deliberately derogatory treatment reserved only for Hinduism’s sacred symbols, while Husain chose to depict other religions’ icons with due respect.

In general, your esteemed institution’s effort towards education through art is remarkable. However, showing this denigrating film and painting can distort visitors’ learning about Hinduism and Mother Sita. It is also insensitive towards the worldwide Hindu community that is unaware about this exhibition for the most part. Hence, we urge you to cancel showing ‘Sita Sings the Blues’ and the above mentioned painting in your exhibition. (At the end of this letter, we have listed some other works that show Hinduism’s sacred symbols or concepts inaccurately or in a poor light; please cancel their inclusion as well from your exhibition.)

Sincerely,
Bhavna Shinde
Spokesperson, Forum for Hindu Awakening
www.HinduAwakening.org

http://www.sjmusart.org/roots-air-branches-below-modern-and-contemporary-art-india/works/vinod-balak-vishnu-with-bonsai.php

http://www.sjmusart.org/roots-air-branches-below-modern-and-contemporary-art-india/works/anju-dodiya-the-churning.php

http://www.sjmusart.org/roots-air-branches-below-modern-and-contemporary-art-india/works/surendran-nair-neti-neti.php

Read Further

	Protest against the denigration of Ramayana Protest Nina Paley for movie ‘Sita Sings the Blues’ which ridicules Ramayana. Read more
	MF Husain campaign HJS protested against nude painting of Bharatmata (Mother India) by MF Husain. The painting was auctioned publically by Nafisa Ali for 80 Lakhs resulting in huge protests all over India.   Read more
	Protest against defamation of Hindu Deities & Icons  Read more