Upset Hindus want withdrawal of “denigrating” image of Goddess Kali from New York museum

Margashirsha Shuddha Ashtami, Kaliyug Varsha 5111

USA: Upset Hindus have asked for immediate removal of an artpiece from an exhibition at Neuberger Museum of Art (NMA) in Purchase (New York) which, they say, apparently depicts denigrating image of Goddess Kali.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, urged NMA authorities to urgently withdraw the artpiece from the exhibition as it was apparently very hurtful to the feeling of the devotees. Goddess Kali was highly revered in Hinduism and she was meant to be worshiped in temples and not to be used indecorously.

Zed, who is the president of Universal Society of Hinduism, stressed that Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about one billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought and it should not be taken lightly. No faith, larger or smaller, should be ridiculed at; Zed said and added that inappropriate use of Hinduism concepts and symbols was not okay. We did not understand that why this artpiece was allowed at the first place to be displayed in publicly funded museums, Zed argued.

Rajan Zed stated that Hindus welcomed artists to immerse in Hinduism but taking it seriously and respectfully and not just for improper showing of Hindu symbols and concepts to advance their selfish agenda. Casual flirting sometimes resulted in pillaging serious spiritual doctrines and revered symbols and hurting the devotees. Hindus were for free speech as much as anybody else if not more. But faith was something sacred and attempts at belittling it hurt the devotees. Artists should be more sensitive while handling faith related subjects, Zed pointed out.

Meanwhile, Bhavna Shinde of Forum for Hindu Awakening has written to NMA, Purchase College, Lord Mayor of Bradford, and Bradford Museums and Galleries, requesting withdrawal of the artwork depicting Goddess Kali at the earliest and saying: Please note that the Deity Kali is revered as the Mother Goddess by millions of Hindus around the world. Depicting the Deity as a gruesome figure as in this painting amounts to irreverence and trivialization of the sacred Deity. It hurts the religious sentiments of the devout Hindu community that looks upon any representation or depiction of a Deity as sacred.

Created by a British conceptual artist as a self-portrait and currently on display at NMA as a part of exhibition “British Subjects: Identity and Self-Fashioning 1967 – 2009”, the concerned artpiece is actually part of the collection of Bradford Museums and Galleries in United Kingdom and has been loaned to NMA as part of a special exhibition. This exhibition, which runs till December 13, contains over 60 pieces of art, including videos, paintings and sculpture, around self-portraiture.

NMA is part of Purchase College of State University of New York (SUNY) in Purchase. Thom Collins is its Director. Nancy L. Zimpher is SUNY Chancellor and Thomas J. Schwarz is President of Purchase College which claims to “offer an exceptional educational experience in a learning centered environment”. NMA portraits itself as the “the premier museum of modern, contemporary, and African art” and it presents more than a dozen changing exhibitions each year. Claire Ackroyd is the Interim Manager of Bradford Museums & Galleries which is run by City of Bradford. John D. Godward is Lord Mayor of Bradford City.

Goddess Kali, who personifies Sakti or divine energy, is widely worshipped in Hinduism. She is considered the goddess of time and change. Some Bengali poets described her as supreme deity.