Selective Amnesia

On usages

Need to save Tirupati from the gults.
Need to save bharatanatyam from the tam-brams
Need to save ideology from the philosopher
Need to save Selective Amnesia from me

I now realise the whole attraction Tirupati has for people. It’s like sex, only a little less fulfilling. You wait and wait for 5 hours, for two seconds of movement. There’s wet skin brushing against wet skin. There’s pushing through tight openings. And then, there’s a 5 second window in which you (try to) achieve the whole objective. And by now, you are spent. And sweaty.—Middle class (in Madras, that’s predominantly Tam-bram) values and bharatanatyam don’t mix. For fuck’s sake, where is the sensuousness? Where’s the erotic? Where’s the whole sexual tension when Radha is seeking Krishna? Or when Bhaarathi says “Ninnaye Rathiyendru ninaikindren”? Please, if you do insist on dancing the Bharatanatyam, learn to be a little more evocative. Praying to Ganapati is only fun the first 15,967 times.

Tirupati | bharatanatyam | middle class | tamil brahmin |