The necessary titillations

The basic instincts..

The price we pay for being civilized, orderly, and decent and law abiding members of society is that we have stopped doing several things. We don’t go around carrying axes, spears and clubs beating each other to pulp for flimsiest of reasons; we don’t steal each other wives or husbands because we desire them physically, we don’t migrate from territory to territory scourging for food and water; we don’t give into our instincts that are essentially mammalian and sometimes carnivorous, and dutifully yield to rules that we don’t necessarily agree with but nevertheless abide by; we exercise our appetites to the extent that it doesn’t infringe on our neighbors freedom, taste and preferences - I can keep racking up a thousand things that we all love to do, but do not , for the simple reason that for us to live together we have imposed upon ourselves certain restraints for common good. I am in perfect agreement with this arrangement, until we realize that as Human organisms we are driven by needs shaped over millennium, and there has to be adequate substitution or transference of instinctual and encoded behavior taken away from us by our laws and regulations, and that we need to give vent to pent up forces through some means if sanity needs to prevail in society. It is that simple. Greeks and Romans invented games (sometime bloody) only to channelize this raw pent up physical energy that would otherwise flare up as violence and anarchy (Read Anthony Burgess’s “the clockwork orange” for what happens when moral barricades break down and violent erupts), and similarly there was never a period in recorded history when mankind did not have some kind of graphic props to bolster his sexual appetites. If both these appetites are not in some way satisfied, appeased or reconciled – then let me tell you, we are in some trouble.

Now let me talk a little about sex. It is a very basic instinct, embedded deep within our genetic codes, whether we like it or not (chances are very high that we like it...) And if is not allowed to exercise its natural libidinous license in the way it should be, then at the very least we must provide for alternate avenues, less predatory and intrusive – for it be dissipated. Otherwise it would end up creating havoc within. This was precisely Freud’s stunning discovery at the turn of the last century. Every documented age in history had its Vatsyana’s and books and manuals of conjugal bliss. Thank god for it!!! because, If not for their palliative influence, most of mankind would be running around half mad, possessed by this bubbling desire that stirs within an adult breast at certain age of physical maturity, and runs unabated until the body reaches decrepitude. No matter how hard we try (as a society) to push it undercover for whatever reason we chose to, there is nothing in this wide world that can completely obliterate it from our bodily life. This is the stark truth. And any kind of sexual stimulant that aids in its non- intrusive consummation is good. And as long one uses and enjoys its liberating intoxication within the confines of one’s walls – I don’t think anyone should have a problem with it. Also I do not believe anyone who takes the moral high ground and claims that they are never sexually aroused when they see a physically attractive fellow human being (I include all kinds of sexual proclivities in this generalization). It is either a downright lie, or they are ashamed to admit so in public. The second reason is more probable and all of us know why ( rigorous indoctrination of right and wrong, good and evil) ; and it is precisely because of this immaturity that as a civilization we are so closed and prudish about sexual attitudes.

I am not an advocate of pornography, but I cannot unequivocally dismiss it as morally reprehensible either. It has its uses. The question is: are we mature enough to understand its proper place in our lives? Where we look at picture in a magazine and ogle over it, or watch two bodies gyrate sensually to a rhythm on screens, or read a book that explicitly describes sexual maneuvering - what is that we are triggering or attempting to achieve by these titillation. Only a harmless fulfillment of a bodily need that cannot be satiated otherwise in organized society. Literature abounds with works that reflect double standards we set ourselves on this important and indispensable need. I was recently reading Nabokov’s path breaking work of fiction “Lolita”, which if not for his peerless and ecstatic language could easily be classified as porn (In fact, many still believe it is porn). Humbert Humbert’s pain, frustration at not being able to ravish his young “nymphet” Lolita strikes a faint resonance in all who reads his confession; and so would DH Lawrence’s “Lady Chatterley’s lover” evoke in us a sense of forbidden love and illegitimate physical union. And what is “fifty shades of grey” all about, if not a blatant acceptance of modern day flippancy on sexual trends. It has sold more number of copies then dickens and Jane Austen. My point is this: Pornography becomes a matter of concern only when regular channels of appeasement are closed and one starts depending upon it for survival. And like anything else, there is an inner discipline that should tell us at what point the fantasy world of Porn begins and reality halts. There is every chance that a few will misuse it, and will go astray invariably crossing that thin boundary between acceptable and intrusive. But that shouldn’t become the benchmark for judgement for and against it. The other day, I was flipping an old copy of Kamasutra that I happened to buy in a second hand store; an admirable translation by Richard Francis Burton. What a magnificent read. The language, prose and intense sensuality of his rendering elevates the art of love making to mystical heights. I wish every porn aid is made in that tenor and intent. Well, that is wishful thinking, but nonetheless worth aspiring.

The reason that triggered this essay is that in the recent past, the Indian government toyed with the idea of prohibiting pornography over cyberspace; only to quickly realize that such an act is nothing short of foolhardiness in a technological enlightened society. I am not sure what the government was thinking when they decided to impose this rule. Over the last year or so, the newly formed legislature seems intent of focusing on issues that seems least important to me. In my class this week, an American colleague asked me “Hey Bala, don’t you think India has bigger problems than dealing with Porn?”… I could only say “Yes” and nothing more. America has legalized Porn. It does not seem everyone tunes into it studiously every day evening as entertainment. Democracy is a difficult experiment, and India needs to understand that sooner than later. With increased globalization of work place, Young Men and Women are returning to India questioning a lot of traditional values and boundaries, and unless as a nation we start accommodate them in all embracing manner, there would be increasing uneasiness and distrust. I am not sure if such flimsy announcements are part of larger dogmatic religious Agenda, or is it just one of those odd things that someone cooked up all of a sudden. Whatever the cause, I am glad that the Government withdrew this prohibition quickly enough.

Some things in life cannot be controlled by laws and decrees. And sex and violence are two of them. If laws were all that were needed, then we would have achieved utopia right long time ago. History vindicates that at best, we can legislate to provide barricades or scaffolding, but it is up to the individual to rise above primal instincts and evolve into his full potential as a reasonable Human being.

God bless…

Yours in mortality,

Bala