Friday, January 23, 2009

Unwanted unaesthetic sightings

My friends once jokingly asked me one night at my hostel, "Have you seen a man's penis?". I answered, in matter-of-fact manner, “ I must have seen at least 70-80 of them.” My friends burst out laughing, barely able to control themselves. Later, they wanted to know how that was possible. The two of them could barely keep their eyes from popping out. I told them that on the bus from Thane to Panvel, which passes from multiple suburbs of New Bombay, I have to put up with the site of men openly defecating on the streets with their privates parts on public display. Free - for - all. You can’t escape it. Look to the left. It’s the same. Look to the right. It’s the same. You only avoid such sights if you studiously look heavenwards or keeping admiring your own thighs. Those who can sleep in the bus manage to protect their eyes from the obscene exhibition but not their noses from the putrid smell. You put with this shameless, quotidian display of male venereal organs even on the train from Thane to Panvel. In the mornings, our rail tracks and highways virtually turn into shit tracks and shitways. On hearing my explanation, they were still laughing but with intermittent screams of “Yuck”, “Kiti ghan!” ( Marathi for "How dirty!") . Then I told them that I could bet that even they had seen penises in the same manner. They said “Yes”. It is the same on the railway tracks from Kurla to Panvel and even from Rasayani to Alibaug. We then launched into a tirade about how revolting, nauseating and shocking the sight of the human penis is. (Of course, in the given context). I wondered out aloud why women aren’t seen defecating openly? If they have the sense to go to secluded places then why not men? And more importantly, why are people still defecating in the open? Can’t the local municipalities provide toilets for all and spare us the sights of penises and bare bottoms? And even more importantly, why do those who “fight for saving Indian culture” do not make a hue and cry about this? After all displaying penises in public for any reason whatsoever, (leave aside infants and toddlers) is definitely more serious and indecent than as compared to say a Richard Gere pecking a Shilpa Shetty on her cheeks or a Rahul Mahajan and a Payal Rohatgi in a swimming pool together!

3 comments:

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

diffrent context.
btw new blog at
http://volksgrenadier.wordpress.com/

^RoOhAnI^ said...

Seriously! It's the patriarchy, which every man denies..

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An infectiously enthusiastic incorrigible optimist, insanely in love with and morbidly curious about life, death and everything in between.