Patel's Theory Of Abuse And Mahabharata

Indian abuses are often laden with creative copulative nuances. Those against whom such abuses are hurled don’t take them as insulting as the one that has religious subtext.

Akar Patel in the latest Lounge issue put to rest some doubts on this subject. However it raises fresh few ones.

Akar Patel:

Perhaps men did not abuse one another during the Heroic age. There is not a word of sexual abuse in Iliad (though Achilles does call Agamemnon kunopa: dog-face). Presumably this is because they could settle it with swords.

…

All abuse attempts to dishonour. Abuse is a male weapon, because honour is a male virtue. Most words of abuse are coined to hurt men. A woman is attacked through allegations of promiscuity, not incest. A woman using sexual abuse is not convincing and her words do not sting, because she cannot penetrate.

Here, am I the only one to stuck at some contradictions. Wars from puranas are mostly fought to regain honour – the most conspicuous among them Mahabharata where Draupadi convinces Yudhistir to take on to Kauravas. Though immediate provocation to 18-days war is to reclaim lost kingdom, the real roots of Mahabharata war, we discover, are in Draupadi vastraharan act. It leaves Pandavas sulking.

Here I let myself enter into realm of fantasy to draw some interesting conjectures, though the extended ones for personal consumption.

If Duryodhana indeed wanted to dishonour Pandavas, how heroic character would have reacted during Mahabharata eon. Elsewhere, what could have been Shukracharyas reaction when he learns Yayati has entered into adultery by mating Sharmishtha. Imagine if Amit Varma belonged to same epoch, how his peppered WTF remarks would evoke reactions from Bhishma, who sermons the rajsabha on dharma post the dice game.

Ghashiram Kotwal & Jar-karma

Corroboration falls short to prove historical reference piece that Gharisham Sawaldas bartered his 16-year-old daughter with Nana Phadanavis to become Kotwal (police commissioner) of Pune city.

There are however references available on how Ghashiram was killed by Brahmins of Pune on 21 August 1791. Those Brahmins, irked by the previous night incident when 21 citizens were lost their lives due to suffocation while guarding bombshells, lynched Ghashiram. The act was committed in Hadapsar where Arm Forces Medical College is now situated.

Stories surrounding Ghashiram have often been inquisitive. Those stories tell us prostitution involving men and women was on high even during Peshwa rule.

Letter written by Peshwas to Ghashiram once he became permanent during 1782 suggest the rulers were concerned about growing “male-prostitution” in Pune. Out of that concern, Peshwa reminded Ghashiram of his task: “Striyanna Jar-karma karanyapasun paravrutt karane” (Discouraging women to involve into male-prostitution). There is another reference that suggests Peshwas had also asked Ghashiram to “not to allow married women from involving into prostitution.”

I am bit disappointed though not completely dejected to read Mandar Lawate’s latest article: Punyachi Kotawali on city’s history. It falls short on some crucial details. The article is otherwise good.

For the benefit of English readers, Here is selective reference from Lawate’s piece published in Sakal:

(After death of Ghashiram), Bajirao Peshwa II understood that Kotwal is a plum post. He therefore started auctioning the post. It was in 1800 the post of Kotwal was first auctioned to Vithoji Gaikwad at Rs. 1. 12 lakh.

Given that post was auctioned at such exorbitant rate, we can imagine how corrupt the system would have been and to what extent hafta-wasuli had gone up. By those old rate, today if we learn that Pune or Mumbai commissioner’s post was sold at 112 crores, one shouldn’t be surprised.

Facebook And Voyeurism

Reports coming from neighboring country suggests Facebook has been blocked in Pakistan.

Telegraph reports: A Pakistani court has blocked Facebook amid a growing row over a competition on the social networking website to design cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.

I have always looked at social networking sites – orkut or facebook – a tool to satisfy voyeuristic instincts. Result: I stayed away from both though not from the voyeurism itself

The City Of Pune And Punyeshwar Temple

Late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan often used to remark sarcastically during rallies or when surrounded by journalists.

Mahajan would quip: "Why would anyone want proof of original Ram temple at Ayodhya. The reason that site now has mosque itself suggest there was temple earlier."

Through this, Mahajan implied that Muslim rulers invaded Hindu temples all across India and built mosque to propagate their faith.

Today Mahajan’s remarks struck while I was passing through Chhota Shaikh Sallah dargah on Mutha river. There is a thought that believes durgah site previously had Shiva and Vishnu idols in the temple known as Punyeshwar.

Later idols vanished from the site while temple continued to find mention in the history. In the course of time the city of Pune derived its name from the same temple.

Craving

In its recent judgment Bombay High Court set a side lower court’s punishment of 7 years to a man charged with 10 counts of rape.

HT reports:
The victim had alleged that between April 2004 and October 2006, Anwar Khan Iqbal Khan (26) had called her to various places and raped her 10 times, each time allegedly promising to marry her after forcible intercourse, but ultimately refusing to keep his word, according to the victim
...
The high court, however, refused to believe the victims' version that she had not objected to the repeated sexual assaults due to the promise of marriage made by the accused. Justice A.H. Joshi held that: “On the face of the record, nothing except unqualified and unconditional consent for sexual intercourse would emerge.
…

The judge also refused to believe that “the victim had no craving for what was expected during every meeting and was repeatedly happening” considering the fact that she had not offered any resistance during any of the acts.


Satyajit Joshi, my colleague alerted me to this story. I read it twice. Later I read it once again. Then both of us smiled; smiled to learn judge’s surname.

On the sidenote I would like to ask, why didn't Court charge lady of perjury since it has already upheld man's views.

(Emphasis imported)

Irony

On Maharashtra Foundation day (May 1), TOI Ahmedabad carried a report: At 50, ready to rival Mumbai

Report quoted leader of Mahagujarat movement and a former state minister Sanat Mehta as saying: “But, we were confident that Gujaratis would create more Bombays if they got a separate state”

Gujrat lost Mumbai to Maharashtra, which lost Belgaum to Karnataka. Very soon Gujaratis came to terms with reality.

But given the strong secessionist feelings among Belgaum’s marathi population, great irony is underway.

A prominent marathi builder from Pune B G Shirke has bagged the contract to construct Suvarna Vidhana Soudha (Karnataka assembly) at Belgaum, a second capital of Karnataka.