Hello Goanet, There are two very important things to remember when looking at the disgraceful baying against M. F. Husain which has had the effect of hounding a grand old man from his homeland.
1) Few in the ragged mob of Husain-bashing extremists have actually seen the paintings they are so eager to burn. To pick just one example from a very recent post on Goanet, there is no Husain painting of "nude sita in a sexually explicit pose with hanuman." 2) Husain has a huge number of paintings in a very long, improbable and distinguished career. These include literally thousands which interpret episodes and themes from our common cultural inheritance. Anyone familiar with this ouevre will attest to Husain's overtly devotional treatment of Indian themes, prominently shaded by Hinduism, in a lifelong trend that's lasted a solid sixty years! You may not like his art, or respect it very much (I confess I'm in this category), but it is entirely shameless to pillory Husain on trumped-up charges. This recent interview with Husain, from Tehelka magazine, is poignant and revealing: http://www.tehelka.com/story_main37.asp?filename=Ne020208in_hindu_culture.asp VM