‘I AM VERY OKAY WITH PEOPLE HUGGING AND KISSING IN PUBLIC’
Do you know that in France couples are paid to kiss in public to boost the image of the country as a romantic place. It is tragic that in India displays of affection trigger such immediate outrage. When people fight in public, or spread violence, there is no outrage. Public displays of affection are beautiful, heartwarming. One should see and learn. Love is not something to be hidden. I am very okay with people hugging and kissing in public. Only when it gets overtly sexual, does one feel the need to draw a line. I don’t think the kind of conserva-
INDIA IS NOT JUST ABOUT SUCH RIGHT-WING SENTIMENTS, BECAUSE THE YOUTH WHO OPPOSE THEM ARE AS INDIAN AS THEM POOJA BEDI, Actor
tism that a section of society is displaying today is natural to us. This is Victorian morality that descended on our very sensual culture. But we have to realise that the days of Victorian morality are over. Gone are the days of the purdah. Women today are coming out and claiming their place in society. With that, the equation between men and women is also changing. Friendship between the sexes that was taboo not very long ago no longer holds true. Friendship between girls and boys is common today not just in metros but also in smaller towns. Urban and semi-urban spaces and even smaller towns are opening up. Women are freely going out with their male colleagues for business lunches. It wouldn’t be so easy to do that even a few years back. Girls are wearing jeans even in villages. It is wonderful to be able to express oneself like this Sometimes India’s herd mentality can be good. As cities open up, you can see the trickle down effect in smaller towns and villages. People tend to think that if everyone is doing it, there is nothing wrong in it. As for the right-wingers, I believe they are in minority, but they scream so loudly that one tends to think of their opinion as the majority opinion. The extremists do not echo the majority’s views. Sometime back political parties were trashing Valentine’s day gift shops and cops were beating couples in parks. And there was a public backlash against them. We do not need such moral policing, especially from the police who’s job it is to uphold the law, not their personal moral standards. India is not just about such right-wing sentiments, because the youth who oppose them are as Indian as them, and their voice, beliefs and value systems are as important and valid and should be given freedom of expression.
(AS TOLD TO POULOMI BANERJEE)