India has come to our shores after a long and dry cultural boycott imposed by the Indian government against the apartheid regime. For over 50 years the local Indian community has been starved of its vernacular culture of indigenous music, drama and literature. In its absence they created within the context of Africa a hybrid culture different and unique from the motherland. Now as the long denied relationship between India and South Africa is being rapidly reinstated through the sterling efforts of the Indian Consulate the opportunity to make up for lost time offers itself. Since 2007 the emergence of the Shared History Festival began in SA to consolidate a relationship between the two countries and its people. This festival which runs for an entire month throughout all the main provinces of SA is a remarkable accomplishment of a public-private enterprise. Without leaving the shores of their country SA will experience the best of Indian art, crafts, dance music, literature, films and cuisine. The ‘Words on Water” programme which brings India and SA in dialogue promises to be a most exciting experience for both participants and panellists and for South Africans and Indian nationals.

Viewing each other through the prism of history, politics, nationality and culture will present an interesting opportunity for introspection. Among a grand list of great writers and intellectual thinkers I will be conversing with the formidable Ms Shobhaa De who is one of India’s best selling authors better known for her writings on sexual inhibitions and popular culture. She has often been described as the Barbara Cartland of India and her work features extensively in comparative literature courses at universities abroad and within India. Somehow fundamental issues that challenge civilizations never die. Death, Life, Sex will always engage our intellect for as long as there is life. Sex never fails to draw the attention of even the most indifferent and it is little wonder that her books sell like hot cakes in India. While Indian culture has traditionally viewed sex as a pleasurable experience raising it to an art form, the modern day Indian has many hang ups about sex and the open demonstration of affection in public places. She says, “ India shocks easily despite the bravado and big talk. Periodic surveys show the same old prejudices and hang-ups, never mind that our movies pretend otherwise. Women may be wearing less and less, drinking and smoking much more, sleeping around with abandon, and generally feeling “liberated”. But despite all that stylish huffing and puffing, society continues to frown at the “westernisation” of our youth, and bridegrooms prefer virgins.”

Unlike their counterparts in India, South Africa Indian youth though strictly controlled by their parents have a tendency towards exhibitionistic behaviour. They are to be found necking openly in public places and on campuses of most institutions to the great embarrassment of onlookers. With the high incidence of HIV/AIDS, South Africans are rightly concerned about responsible sexual practices amongst our youth.

On our home front, Lydia Johnson, an ANC member of the provincial legislature and chairperson of the health portfolio committee urged students at a special prayer meeting to abstain from sex because it was not a basic need. Her advice was given in the context of the HIV/AIDS pandemic that was destroying the working population in our country and eroding our base of intellectuals. “We need to change our attitude towards sex to save our lives”, she advised. In a way perhaps, we have approached the era where idealistic morality and religion celebrate their happy resurrection. The struggle for youth today is to balance the forces between pleasure and reality. This is made ever so difficult by the contradictory messages that continually bombard youth today. At the height of their sexuality, they are being fed with explicit sex, in the electronic and printed media. Sexual symbolism is present ad nauseum in food, clothing, cars, perfume bottles and deodorant canisters and phallic dirt bins. Like a Jezebel, society teases youth. Against this backdrop our contradictory message wails…. Abstain!

In India Traditionalists’ regards sex as a procreational activity reserved for marriage. Accordingly individual freedom and personal rights are closely guarded by a moral police force. In a classic case of a global time warp, when a popular film star Shilpa Shetty was hugged and kissed by Richard Gere she was publicly rebuked and had to apologise for her disgraceful behaviour. In another incident the Indian film superstar Sonali Bendre was formally charged in a Mumbai court for appearing in public in a skimpy dress, the locals said that she had insulted Hinduism. But there is enough evidence among the pantheon of Hindu gods for nudity. The goddess Kali is always portrayed in the nude. The famous temples of Khajuraho in the state of Madhya Pradesh are embellished with the finest erotic sculptures believed to have been built between the 9th and 12th century. Artists, historians and intellectuals argue that Hinduism was never against nudity. In fact body parts such as Shiva’s phallus, the lingam have its place in every temple as a symbol of procreation. I recall a lecture given by an Austrian anthropologist of note who at the age of 13 was well versed in Sanskrit and was asked to welcome Nehru to Vienna. As an ‘adoptee’ of the Hindu faith, Swami Aganandha Bharathi chastised the modern Indian for becoming so westernized and parochial and for having forgotten the greatness of the Tantric tradition. This was the period in Indian thinking when prudish morality as it is known today in modern India was non - existent. Cultures are always in a state of flux. Can one stop this change when global influences knock on our doors? India today is changing rapidly. Industrialization and urbanization are growing exponentially. In the light of this the attacks on Shilpa Shetty and Sonali Bendre make a mockery of real modernism which represents universalistic norms respecting individuals as citizens. And this is precisely why Shobhaa De’s writings are so provocative. As an important social commentator she acts as a catalyst for change, serves the function of questioning her countrymen and women about the true nature of morality. In our current over-sexualized culture, sex has become a commodity, immaturity is often idealized, and sexual conquests have been valorised as sport. But individual liberty is the hallmark of a true democracy. So finding a balance between Eros and Civilization should make for an interesting discussion.

Dr.Devi Rajab is a leading South African journalist and can be reached at rajab@cybertek.co.za