V-Day and the city

A new addition to the irritants list is Eve Ensler and her controversial play that, to be fair to Natraj, has already been banned in various countries including China and Malaysia.

In Delhi they wanted to sidestep the word 8216;8216;vagina8217;8217; and refer to it as a V-Day celebration instead. But unfortunately for Chennai8217;s women, Natraj seems to have been offended by the concept of V-Day itself. In India, the police commissioner has the power to clear all public performances in his city and to say no if he finds any objectionable content.

So what if The Monologues had won awards and been translated into over 35 languages. One quick glance and Natraj was sure Chennai would not be able to handle this brutally frank series of outpourings by women and about women. About the moans that come out of women. Why should Chennai8217;s women have any use for a Big-O orchestra ranging from the diva moan to the doggie moan, aren8217;t they soundless anyway? What possible requirement could there be for the observations on female sexuality vs male sexuality 8216;8216;who needs a handgun when you have a sub-machine gun8217;8217; and for the frank discussions on the only organ in the human body dedicated to human pleasure.

In the Chennai police, there was nobody to explain to Natraj that The Vagina Monologues is more than a book that studies female sexuality and strength. It also exposes the violations that we endure throughout the world. It8217;s a movement against rape, battery and incest, a movement that has raised more than 20 million in the six years of its existence.

Who would tell him that Ensler8217;s image of the urban Indian woman in a 8220;salwar-kameez with Nike shoes and a terrific sense of humour8221; was way more accurate than his outdated understanding of what women should see and hear.

And so Natraj decided that in the land of Lord Venkateswara, this other V-day would clearly be a no-no.