MUMBAI // An Indian artist said yesterday she feared for her safety after Hindu extremists forced her to remove two paintings from a Mumbai exhibition because they showed scantily clad goddesses.
Eleena Banik's paintings, displayed at the city's well-established Jehangir Art Gallery, included the Hindu goddess Kali without the garland of skulls that normally covers her breasts.
Another depicted a goddess-like woman with strawberries placed on her body like fig leaves, which Banik said she created in protest at the fatal gang rape of a medical student in New Delhi in December that shocked India.
"I wanted to express that the goddess is there in all women, so why do you rape her?" Banik, 41, who has exibited her works throughout India as well as in London, said.
She said a couple of angry Hindus had approached her and objected to the lack of clothing in the two paintings and said a woman "can't be compared with a goddess".
After receiving complaints, Mumbai police and the gallery insisted Banik remove the paintings from public view, said the artist, who is a Hindu and insists Kali appears naked in mythology.
"It's insulting for any artist," she said of being obliged to remove her works. "I express my freedom of expression through my paintings."
Since her exhibition closed on Monday, the artist from eastern India said she had received threats over the phone, including one death threat, and had been given police protection.
"I don't know if it's safe for me to go out," she said.
Among the complainants was Varsha Thakar of the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti group.
"We are not against artistic freedom but would like to know what connection can be drawn between the gang-rape victim and a goddess," Thakar told the Times of India newspaper.
The Jehangir gallery director, KG Menon, confirmed that Banik had been asked to remove works but would not go into detail.
The incident echoes the controversy over paintings of nude deities by India's most famous modern artist, the late MF Husain, who fled the country in 2006 after death threats from Hindu extremists.
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Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
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11 cabbie-recommended restaurants and dishes to try in Abu Dhabi
Iqbal Restaurant behind Wendy’s on Hamdan Street for the chicken karahi (Dh14)
Pathemari in Navy Gate for prawn biryani (from Dh12 to Dh35)
Abu Al Nasar near Abu Dhabi Mall, for biryani (from Dh12 to Dh20)
Bonna Annee at Navy Gate for Ethiopian food (the Bonna Annee special costs Dh42 and comes with a mix of six house stews – key wet, minchet abesh, kekel, meser be sega, tibs fir fir and shiro).
Al Habasha in Tanker Mai for Ethiopian food (tibs, a hearty stew with meat, is a popular dish; here it costs Dh36.75 for lamb and beef versions)
Himalayan Restaurant in Mussaffa for Nepalese (the momos and chowmein noodles are best-selling items, and go for between Dh14 and Dh20)
Makalu in Mussaffa for Nepalese (get the chicken curry or chicken fry for Dh11)
Al Shaheen Cafeteria near Guardian Towers for a quick morning bite, especially the egg sandwich in paratha (Dh3.50)
Pinky Food Restaurant in Tanker Mai for tilapia
Tasty Zone for Nepalese-style noodles (Dh15)
Ibrahimi for Pakistani food (a quarter chicken tikka with roti costs Dh16)
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TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
The schedule
December 5 - 23: Shooting competition, Al Dhafra Shooting Club
December 9 - 24: Handicrafts competition, from 4pm until 10pm, Heritage Souq
December 11 - 20: Dates competition, from 4pm
December 12 - 20: Sour milk competition
December 13: Falcon beauty competition
December 14 and 20: Saluki races
December 15: Arabian horse races, from 4pm
December 16 - 19: Falconry competition
December 18: Camel milk competition, from 7.30 - 9.30 am
December 20 and 21: Sheep beauty competition, from 10am
December 22: The best herd of 30 camels
Sreesanth's India bowling career
Tests 27, Wickets 87, Average 37.59, Best 5-40
ODIs 53, Wickets 75, Average 33.44, Best 6-55
T20Is 10, Wickets 7, Average 41.14, Best 2-12
