The Moral Police have a brush with art Police interrupt exhibition at Jehangir Art Gallery following obscenity complaint BY Team DNA. Mumbai "We have not still registered a FIR," said the duty officer. Police officials visited the exhibition twice but did not take away any of the exhibits for evidence after the artists told them that it would take away from the value of the exhibition, said Narkar. Khandekar said that Vithula "did not approve of the paintings and had a heated argument with another observer. She got emotional about the issue. She walked away. Fifteen minutes later, the cops walked in." Earlier this week, a delegation of ministers had also approached cultural affairs minister Ashok Chavan demanding action against Khandekar and Narkar. The exhibition features nude male and female mannequins, placed in painted and installed scenes of email inboxes full of penis-enlargement email and solicitations from prostitutes. One of the installations is a cubicle in which the visitor sees the reflection of his head above a fullsize painting of a masturbating man. Talking about the theme, Khandekar said, "Sex is a part of our biology and existence. I have only shown what all of us know. I have just put it out aesthetically." Visitors to the exhibition, though surprised initially, found themselves agreeing with the theme. "It may appear intimidating to some. But as one walks through, it seems like familiar territory," said Sneha Yadav, an art graduate. Art dealer and collector Ashish Balram Nagpal, who bought three pieces, said the exhibition was in-your-face but not obscene. "This is one of the most brilliant exhibitions of the year," he said. "Anyone who considers this obscene must have had their first orgasm here." He added, "It's artistically (and) aesthetically well-presented." - With inputs from Shit Kelakar,    Poornima Swaminathan, Neeta Kolhatkar & Anshika Mishra. ''We often forget that India lives in several time zones. We remain shackled by the values our grandmothers fought for. In such a scenario an artist cannot adopt a holier-than-thou posture and be dismissive of a counter viewpoint. Sadly, despite all the talk of pluralism, we all want an uni-dimen-sional world view. It shouldn't be a choice between the fascism of the artist or the purist. We must introspect, be tolerant and strive to strike a delicate balance between the two -Mahesh Bhatt, film-maker ''In a democracy, every individual enjoys the right to freedom of expression though subject to reasonable restrictions. In this case, the show was held in a private gallery. Nobody forced the lady to visit the exhibition and nobody has the right to restrict others from viewing a piece of art or reading a book based on a subjective perception of morality and obscenity. The police can use the law to harass but ultimately it will not hold ground in court.'' - PA Sebastian, human rights lawyer In a landmark case in 1954, painter Akbar Padamsee was accused of obscenity for two paintings called 'Lovers' MF Husain is frequently subject to criticism, most recently for depicting Hindu gods and goddesses nude Yusuf Arakkl exhibition at Jehangir art gallery called 'My book of references' was also found objectionable In February 2006, Gallery Chemould cancelled a video film series curated by Mortimer Chatterjee and Tara Lal called 'very Funny: Humour in Video Art'. It was directed by shezad Dawood, Tejal Shah and Rashid Rana. Rajendra Kapse's show 'Goddy' at the Tao art gallery was pulled down following an anonymous threat The moral police ensured that an art exhibition, explicitly tilled "Tits. Clits n Elephant Dicks", did not go on uninter­rupted in Mumbai on Saturday Fdllowing an obscenity complaint by Pushpa Vitula at the Colaba police station, 12 po­licemen stormed the exhibition showcasing casing the works of Sanjeev and Vaishali Ntsrkar at Jahangir Art Gallery and took pictures of the e tor evaluation lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani says: "The police have no legal right to enter and inspect the paintings and installations as the exhibition is being held at a private art gallery The lady, who found the exhibition obscene, went to view it out of free will. If she was offended, she had the choice to walk out There is no question of conflicting rights or enforcing the law here." At the time of going to print the Co­laba police station was yet to register the case. Officials said they were still inves­tigating the complaint Art sence: A couple looks at the works of artists Sanjeev Khandekar and Vaishali Narkar at the Jehangir Art Gallery on Saturday - Vipin Pawar.DNA HC has ruled that what is Shown in a private gallery should rot be construed as pornography. The police and state should not be pressuris-ing the gallery people," Pundole, Pundole gallery I am all for expression of creativity but at the same time, I also think we need to follow some caution."artist We live in a civil society and artists must practise self-regulation keeping in mind public sensibilities. An art gallery is a public space and its exhibits must conform to acceptable standards." -Sanjay Nlrupam, congress leader Pushpa Vitula at Colaba police station on Saturday -Anshuman Poyrekar.DNA DNA, August 6th 2006