Morning Encounter 'Moral policing is a fascist act' IF naked sculptures in an exhi­bition titled 'Tits, Clits and Elephant Dicks' are termed vulgar, why are similar sculp­tures in a state-run museum in Kamathipura not obscene? A visitor Pushpa Vijula summoned the police on Saturday demanding an early closure of Sanjeev Khandekar and Vaishali Narkar's exhibi­tion at the Jehangir Art Gallery saying it was too vul­gar for display. But a sex education museum initiated by the BMC has even more explicit sculptures and is doing business (free entry) for the last three years. A conductor at the muse­um said it is open to anyone who wants to learn about sex and is meant to educate peo­ple on diseases like HIV. "We have sculptures of naked peo­ple because that is needed to teach," he explained. Since this correspondent did not reveal her identity, Mid DAY is not publishing his name. Way of expression Khandekar said he was not attempting to teach anything. "I am an artist. The exhibition was my way of expression. I am only trying to speak against the commercialisation and corporatisation of every­thing. Whether you want to admit or not but both spiritu­alism and sex are on sale today," he said. Vijula maintained yester­day that she had no personal battles with anyone. "When you have a exhibi­tion title like that, what do you expect? I am not the only one, many visitors felt offended." When asked what she felt about the BMC museum, she Said, "Take an objective view, don't see it as my battle." Abhay Sardesai, editor of Art India magazine, said the exhibition, whether one liked it or not, was an artist's expression. "An artist will push his idea beyond limits. An artist's work cuts across cultures and history. You can­not fetter an artist's freedom," he said. JJ se poochenge According to the Police Inspector M Patil, of the Colaba Police Station, the offi­cers in charge are still investigating. "We are trying to find out the nature of the case on hand," he said. The police has also decided to send photographs of the exhibits to the JJ School of Art to get an opinion on whether they can be considered obscene. A BMC museum with explicit sculptures has been allowed to function unhindered, but an art exhibition faced protests. Lajwanti D'Souza finds out why STORY SO FAR The exhibition ran from August 1-6 at the Jehangir Art Gallery. On August 5, Vijula found some of the exhibits offensive and filed a police complaint. The Colaba police came to close the exhibition on August 5 itself but the artists protested. Instead, they covered their exhibits in black. The exhibition closesd on August 6. SPOT THE DIFFERENCE:A painting (top) at the exhibition Tits, Clits and Elephant Dicks at the Jehangir Art Gallery has been charged with obscenity but the more explict images at the BMC's sex museum (left) are merely considered educational PICS/SHADAB KHAN & ASHISH RAJE Mid Day, August 10th 2006