Why Malleswaram Railway Station Still Feels Like Home

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Malleswaram Railway Station — a place that never felt like “just” a station. A few months ago, someone forwarded me a video of an elderly lady speaking about the charm of Malleswaram Railway Station. She mentioned how, whenever her children visit Bangalore from Canada, one ritual remains unchanged. Her son insists on visiting the station, picking up idly from Raghavendra Stores, and eating it right there on the platform. I smiled when I heard that, because for many of us who grew up in Malleswaram, the railway station was never just a transit point. It was a quiet witness to our growing up. Even now, if I close my eyes, I can hear the metallic rhythm of trains slowing into the platform, the echo of announcements bouncing off the tiled roof, the smoky sweetness of roasted maize drifting from the bridge, and the soft warmth of idlies wrapped in paper from Raghavendra Stores. The station was never silent — but it always felt peaceful. For nearly a decade, ...

MF Hussain and his madness

There is no doubt that art deserves all recognition in the society. Everyone should have the right to express his feelings because we live in a democratic society. The society is so multivariegated that each person has the ability to communicate in a way that he deems it to be fit. But where do we draw the line? Should we allow sacrilege in the name of art? Why is MF Hussain making a mockery of Hinduism? He has time and again offended the sentiments of Hindus worldwide, with his nude depiction of Hindu goddesses. It has happened in the past and it has happened again. How can the country not be outraged if one has to see such forms of so called "Art". Does he think that people are foolish to accept his explanations? We all saw what happened when the Danish Cartoonist tampered with the Prophet's images, portraying him in not the right mould. Obviously, the Islamic sentiments were disturbed seeing such images. If the same analogy is applied here, how can the Hindu mass keep quiet seeing such atrocious forms of art finding its way from MF Hussain. He makes a mockery out of Hinduism and he also has the audacity to justify such images. Nudity is a form of innocence and maturity, all such statements are good for lesser mortals within the confines of their bedroom. It doesn't make sense to equate Godly figures with nudity and coming out with such outrageous comments.

MF Hussain should not be let go easily for deriding the religion to maximum limits. He should be taken to the courts and made to realise that one cannot abuse any religion in the name of art.

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