The incident reportedly took place during the Basanta Utsav festivities on the Rabindra Bharati university campus.
A fiery controversy has erupted in West Bengal over an act that is being called 'obscene' and 'vulgar' by many, while others are calling it an expression free will and non-conformity to traditional artistic expressions. At the Rabindra Bharati university campus in Kolkata, some female students were photographed with a set of words, painted on their bare backs with colours. The words are being said to be an intentional 'distortion' of a much-referenced line from a famous Rabindrasangeet, '...chaand uthechhilo gogon-ey (the moon rose high in the sky). In this choice of text, however, the line was prefixed with a word that is frequently hurled as abuse in colloquial Bengali to refer to the male genital organ.
The incident reportedly took place during the Basanta Utsav (Spring festival, pre-Holi celebrations) festivities on the campus. Some male students, it is said, coloured the lines on the women's backs 'in jest'.
Since then, controversies flared on social media regarding the action of the young students. As Bengali intelligentsia lay divided on whether to defend the 'distortion of Tagore's legacy' or to 'celebrate the free expression of art, even if it is apparently vulgar', people hit out at each other over their stance in such a situation.
1. 'Vulgar' words
)
Several photographs were captured at the event which show that the 'vulgar' word has been written with colours (abir) on the bare backs of the female students. The line is a distortion of the famous Rabindrasangeet.
2. Distortion of Rabindrasangeet
)
Not just female students, the photos also show that even the group of male students had written the 'vulgar' words on their chests with colours. As soon as the photographs hit social media, they went viral and in no time controversies flared.
3. At Rabindra Bharati university campus?
)
As controversies ignited, several pointed out that this act was especially condemnable as it was done on the campus of Rabindra Bharati University, which, according to most Bengalis, is a sacred place dedicated to the legendary poet near his home (Thakurbari) at Jorasanko.
4. Students from outside?
)
According to several netizens, the photo is from the campus of Rabindra Bharati university's BT Road campus. However, there are other opinions to the contrary. No report has been able to establish the site of the incident definitively.
There are also reports which say that the students were not from the university itself but students from outside who often flock to the campus during the Pre-Holi celebrations.
5. No comments from varsity
)
When Zee Media contacted the Rabindra Bharati university administration, the officials refused to comment. However, the Vice-Chancellor of the university said that a complaint has been lodged at the Sinthi Police Station to verify the truth regarding the incident
