Hindus concerned over broadcasting ‘Sita sings the blues’ by PBS & Channel 13

Adhik Vaishakh Shuddha Shashthi, Kaliyug Varsha 5112

Protest against Nina Paley’s denigratory film ‘Sita Sings the Blues’

Protest against Channel 13 broadcasting ‘Sita Sings the Blues’

From Our Correspondent

This weekend, upset Hindus from the New Jersey area contacted Forum for Hindu Awakening, saying that they had seen ads about PBS broadcasting Nina Paley’s ‘Sita Sings the Blues’ on New York’s Channel Thirteen. It seems this animation was broadcasted twice this weekend, once early last year and is scheduled to be broadcast on Wednesday 04/21/2010 at 1:02am on Channel Thirteen.
 
Forum for Hindu Awakening has contacted PBS Ombudsman Michael Getler as well as Channel Thirteen, seeking an immediate stop to this broadcasting. In a letter to Getler and Channel Thirteen, Bhavna Shinde of Forum for Hindu Awakening wrote, "PBS may not be aware that ‘Sita sings the blues’ is a denigrating parody on the Hindus’ revered Holy Epic Scripture ‘Ramayan’. ‘Ramayan’ is the story of Lord Rama, who is worshipped by Hindus as an Incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the divine Principle of Sustenance (Sthititattva). Lord Rama is worshipped as the perfect son, brother, friend, husband, king, warrior, enemy, basically, the Perfect Being, an embodiment of all divine virtues. It requires a sense of deep inquiry, borne of devoted study, contemplation and practice of the Holy Scriptures like ‘Ramayan’ to appreciate and depict the characters in them. Nina Paley’s parody of this Holy Scripture shows a lack of such deep inquiry and understanding of the Scripture."
 
While drawing attention to Hinduism’s tradition that encourages insightful depictions of the Holy Scriptures as would promote reflection on the divine, Shinde reiterated that Hindus are very much for artistic depiction and freedom of expression. However, she emphasized, "We protest such depictions as ‘Sita sings the blues’ that insult the revered symbols and hurt the devotees. In the past, several Hindu organizations and practicing Hindus have deplored this creation by Paley."
 
Shinde expressed concern that PBS will be showing Hindus’ Holy Scripture and revered Deities in a poor light by broadcasting this animation. "It would convey a wrong message about Hinduism especially to the non-Hindu audiences of PBS and to the children watching PBS shows. As a nonprofit TV network, we hope that PBS will respect the Hindu community’s feelings", she added. Shinde has urged PBS and Channel Thirteen to immediately stop broadcasting ‘Sita sings the blues’ as a gesture of goodwill towards the Hindu community that is being hurt by this denigration.

Read Further

	Protest against defamation of Hindu Deities & Icons  Read more
	MF Hussain campaign HJS protested against nude painting of Bharatmata (Mother India) by MF Hussain. The painting was auctioned publically by Nafisa Ali for 80 Lakhs resulting in huge protests all over India.   Read more