The Kama Sutra: Some overlooked anecdotes
Yes, we all know it’s a great way to familiarize oneself with the hundreds of different positions one can copulate, but the book the world has come to cherish and love does have a side to it that does not get as much of the limelight. There are, of course, different sides to the coin. It existed far longer than Playboy and Penthouse, and there are arguments to be made about how “advanced” the Indian psyche was to be able to put together this gem-at that time. But how forward thinking was Vātsyāyana’s mind? Have we progressed since then? Regressed?
Here are a few snippets from the book of love that show India, and understandably so for the 2ndcentury, being a little sexist and maybe a little racist. But, again, it was a very long time ago. Times have changed since then, but has India?
“A public woman, endowed with a good disposition, beauty and other winning qualities, and also versed in the above arts [64 practices prescribed in the Kama Sutra], obtains the name of a Ganika, or public woman of high quality, and receives a seat of honor in an assemblage of men.”
Takeaways: It seems only gorgeous women who well-versed in the art of seduction, sex and love (as prescribed in the book) are of high quality.
Note: Women reading about love, and love making, was not discouraged it would seem. They could, in a way, proudly proclaim how great they could be in bed, and not get shunned but rewarded.
The questions: Has India’s women regressed over the years? If so, who’s really to blame? Is being equal to a man still the ultimate goal for women in India? Do Indian men feel the same way? (Image source: Getty Images)
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