Apropos your cover story Sex in the 90s (September 11). Bravo. You’ve just proved beyond doubt that the Indian print media has come of age, however late. Obviously, I am referring to your ‘Survey of the Century’. If you are feeling proud about publishing this in-depth, revealing study of India’s most ‘talked-in-hush-tones’ topic, please feel free to pat yourself on the back; millions of like-minded Indians will applaud you for the initiative. This letter will no doubt rub shoulders with a few scathing rejoinders, the writers’ pens oozing with acid and calling you all sorts of adjectives connected with shameful behaviour. For all those closet maniacs who double up as our cultural shenanigans, take a hike. In any case, you have just changed the ‘outlook’ of the average stereotyped, boring Indian. Good Show.
Suresh Menon, Bombay
Sex is a basic instinct of men and women from the beginning of civilisation. The various forms depicted in Vatsya-yan’s Kamasutra are undoubtedly rich in artistic quality. Apart from this, Kamasutra’s poetic excellence is much higher in comparison to western accounts on the same subject.
Debanjan Banerjee, Calcutta
May God’s blessings be upon you. Herewith I am sending you back your cover story on sex. It is in bad taste. It is utterly disgusting.
T. Azeez Luthfullah, Tirupattur
Your cover story provides ample food for thought. Indeed, the write-up Uneasy Revolution, the Outlook-MODE survey and Sudhir Kakar’s column provide a brilliant collective analysis. Though such attempts of dissecting the sexual behaviour of urban Indian men and women have come to the notice of the Indian readership before, Outlook’s presentation elevated the result and appraisal to newer heights by its judicious mix of the no-holds-barred evaluation of the new awareness about sexual desire, its fulfilment, data-based facts, statistical analysis and the tongue-in-cheek comments made by Sudhir Kakar in the context of the changing mores of the Indian male and the "participation of women in erotic life".
Debasish Dutta, Uttarpara, West Bengal
After going through several stinking articles on politics, it was indeed a sumptuous feast for us to have your cover story on sex—an article well-written and a subject well-researched.
Dr U.S. Iyer, Bangalore
Your cover story is no doubt a bold step since it brings out in the open something to be kept in the cupboard. Perhaps with the liberalisation of the economy we are also liberalising our personal lives. But have you calculated the results of such an endeavour? The US and a number of European countries are already paying the price. Being prosperous they can afford it but in a poor country like India, this can hardly be justified. See the fate of the royal family of England. I shall, therefore, urge you to keep sex under wraps.
S. Vidya, Delhi
From the very first issue, I am an admirer and keen reader of Outlook. But the issue on sex has put Outlook in the league of Debonair, Chastity and Fantasy. Just to push up your sales, please do not degrade Outlook.
Bakhshish Singh Arora, Jalandhar
Indians are sex crazy. They talk about sex all the time, in offices, tea shops or coffee houses. People find great pleasure in reading about the sex lives of their leaders. Nehru and Jinnah’s sex lives were written about in books. Even Gandhi was not spared. According to Rajneesh, he did not find a single saint in the Ashram without a sex life.
Inder Prakash, Delhi
As I am only in my 50s, I have not bothered to read your cover story just now.
C. Kesi, Madras
Uneasy Revolution by Tarun Tejpal was well written, but when it came to the presentation of the statistics, I felt there were several oddities. The most striking one was the way you have presented the statistics in terms of cities. I think it’s rather absurd to conclude that "oral sex is practiced most in Delhi" or "kissing before wedding is highest in Ahmeda-bad". Are you saying these cities each have a unique sexual culture? Does the fact of living in Delhi itself make one more amenable to oral sex? Or would it be that Punjabis, who inhabit Delhi in the largest number, do it more? Is Lucknow really the gay capital of India since your cover story shows twice the number of people in Lucknow have experienced it than any other city?
Samir Seth, Ahmedabad
Apropos your cover story, the attempt to explore the multi-faceted changes in the pattern of sexual habits and psyche of the urban populace is fabulous. It reveals how a country hitherto married to traditional values and posess-ing a hackneyed mindset, still ponders over novel ways to attain orgasmic bliss. Undoubtedly, the impact of media seems to have enamoured the elite and the middle class alike, though in varying proportions.
To go by statistical marvels, one’s vision may tend to be blurred. Yet the truth is sure to come out of the closet. No more is sex a stigma and con-fined to the bedroom whispers of couples.
Subhashis Ray, Rourkela
Selling off God’s Acres (September 4) highlights how the Bombay’s Catholic clergy and laity lock horns over dubious transactions involving church land.
Unfortunately, the hierarchy has not been responding to the laity. Many decisions are taken without consulting the laity. I appreciate the actions of the newly-formed activist organisa-tion, Association of Concerned Catholics, but it should also make a survey of the church-workers of the various parishes.
Such an anti-clergy and pro-laity organisation was needed in the Archdiocese of Bombay. The body must be duly recog-nised as an official church organisation and given the status of a Diocesan organisation.
Cajetan Peter D’Souza, Bombay
Apropos the article Guess Who Came for Dinner (September 4). It’s customary in Hindu culture to offer condolences at the residence of the deceased. But Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda’s going to Amitabh Bac-hchan’s residence and offering condolences to Bal Thack-eray on the death of his wife and son seems fishy.
Thackeray, a leader who "does not believe in phoney secularism", maintains that an issue of national importance was discussed in the presence of Bach-chan, a staunch Congress supporter, Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Chief Minister Manohar Joshi. Did Bachchan, under the guidance of SP leader Amar Singh and central minister Ibrahim organise this dinner diplomacy as part of a greater scheme to upset the BJP applicant just before the Uttar Pradesh elections? Or did our secular Prime Minister offer something special to the communal Bal Thackeray?
Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee, Faridabad
This refers to Narasimha Rao’s interview with Kuldip Nayar, "Gone are the days of morals" (August 28).
To talk of morality in politics, at least in India, is itself immoral. People with morality have no place in politics. Politics is a profession, whose objective is to gain power, the means to do so notwithstanding, because democracy in India is mainly of the politicians, by the politicians and for the politicians.
V. Sagar, Delhi
