The Hindu Business Line : Kama Sutra is `an antidote to shame'

On a day that saw Saddam's execution, and predictable outrage in its wake, the last thing on the hassled world's agenda may be love. Which is why I turn to a whole book about it: Deepak Chopra's `Kama Sutra,' from Jaico (www.jaicobooks.com) .

The book is many things, explains chapter 1.

"A manual for lovemaking, a venerable ancient text of India, a marital aid sneaked furtively into many a bedroom, and to prudes throughout the ages, a scandal." The Sutra is `an antidote to shame,' argues the author. For, "It celebrates carnality, making it a part of life to be seen in the clear light of day."

Rather than call the work `aphorisms on love,' as is common, Chopra prefers to translate the title as `instructions on pleasure'. Because, "Sex is unadulterated pleasure when you enter the world of the Kama Sutra."

Stages of romance, as the author of the lore Vatsyayana portrays, begin with eye contact and end with `falling sick and dying'. If you smile at the notion that sexual desire can make someone grow sick and die, you may be correct medically, reasons Chopra. "But millions have wept over the death of Catherine Earnshaw pining for Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights, not to mention a thousand knights languishing for love in medieval romances and Shakespeare himself complaining of lovesickness in the sonnets," he cites with literary verve.

To these, one may add the insight of Kural 1159 of Thiruvalluvar that laments, in a section titled `separation unendurable' on http://tamils.tamilpower.com: "Fire burns when touched; but, like the sickness of love, can it also burn when removed?"

The Kama Sutra is actually erotic to read, despite its many practical sections, concedes Chopra. Yet, you can trust Vatsyayana to whisk you off `to the fantasy world of the Arabian Nights,' as in this snatch: "Nowhere is as poorly guarded as a harem, and no women are more accessible than the wives of the king. An enterprising young man can choose any number of ways to get inside." Such as? "Hidden in a barrel or masquerading as a maid, he can easily get past the lazy sentries and overworked servants.

Another possibility is to take a potion that will make him invisible - but the outcome of this is uncertain."

Chapter 2 handholds the reader on `how to read' Vatsya's volume. "This isn't a book that keeps to one tone," guides Chopra, with the help of enchanting illustrations.

"Any given paragraph can be wise, cynical, ribald, witty, fantastic, irreverent, manipulative and clinical by turns. The only tone it avoids is the smirking and lascivious."

Thus, he would educate you on the types of women, a catalogue of embraces, the how of kissing and leaving your mark. Read more in sections that come with seductive names such as, `the sweetest revenge', `lotus position', `siren of the sea', `Amazon', and `the professional'.

A must-read is the chapter titled `images of love' with captivating thoughts like these: "What does it mean to grow? It means letting life be new at any moment." "Desire is the heart's way of reaching into the unknown." "Losing yourself in sex is a pleasure. Finding yourself in sex is a blessing." And, "When love comes, it feels as if it has found you.

In truth you remembered to look for it."

A book to look for... for love's sake.

SayCheek@TheHindu.co.in