Stick of pleasure and power

Revered and reviled in equal measure the phallus occupies a unique place in the sociocultural history of the world Delhibased art historiancurator Alka Pande has been most amazed by how the male organ continues to inspire art influence religion and illuminate myth and eroticaThe result is a new book Phabullus A Cultural History HarperCollins India which is a oneofitskind exploration of ideas and beliefs around the phallus Three years in the making the visuallyheavy work also brings together the extensive research done by Belgian scholars and urologists Johan Mattelaer and Philip Van Kerrebroeck and psychoanalystclinical psychologist Amrita NarayananPandersquos own interest in the subject took root nearly two decades ago when she began working on the book Ardhanarishvara the Androgyne Probing the Gender Within In studying the concept of the Ardhanarishvaramdashthe composite malefemale figure of Lord Shiva together with Parvatimdashshe came across several images that showed an ldquoerect phallusrdquo Her later work Kamasutra The Quest for Love enabled her to ldquoexplore the lovemaking of Indian gods and erotic in Indian artrdquo It translated into an art show at the Pinacothegraveque de Paris for which Pande had borrowed from the works of Mattelaer and Kerrebroeck ldquoThe phalluses they collected had interesting storiesrdquo she recalls in a telephonic chatAlka PandeKeen on tracing the history of the phallus visagravevis the Shiva lingam which is ldquoworshipped as an anthropomorphic formrdquo she decided to collaborate with the Belgian researchers who studied the phalluses across Europe East Asia and even the indigenous communities Narayanan she says helped throw light the psychological imprint of the phallus especially as an object of sexuality and desireldquoIf you look at the lingam it protrudes outwards It also requires a very powerful gaze to absorb it How many can look directly at a naked erect phallusrdquo asks Pande explaining why the male organ has come to embody ldquopower and magicrdquoShe remembers coming across the Naga sadhus who are normally unclothed and have no qualms in displaying their phalluses Some even pierce and decorate it stretching it to an extent that they can be wound around a stick ldquoI saw them at the Kumbh in Ujjain six years ago One does feel a certain sense of reserve while getting close to them but if you get over the initial hesitation understanding their culture can be rivetingrdquo Also ReadLesserknown engineers contractors who sculpted Bombay in colonial eraLike the Nagas the Karamojong tribe from northeastern Uganda also employs penile elongation techniques For them the phallus symbolises strength By the time a young boy has reached his teenage years he can carry up to 10 kg on itPandersquos book thus is a primer of sorts contextualising the complex history of the phallus across centuries and civilisationsIn countries like Japan Cambodia Bhutan Thailand public sculptures paintings and other curios like charms and amulets offer deep insight into how phallic imagery has always been a constant In Europe it was both abused and embraced in the Middle Ages before it came to be sheathed in the prudish Victorian ageCloser home and what has primarily been the focus of Pandersquos research the lingam is considered most sacred ascribed to Lord Shiva ldquoIn Hindu temples the lingam rests on the yoni which represents the female aspect and together they symbolise divine creationrdquo she writes in the bookMyths and legends abound how it came to be worshipped In one angered by the Devas Shiva threw his lingam in the Deodhar forest burning everything around Itrsquos Brahma who tells the devas and rishis to worship Uma the other name for Parvati because ldquoonly she can make Shivarsquos organ quietrdquo ldquoAs a believer and a woman of faith I see these stories as received wisdom Itrsquos not about Shiva or his powerful lingam but about asserting dharma which is the right way of living and the power of divinity and naturerdquo she says adding ldquoFor someone with a scientific bent of mind this might be a whole lot of mumbo jumbo But this is how people once understood their culturerdquoThere are also the newage feminists whorsquove rejected the member seeing at it as a tool of male subjugation and aggressionItrsquos why Pande who describes herself as an empowered woman admits that writing on the phallus can sometimes seem like a daunting task But the author says that she is at that point in her life where shersquos beyond gender In this wonderful space she can be ldquomasculine one day and feminine the next dayrdquo