Mumbai: Sex Museum Seeks to Break Taboos

[Guest guest]

Sex Museum Seeks to Break Taboos

Mon Mar 24,11:20 AM.

By Jayashree Lengade

BOMBAY (Reuters) - It tells you all you ever wanted to know about sex

but were afraid to ask.

India's first sex museum in the western city of Bombay takes curious

visitors on a journey into a world that is still considered taboo in

the tradition-bound country.

Unlike similar museums in the West, the Bombay museum aims to tutor

rather than titillate.

" This is not a place that will arouse passions, " said Arvind Shah, a

doctor and a founder of the museum. " We have designed the museum to

educate and provide correct information. "

Tucked away in a century-old building near a red-light district, the

museum juxtaposes ancient texts with modern caricatures and models to

educate people on a range of subjects from reproduction to the

dangers of AIDS (news - web sites).

" For the first time I learned how a baby was born, " said Sher Singh,

22, father of a seven-month-old baby.

The museum, named " Antaranga, " or " Inner Self, " begins with abstract

drawings of entwined couples and verses from the " Kamasutra, " India's

ancient treatise on the art of love.

The exhibits are a mix of the academic and the explicit.

Apart from clay sculptures of sex godesses, the museum also uses

fiber-glass models of human genitalia as well as Adam and Eve statues

locked in a passionate embrace.

" What are we ashamed about? " asked Dr Shah. " Young people are usually

confused. We want to clear their minds. "

A 16-year-old student, Rahul Jadhav, said he felt awkward looking at

the naked figures but the museum was a " storehouse of information. "

Apart from providing sex education, the museum also seeks to build

awareness about AIDS through real-life stories, explanations on how

to use condoms and illustrations of the HIV virus (news - web sites)

depicted like a vulture eating into the human body.

India has nearly four million people suffering from HIV (news - web

sites)/AIDS, second only to South Africa, and health experts warn the

numbers could spiral if urgent steps are not taken.

While critics say the museum is a bit too explicit, visitors say it

is a good way of educating people in a country where people tend to

shy away from any discussion of sex.

http://story.news./news?

tmpl=story & u=/nm/20030324/od_nm/museum_dc_1