'It is not only about extra-human postures meant for contortionists,' he laughs.Ĭultural commissar and ex-diplomat Pavan Varma, who has written Kamasutra: The Art of Making Love to a Woman, says Kamasutra is about 'evoking an erotic mood - the rasa of desire'. 'One rarely comes across a text as ancient as the Kamasutra, so sensitive to fulfillment of a woman's need,' says the Varanasi-based scholar. If that's indeed the case, why has the Vatsyayana text become perceived as the pursuit of only male desire? Dr Radheshyam Tiwari, a doctorate on the symbolism in Hindu mythology, is amongst those who believes the Kamasutra also addresses women's need. If anything ,women have a lot more to celebrate,' she says.

'Sexual pleasure can't be and isn't the preserve of males alone.

His actor in the video, Bhairavi Goswami, not only echoes this view but amplifies it. 'Why should the very mention of Kamasutra evoke only nuances of male seduction, sensual pleasure, love, marriage and sexual positions suited to enhance his joy?' asks filmmaker Surendra Hiwarale whose six-minute film on six lovemaking positions Kamasutra– The Poetry of Sex has got nearly five lakh hits in a month on YouTube.

Gender neutral erotica or tuned to male pleasure and actually debasing women? An imperialist construct or a true celebration of life and creativity? About mere physicality or spirituality too? The Kamasutra has always evoked debate and continues to do so with academics, feminists and historians deliberating on the many interpretations of the ancient Sanskrit treatise on sex and sexuality that has long held the world in thrall.

How many karma sutra positions