Madhu Patel
CHICAGO: Upset Indian Americans have asked Bristol (England) headquartered clothing brand Wild Thing, for immediate withdrawal of its Kali Halloween Costume, calling it highly disturbing.
It is averred that Goddess Kali is highly revered in Hinduism meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not an outfit to be paraded around or flaunted or parodied/mimicked or thrown around loosely at Halloween or fancy-dress parties for dramatic effects to entertain.
The pitching for withdrawal of disgusting image is led by RajanZed,President of Universal Society of Hinduism, He emphasized that inappropriate usage of sacred Hindu deities or concepts or symbols or icons for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the devotees. He also urged Wild Thing and its CEO to offer a formal apology; besides withdrawing Kali Halloween Costume.
Clothing companies should not be in the business of religious appropriation, sacrilege, and ridiculing entire communities. It was deeply trivializing of immensely venerated goddess Kali to be displayed like this, he stated.
Hinduism is the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about 1.2 billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought and it should not be taken frivolously. Symbols of any faith, larger or smaller, should not be mishandled; Zed noted.
In Hinduism, Goddess Kali, who personifies Sakti or divine energy, is considered the goddess of time and change. Some Bengali poets described her as supreme deity.
Description of this objectionable Kali Costume, priced at £480, states: “Be the Queen of Halloween in this epic Kali Costume”. “Make Noise Through Fashion” is the tagline of Wild Thing, an online firm that describes itself as: “our marketplace is for you if you like edgy, stylish and on-trend clothing”. It claims to plant a tree for every order it receives and Katie Hobbs and Lauren Hobbs are its directors.
