Madhu Patel
CHICAGO: Piqued Indian Americans here have urged Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) to withdraw from hosting the “Hindu Times” play (August 20-21), “highly inappropriate” as it reportedly trivializes deities Brahma, Vishnu and Lakshmi.
The protest is led by Rajan Zed, President of Universal Society of Hinduism who in a statement said that Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, and Goddess Lakshmi were meant to be worshipped in temples and home shrines and not to be dragged around unnecessarily through the streets of Dundee looking for booze and breaking into a closed shop for it.
Zed pointed out that renowned publicly funded charities like EIF should not be blatantly belittling “other” traditions and ridiculing entire communities while claiming it as a “world-class cultural event He urged EIF to apologize for such an inappropriate selection.
Brahma-Vishnu-Lakshmi were divine and entertainment companies were welcome to create projects about/around them showing their true depiction as mentioned in the Hindu scriptures (no Hindu scripture mentions their visit to Dundee). Inappropriately reimagining Hindu deities/concepts/scriptures/symbols/icons and redefining Hinduism for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the feelings of devotees.
Besides hurting the sentiments, any misrepresentation created confusion among non-Hindus about Hinduism. Insensitive handling of faith traditions sometimes resulted in pillaging serious spiritual doctrines and revered symbols; Rajan Zed remarked.
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. No faith, larger or smaller, should be mishandled, Rajan Zed noted.
According to reports, Lakshmi and Brahma use F-words in the play. “Hindu Times” review in The Guardian stated: “Gods Vishnu, Lakshmi and Brahma become street-smart hedonists…”.
EIF; established in 1947 and which showcases dance, opera, music, theatre, etc.; is being held this year in Edinburgh from August 07 to 29. “Hindu Times”; written by Jaimini Jethwa and directed by Caitlin Skinner; has been scheduled at The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh.
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