Madhu Patel
CHICAGO: In a strong pitch to El Segundo (California) headquartered global yoga gear company Manduka, Indian Americans across the country have pitched for withdrawal of yoga towels that carry reimagined images of Lord Ganesh; dubbing it hugely insulting to their religious sentiment and belief.
The strong pitch is spearheaded by Rajan Zed, President of Universal Society of Hinduism, and has huge backing of many in the country and across the globe.
It is claimed that Lord Ganesh is a highly revered God in Hinduism and is meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to sit/stand on or put feet/buttocks/legs/body on or to absorb/wipe one’s sweat. Inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or concepts for commercial or other agenda would not be okay as it hurts the devotees.
It is also urged that Manduka needs to withdraw its yoga towels depicting reimagined images of Lord Ganesh selling on other online retailers or shops.
These objectionable “yogitoes yoga towel – enlightened” and “yogitoes yoga towel – opportunity” were priced at $51 and $58 respectively and help “prevent slipping”. These are to be placed “on top of your yoga mat or directly on the floor”. It’sanother such item “yogitoesSkidless Yoga Towel – Stability Ganesh”, which shows up as “sold out” on Nordstrom Rack, was priced at $39.97. Though “enlightened towel” shows up as “out of stock” on Manduka’s main website, it is still available from Manduka Singapore, REI, Amazon, etc., sites.
Manduka, whose tagline is “Made for you, made for yoga.” and whose history goes to 1997, claims to make “the world’s finest athletic performance products, including yoga mats, towels, bags, props and men’s & women’s fitness apparel”. It runs “project: OM”, whose tagline is “Creating a Better World”. Manduka claims that its quality is “still unmatched in the marketplace”.
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