If there's anything that has come out of the recent Snapchat and Sonu Nigam outbursts, it's that most of us Indians are just waiting to get offended. Literally, we would just lose our shit even if some outsider call our country as poor and developing one.
"NO", we aren't (that) poor but yes 1 out of 5 Indians do live below the extreme poverty level! The level of hypocrisy is damn too high!
This time it's because of American singer-songwriter Katy Perry.
Katy recently shared a photo of Goddess Kali on her Instagram with the caption 'Current mood' and suddenly all hell broke loose. While some fans came to Perry's support, a majority of Instagram users slammed her for posting the picture, calling the move disrespectful.
It is important to know that the singer is drawn towards the Indian culture and she hasn't kept this fascination a secret.
In fact, back in 2010, she chose Rajasthan (She could've easily chosen Las Vegas, Belize, Hawaii, even Buckingham Palace!) as the destination for her wedding with English comedian/actor/author Russell Brand where they had a completely Indian marriage. Katy and her now ex-husband Russel were wed by a pandit after completing the saat pheras or seven circumambulations. All in all, it was a very Indian affair which still stands witness to her connection with our Indian culture.
What was supposed to be just another Instagram update about her own current outgoing mood turned aggressive when Indians started trolling her with negative comments.
There were people throwing abuses at her for the post and some even asked her to delete the photo right away saying that it hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus.
Here's a peek of the few hate comments on the post:
Isn't this exactly what happened with Snapchat?
Some were passive aggressive with their approach.
And others were more aggressive than passive.
Some even resorted to using foul language.
A minority of other users also said that those criticising Katy Perry should not take the post so seriously.
And this one stands out
"Seriously all those who are getting offended by this, you people are dumb. I m Hindu, Bengali specifically. Kali maa matters a lot to us btw. It is not like Christians don't make memes of Jesus. It was just a light hearted joke with no intentions whatsoever to offend you. Please stop overreacting to everything," said Instagram user Sudeshna Bose/be_sudeshna.)
Perry posted the same photograph on Twitter with the same caption. It has more than 1,300 retweets and 6,400 favourites. She is the most followed person on the micro-blogging website, with 97,419,727 followers. The post got much less extreme responses on Twitter..
After this post, it seems like Katy Perry gonna lose her Indian followers just like Snapchat!
Why So Angry, India?
"NO", we aren't (that) poor but yes 1 out of 5 Indians do live below the extreme poverty level! The level of hypocrisy is damn too high!
This time it's because of American singer-songwriter Katy Perry.
Katy recently shared a photo of Goddess Kali on her Instagram with the caption 'Current mood' and suddenly all hell broke loose. While some fans came to Perry's support, a majority of Instagram users slammed her for posting the picture, calling the move disrespectful.
It is important to know that the singer is drawn towards the Indian culture and she hasn't kept this fascination a secret.
In fact, back in 2010, she chose Rajasthan (She could've easily chosen Las Vegas, Belize, Hawaii, even Buckingham Palace!) as the destination for her wedding with English comedian/actor/author Russell Brand where they had a completely Indian marriage. Katy and her now ex-husband Russel were wed by a pandit after completing the saat pheras or seven circumambulations. All in all, it was a very Indian affair which still stands witness to her connection with our Indian culture.
What was supposed to be just another Instagram update about her own current outgoing mood turned aggressive when Indians started trolling her with negative comments.
There were people throwing abuses at her for the post and some even asked her to delete the photo right away saying that it hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus.
Here's a peek of the few hate comments on the post:
Isn't this exactly what happened with Snapchat?
Some were passive aggressive with their approach.
And others were more aggressive than passive.
Some even resorted to using foul language.
A minority of other users also said that those criticising Katy Perry should not take the post so seriously.
And this one stands out
"Seriously all those who are getting offended by this, you people are dumb. I m Hindu, Bengali specifically. Kali maa matters a lot to us btw. It is not like Christians don't make memes of Jesus. It was just a light hearted joke with no intentions whatsoever to offend you. Please stop overreacting to everything," said Instagram user Sudeshna Bose/be_sudeshna.)
Perry posted the same photograph on Twitter with the same caption. It has more than 1,300 retweets and 6,400 favourites. She is the most followed person on the micro-blogging website, with 97,419,727 followers. The post got much less extreme responses on Twitter..
After this post, it seems like Katy Perry gonna lose her Indian followers just like Snapchat!
Why So Angry, India?
Well written. People should know when to react and when you are overreacting. If we (Indians) react like this every time, others who are interested and do respect our culture and diversity will loth it in no time.
ReplyDeleteThank you Sudeshna! And yes we need to take rein in our own hand!
DeleteThanks a ton for your read time madam we appreciate the fact that you do appreciate what we are writing. Thanks a ton.
DeleteIt seems to me that people will always find a reason to overreact. I think that this article and the comments made are well thought out, but lacking in a way. The part missing, in my mind, is that invoking the image of a goddess as a mood is dangerous. That is what Miss Perry did, whether she intended to or not. I think I would be as upset as some of these people if Miss Perry had invoked The Morrighan, a Celtic goddess that has several points in common with Kali, as I understand her.
ReplyDeleteThey are connected to war and destruction. The Morrighan was the original washer woman by the river (a job later given to the Banshee). If she was seen by a man washing his armor, he knew he would die in battle that day. She would collect his soul with the rest when the battle was over. She did join in the battles, but not often.
They are connected to a sense of timelessness and age. The Morrighan is a goddess of prophecy, seeing the future and the past. The Morrighan is easily as old as Kali and just as misunderstood by many.
So, yes, people overreacted to Miss Perry's post, but the question is: does she realize what she did? She is drawn to Hindu beliefs and customs, but is she ready for Kali's influence on her life?