India’s Hitler-themed restaurant draws fire
Name will ‘stay in people’s minds,’ says Mumbai restaurateur
Reuters
Updated: 7:34 a.m. CT Aug 21, 2006
MUMBAI, India - A new restaurant in India’s financial hub, named after Adolf Hitler and promoted with posters showing the German leader and Nazi swastikas, has infuriated the country’s small Jewish community.
Hitler’s Cross, which opened last week, serves up a wide range of continental fare and a big helping of controversy, thanks to a name the owners say they chose to stand out among hundreds of Mumbai eateries.
“We wanted to be different. This is one name that will stay in people’s minds,” owner Punit Shablok told Reuters.
“We are not promoting Hitler. But we want to tell people we are different in the way he was different.”
But India’s remaining Jews — most migrated to Israel and the West over the years — say they are outraged by the gimmick.
“This signifies a severe lack of awareness of the agony of millions of Jews caused by one man,” said Jonathan Solomon, chairman of the Indian Jewish Federation, the community’s umbrella organization.
“We are going to stop this deification of Hitler,” he said without elaborating.
The small restaurant, its interior done out in the Nazi colors of red, white and black, also has a lounge for smoking the Indian water pipe or “hookah.”
Posters line the road leading up to it, featuring a red swastika carved in the name of the eatery. One slogan reads: “From Small Bites to Mega Joys.”
A huge portrait of a stern-looking Füehrer greets visitors at the door. The cross in the restaurant’s name refers to the swastika that symbolized the Nazi regime.
“This place is not about wars or crimes, but where people come to relax and enjoy a meal,” said restaurant manager Fatima Kabani, adding that they were planning to turn the eatery’s name into a brand with more branches in Mumbai.
The swastika has its roots in ancient Indian Hindu tradition and remains a sacred symbol for Hindus. Nazi theorists appropriated it to bolster their central hypothesis of the Aryan origins of the German people.
Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.
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Amusing anecdote for the day:
Location: Starbucks
Female Customer: Could I get a white chocolate mocha with non-fat milk?
Starbucks Employee: Sure, would you like whip cream?
Female Customer: Yes.
Me (silently thinking to myself): Does anyone get the irony?
Mornings are like DEATH on a stick.
Back in school, and it's GREAT!
Shakespeare said in one of his plays, As You Like It, "All the world's a stage..." This famous line was said by the character, Jaques, in one of the most famous monologues in history.
If it's true, that would imply there are secret camaras hidden all over the world, and that's just creepy.
Darn power...our air conditioning was up for 4 hours, and the power went out...before 7:00. It is now 12:30, and it just came back...damn
The air conditioning is down...it shall be hot like death, and I may die.
June 4, 2005: 2.13 Central Time Zone...I have recieved exactly 2500 messages.
After getting exactly 100 votes for my pants poll, this is how it went...oh, and feel free to comment:
Those who answered "Yes" to my pants poll: 51
Those who answered "Do you really need to ask?" to my pants poll: 25
Those who answered "No" to my pants poll: 19
Those who answered "How dare they" to my pants poll: 5
Clearly, people are either evil or just like seeing me with my pants off.
School:
A common trend I've found here: the hatred toward school. Personally, I don't really understand this phenomenon, for I enjoy my education. Learning and expanding my horizon is one of the most awsome feelings I experience.
Education allows one to interact with others at a much higher level of intellect.
The rejection of this gift bewilders me. If people truly feel they are capable of higher status at the age of 15, so be it. Let's try it out. Allow these people to wander as long as they can contribute to the advancement and betterment of humanity.
If this experiement proves to be a failure, as I'm sure it would, we can have something to compare results to.
Argument I've often heard in opposition to school are not strong: boring, prison, hierarchial.
Boring: What is boring about expanding your horizon? What can be lost from it? What cannot be gained, if not merely for self-bettermen
--History is the study of past events, how one led to the other. You almost get to delve inside the mind of greats.
--Science is the study of how things work. It ranges from how you are able to breathe to they physics of how to skateboard. Like boarding? You should major in either anatomy or physics.
--Math is the basis of science (however, I will admit, I hate math).
Prison: Does prison allow you out every day at 3:00? Does prison give you weekends off? My father was in prison for 2 years, and he traded that life for a life of academic respect.
Heirchial: Isn't everything? Within your family, who gets the most stage-time at dinner? It's not intentional, but it happens. All you need to do is end your juvenille envy and put your head to positivity.
I've noticed many people who seem to be very against "preppies." I do wonder if these individuals have truly thought this out. Chances are, unless you get an awsome break in music and feel the desire to complain about life ever more, you will end up getting a job in which you will be required to dress in other things than black t-shirts which have smartass comments.