Hindus are upset at the depiction of the image of Lord Shiva in Nataraja form on leggings, harem-pants and skirts, by internationally acclaimed 'Manish Arora' fashion label, which they termed repugnant.
Dancing Nataraja Layered Miniskirt was available on order from company website for EUR 570, knee-length Dancing Nataraja Print Harem Pants for EUR 405, and Dancing Nataraja Print Leggings for EUR 250.
Esteemed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) on Thursday, said that it was disturbing to see image of Lord Shiva, who was highly revered in Hinduism, on the legs.Shiva was meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to be desecrated by wearing on the legs and other lower parts of the body for the mercantile greed of a fashion house, he argued.
Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged the designer-manufacturer Manish Arora to publicly apologize, stop selling and immediately recall all such legwear which showed Hindu Lord Shiva. Inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or concepts for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the devotees.
Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about one billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought and it should not be taken lightly. Symbols of any faith, larger or smaller, should not be mishandled, he stressed.
Zed further said that in view of his Indian heritage, Manish Arora should have known better the significance of Lord Shiva and how much venerated he was among Hindus.
Internationally acclaimed 'Manish Arora' label, launched in 1997, is headquartered in Noida (India) as Three Clothing Private Limited with an office in London. It added a diffusion label 'Fish Fry' in 2001 and besides clothing, has also launched eyewear, cosmetics, watches, and crockery. Its products are stocked in well known stores worldwide and besides India and it has held shows in London and Paris.
It has its own stores also and had some kind of collaboration with Reebok, Nivea, Absolut Vodka, and Mercedes Benz. Famous entertainers like Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Rihanna, Kate Moss, Katy Perry, and M.I.A. have reportedly worn Manish Arora designed dresses. His website is www.manisharora.ws, in which .ws is the Internet country code top-level domain for Samoa, an island in South Pacific Ocean.
Nataraja (Lord of the dance) is a well known iconic representation of Lord Shiva, symbolizing his salvific, destructive, and creative roles; when he dances the world to destruction to create it again as a chapter of the ongoing cosmic cycle. Shiva, along with Brahma and Vishnu, forms the great triad of Hindu deities.
Recently, a model displayed an image of Goddess Lakshmi on swimwear at a fashion event held in Sydney (Australia), which caused worldwide protests. The swimwear company immediately apologized, halting all its related production, and promising that the protested swimwear would never be available for sale.
It has its own stores also and had some kind of collaboration with Reebok, Nivea, Absolut Vodka, and Mercedes Benz. Famous entertainers like Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Rihanna, Kate Moss, Katy Perry, and M.I.A. have reportedly worn Manish Arora designed dresses. His website is www.manisharora.ws, in which .ws is the Internet country code top-level domain for Samoa, an island in South Pacific Ocean.
Nataraja (Lord of the dance) is a well known iconic representation of Lord Shiva, symbolizing his salvific, destructive, and creative roles; when he dances the world to destruction to create it again as a chapter of the ongoing cosmic cycle. Shiva, along with Brahma and Vishnu, forms the great triad of Hindu deities.
Recently, a model displayed an image of Goddess Lakshmi on swimwear at a fashion event held in Sydney (Australia), which caused worldwide protests. The swimwear company immediately apologized, halting all its related production, and promising that the protested swimwear would never be available for sale.