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| Kohler Protest Home Page |
| Click Here to Register Your Protest Against Kohler Company's Advertisement |
| Even if you choose to call of fax, sign the petition above |
| Call Kohler Company at 920-457-4441 to Register Your Protest Against the Advertisement : Ask for their PR Department |
| Fax Kohler Company at 920-459-1656 to Register Your Protest Against the Advertisement : Ask for their PR Department |
| Send this page to a friend |
| AHAD Letter Requesting Withdrawal of Kohler Ad |
| AHAD Press Release on the Kohler Ad |
| AHAD Home Page |
| Hindu Universe Home Page |
Nataraja - Lord Shiva as a Scantly Clad Woman Hawks Shower Fixtures |
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Does this Offend You? |
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| Kohler, one of the
most prominent plumbing supply companies is using Lord Nataraja (a form of Lord Shiva) in
the form of a scantly clad woman and taking a shower to hawk its new shower products. The image in the Kohler advertisement appeared in The New York Times on Sunday. Oct 13, 2002. This image is unmistakably that of Lord Shiva as Nataraja. The dancing pose, multiple hands, the hand gestures, the metaphor of water from shower too, resembles the flow of river Ganga (Ganges) usually depicted as flowing through Lord Shiva. The tag line for the advertisement "There is a Goddess", clearly indicates that the advertisement is no coincidence, it is an unequivocal indication that the image of Lord Shiva was distorted and adopted for the advertisement purpose. AHAD is disgusted by the abuse of the image of Lord Shiva in such a derogatory manner. Just as the scantly clad image of Christ in shower selling shower fixtures would be offensive and evoke strong resentment in the Christian community, this advertisement image has enraged the Hindu community. Hindu deities are worshipped, they are not exotic images to be distorted, mutilated and abused. The Kohler Company's insensitivity towards Hindus has been compounded by the fact that several calls placed to the PR department of the company by AHAD have gone unanswered. AHAD demands that the Kohler Company immediately withdraw all the advertisements with Hindu images, and tender a sincere apology to the Hindu community. AHAD reminds the Kohler Company that Lord Shiva is revered by Hindus around the world - major Shiva temples are found in India, Nepal, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, UK, USA and many other countries - and these countries, Kohler has significant commercial interest. AHAD requests the Hindu community to visit the AHAD web site and sign the protest book at http://www.hindunet.org/ahad/kohler/ AHAD has taken a lead role in countering the abuse of Hindu images by major corporation and media. AHAD led successful action of the Hindu community and procured apologies from Sony/Aerosmith, Universal Studios, Warner Brothers, Fortune Dynamics, Sittin Pretty Designs and others for abusing Hindu images and symbols. |
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