It’s not the Sepia Mutiny model to just post news items without comment, but sometimes the material doesn’t leave us with much to add. With that said, here are the latest developments in Bombay dining:
NAVI MUMBAI: A new restaurant at Kharghar has actually been named as Hitler’s Cross and it was inaugurated by the who’s who of Navi Mumbai on Friday evening.
A huge poster of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was put at the inauguration function of the restaurant in sector 4 of Kharghar, much to the surprise of the invitees.
Actor Murli Sharma, who has featured in films like Apharan and Teesri Ankh, was one of the guests present at the inauguration. “I found the huge posters of Hitler at the restaurant amusing. That’s all I can say,” he told TOI over phone.
When asked if he felt disturbed by the name of the restaurant, Sharma said: “I am not really agitated as I have not read much about the man (Hitler). However, from what I know about Hitler, I find this name rather amusing.”
Important dignitaries such as Navi Mumbai mayor Manisha Bhoir and former mayor Sanjeev Naik were also invited as chief guests to the restaurant by one Sablok Builders group, who are reportedly behind the management of Hitlers Cross.
A Reuters report picked up by DNA has more:
“We wanted to be different. This is one name that will stay in people’s minds,” owner Punit Shablok said.
“We are not promoting Hitler. But we want to tell people we are different in the way he was different.“…
“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.”
Someone in Mumbai is going to have to do the investigating on this. A field report from Manish, perhaps?
The same thing seems to have happened to the word
macaca'. Sepia Mutiny has made so many jokes about macacas that the wordmacaca’ no longer hurts.On another note, Karunanidhi (Tamil Nadu’s chief minister) has a son called Stalin. Stalin is a politician himself. The fact that the original Stalin was a brutal dictator has never been highlighted in India the same way that it has been in the West.
Yeah, how ’bout that, sister macacas and brother macacas? There were many mass murderers, but Hitler is always shown as the main man. I don’t think this has anything to do with “It’s because Jews run America” kind of theory (sounds like exaggerated BS to me). I think it’s simply because he did his stuff right in the middle of Europe, in full view to Europeans, who and their descendents seem to have a lot of say in how history is written and taught today.
Business in India is all out dirty. Its only a matter of time before they open a restaurant where you cant be darker then khaki in order to enter.
same way that it has been in the West.
well, stalin is not odious in the west either, just as communism gets a relative pass in comparison to nazism.
Subhash Chandra Bose sought both German and Japanese support for the Azad Hind Fauz (Free India Amrmy), and believed that the enemy of the British were India’s allies. Remember that the Third Reich sponsored Azad Hind Radio as well, in which Bose declared a government in exile. I believe he was critical of Hitler’s treatment of the Jews and eventually grew disillusioned with him when he did not show enough interest in India’s independence.
Check out Shyam Benegal’s movie on Bose, which includes a meeting with Bose and Hitler.
51
Who says celebrities (anywhere in the world) have any intelligance 😉
Free Speech proponents becoming so furious about naming a eatery ??!!!…. woh! take it easy guys….Hard Rock Cafes have Ganesha & other Hindu deities in their bar section! We all seem to tolerate it very well…..!!
[VERY unnecessary further comment deleted. We get your point. – Admin]
isaac tigrett, one of the founders of the hard rock along with peter morton (first one founded in london on park lane 1971–yes i have a super fascination with the HRC), follows Sai Baba and hence you will see hindu photos around each of the hard rocks.. he has carried this onto his next empire of restaurants ‘house of blues’… it was something that he wanted to do..similar to hindu restaurants portraying little mandirs, chinese nail shops having their buddha shrine, and some ismali shops having the photo of agha khan….
just some background fyi..
re:the post: WTF?!
I once drew swastikas in red marker on my hands, in imitation of the markings on Ramchandra’s hands in my favorite movie. My British schoolteacher knew both sides of the problem, explaiend it to me, and I both stopped and went to the library and checked out a biography of Hitler and a history of WWII. I’ll take every opportunity to educate peopel about the difference in the Swastika, and I’m not going to give up the right to use the Hindu one, but neither will I rub it in people’s faces without the opportunity to explain what it really is.
Suraj is right! This is free speech and there is no place on earth more free then India.
Suraj, you just took 1st place in the idiot of the day contest.
Free speech goes both ways, buddy. That’s why we’re all giving our opinions about this idiot move. See? Right there, free speech 🙂
62 was to Suraj
chick Pea ” it was something that he wanted to do..similar to hindu restaurants portraying little mandirs,”
Hindu restaurants definitely portray little mandirs at the cashier, mostly to have a “blessing” for the business to run smoothly and prosperously!!..Hard Rock Cafe using Hindu Deities for “Decoration” purposes and not for any specific devotional or religious purpose.
That’s a big difference.
Its OK to support South Africa’s apartheid govt. by the US, officially. Its also OK for US to ELECT apartheid supporter a0hole as VP, but not OK if you say anything about the white people’s good war. Thats the only real war you know, rest all black and brown people’s wars dont mean sh$t. Dont you get it. And yes, give up that Swastika too. I dont care how many milleniums you used it as an auspicious symbol.
suraj: no, it’s not all decor always (i’m not for his placement..) and can understand the frustration with it…
aah… but let’s focus on the topic at hand.. nazi restaurant.
Shallowthinker!!???
Sorry, I can’t beat that one! 🙂
Any predictions on what’s likely to become of this place? It’s already one of the most famous restauarants on Earth, thanks to its “different”-ness. Will it draw protestors? Will it draw supporters to counter the protestors? Will authorities shut it down because it causes too much community trouble? Nothing like this could exist in the West, so I’m curious.
I guess the owner of this restaurant made a poor choice while naming it.
At the same time, I don’t feel overly offended by this. There are tonnes of similar examples in different cultures. People in Britain still ‘respect’ their queen..their numerous lords and viceroys who killed millions of Indians.
ChickPea “aah… but let’s focus on the topic at hand.. nazi restaurant”
Correction: Not a Nazi Restaurant. Its named after Hitler. Do not conclude otherwise.
I am Ok with HRC using Hindu Deities anyway they want..I don’t care about it. Just that, you are somehow so enthused to pick on this issue with more fervour than, I personally think it asks for. Yeah..agreed, naming a restaurant with Hitler’s name might be disagreeable…make it known. No need to ensure that, the owner HAS to take off the name.
Another gem from South Korea
“>http://www.pusanweb.com/feature/hitlerbar/
Oh..and I fogort to mention that I WILL NOT eat at ‘Hitler’….even if its free. 🙂
this is why i’m hoping manish will go check it out. after all, movie stars are hanging out there 😉
who of course:
and thousands of people in india look up to these people.. please.. spare me..
Thank you ethnic, for the link to the Korean Hitler bar article. I actually feel bad for poor Mr. Hong, who really had no idea what he was doing.
Nina P,
I agree, he seems to have been misled by his decorator unlike the restaurateur in India who clearly threw caution to the wind, on a different note I once went to school with a girl named Democracy
Another such incident: In 2003, a Hong Kong fashion company designed clothes featuring Nazi symbols and used the Nazi symbols for decoration and advertising.
Its from Little Green Footballs, a conservative political blog. They have also covered the restaurant story.
It could be that they took their business idea from the guys who made “Springtime For Hitler”…
Hitler! hee hee… mmm. Hitler’s funny.
Hitler Bar-freshly squeezed juice available.
Maybe they should call the resturant “Bad swastika” (Hitler’s cross) to contrast against the proper one.
Problem solved/people educated 🙂
hmmmmmmmm… education
My sister put the hindu swastikas by the door steps of her apartment. Most of the people who lived in her complex were jewish, so when she did this during Diwali, a few concerned neighbors came by with puzzled looks on their faces. They just couldn’t put two and two together. My sister got everyone together and gave them a nice, detailed explanation. Once explained, everyone left satisfied knowing their Indian neighbors weren’t Nazis and actually quite pleasant.
Shorba Nazis -> 77 comments Bismillah Khan RIP -> 9 comments
??
My sister got everyone together and gave them a nice, detailed explanation. Once explained, everyone left satisfied knowing their Indian neighbors weren’t Nazis and actually quite pleasant.
Wonderful story, and your sister is bold. We went with Ganesh on our wedding invitation and nixed the swastikas because we didn’t want to confound the non-Indian contingent.
AAieee..!
it must be a nimboodiri conspiracy.
Down south (of India), Hitler only refers to over-protective brothers who stand in the way of their sisters having a good time.
true. it kind of bothered me too. but then i remembered that one Yo Dad comment is worth at least ten!
Gujudude and Desitude:
I sympathize with you both. A couple of years ago, my son’s daycare wanted the children to come in with “ethnic” clothes so my wife chose a panjabi with swastikas on it. As our daycare was located in a primarily jewish suburb of Chicago, and owned by a Jewish couple, I found it tough to explain to my wife (who is Indian but educated abroad) why this wasn’t a good idea. Unfortunate situation!
It’s probably dangerous to say this, but at some point the swastika and other Nazi imagery will stop being taboo, maybe 50 to 100 years from now. Commercialization tends to suck the meaning out of all symbols, which is why t-shirts and other consumer items with peace symbols or pictures of Che are so banal. The pictures of the Hong Kong Nazi-themed clothing shop (thanks Ken) make the Nazi symbols look as harmless and watered-down as any commodified logo. The time will come, and designers will have a field day, since Nazis put much skill and effort into their graphic and fashion design, expert propagandists that they were. But now is definitely not the time.
The best comments about the swastika so far have included a vital component. There was both an opportunity to address the issue and a willingness on the part of the confused to listen and accept something new.
Gujudude’s sister and Saheli’s teacher are great expamples of how to preserve our heritage in the “new world”
I’ve clearly been too cynical on this issue. Thanks for the insight.
Now seriously… NAZI RESTURANT!?!
The reason why I posted a sarcastic comments is because India is the ONLY COUNTRY in the wholw world where the Jews were not persecuted, whereas Europe was responsible for the horror that the Jewish community had to go through. Yet India still has to apologize for Europe’s sins?? WTF??
The reason why I posted a sarcastic comments is because India is the ONLY COUNTRY in the wholw world where the Jews were not persecuted, whereas Europe was responsible for the horror that the Jewish community had to go through. Yet India still has to apologize for Europe’s sins?? WTF??
1) you’re wrong. google “the jews of kaifeng” (china).
2) get a sense of perspective.
ZeeTV already had a miniseries on (I think it was earlier this year or late last year), called “Time Bomb 9/11” (I think – forgive me if I misnamed it). It revolved around Osama and plans to bomb something or another – I couldn’t bring myself to watch such insensitive corniness. Who does that?
btw, if you want a brown spin on the holocaust, the gypsies are from india. this isn’t just a “jew thang.”
Why is it so troubling? Is leaving a comment necessary when reading the post? There really isn’t much to say on ‘RIP’ threads other what was already said (particularly by Yo Dad). Plus, you’d probably see more comments if the audience that posts was far more connected to his music.
It was a nice post dude and good to see you folks keep tabs on news such as this. He definitely deserves attention. The public that posts in the commentary, I would guess, is probably a mere slice of your audience – a minority. What is the hit count on that post? The word is out if people read it, thats all anyone can ask for.
The double standards and hypocrisy! It’s anti-Indian racism!
Hail
MacacaMogambo!Assuming you are right about China, how does that make my comment “wrong” about Europe’s sins ?? And give me a f@cking break with your know it all BS. I have been to Israel (Haifa, my previous company has a big office there and switches in Ramallah too), I never saw any Asian looking dude over there. I do however know several Indian Jew as a co-worker of my previous company, who emigrated from Israel. In Haifa office also there are quite a few Indian Jewish people. The whole Chinease jew thing is clinton-esq logic. Its technically true but everyone knows that it doesnt mean shit.
Also, my cousin’s neighbour in Thane, Mumbai is an elderly Jewish person.
Everyone in the world agrees that what Hitler stands for is bad sh$t. Talk about perspective.
RC,
i really don’t know what your problem is. you’re pissed cuz we’re shitting on some guy promoting hitler?
GauthamPerhaps the two are related….I mean, the attitude underlying this man’s decision to name a cafe after Hitler and the discrimination practiced daily against a whole range of Indians. I’m not sure one isn’t an aspect of the other…..
What can I say? It’s a necessary step. The poor downtrodded white visitor India needs an oasis to get out of the sea of madness, if Indians are allowed into hostels, they’ll become hostile! Especially Hindus! Nothing riles up RSS and BJP emotions like inexpensive housing and shared restrooms! And the pools must be off limits, or else the Hindu extremists will aggressively start a scuba swim force to swim all the way to the arabian penninsula and gloat over how cool our pools are and how sandy their deserts are. This cannot happen.
Hail rubber duckies!
No worries shallow, I’m working on it! It’s called Klan Kafe. The visual motif for the waitstaff is white cone-shaped hats and flowing white robes.
Rest assured, judging patrons by khaki-ness is so 19th century colonialism. I, and my horde of celebrity friends, prefer the paper bag test.
Food Section-
New eateries announcements – G & G [ Gahzni and Ghori] restaurant. Food served on gold and silver utensils. Location , adjacent to the on again off again, Somnath Temple.
Also opening – N. Modi’s bar-b-cue, where the oven is always fired up and the meat is always roasting. Location, next to the uber chic, Best Bakery.