Of _Ironic_ and _Paradoxic_ times

January 2007 is a Typical case in History :-)

Two Late Great World Leaders were remembered for all the wrong reasons.

Parody waz very very Ironic.

• A Theatre act portarying Hitler as a struggling Gay Painter by a Jewish playwright drew lot of criticism.


• An advertisement featuring Gandhi rocked the nation for sometime.

The hitler episode raised a very uncomfortable question among the germans.

Whether they could digest a joke on Hitler. A popular play in Europe made fun of Hitler. The fact that a jew did it made this a little more complicated. But I was happy the way the german people reacted to it. The Lukewam response was what was expected. The new generation germans are ready to take a joke or two about Hitler. It speaks volumes of their Tolerance. Which i am sure Hitler wud not have liked in the first place :-). Hitlers infamous intolerance (towards any other race than Aryans) iz what caused the Great WORLD WAR II which took many innocent lives in its garb. New age Germany is all about Tolerance and its a Sanity Fair if you ask me :-) . Zia Gute deustcheland !!

The Gandhi ad was ironic case in the other sense. It shows gandhi - an apostle of non-violence - indulging in violence, dancing with women, brandishing an automatic rifle and gyrating to music. Gandhi was supposedly a champion of Tolerance. Having read his book "my Experiments with Truth", one would know gandhi indulged in drinking and womanising in his early part of his life. THis is by his own admission. Now his grandson has come out with one more of his affairs which ossured a tad later in his life.

So the ad would not have perturbed him much apart from the gun slinging part. But knowing the Lawyer brain Gandhi was, I assume he would have taken it in his stride. Alas...People of india could not digest it.

Gandhi was an exact Opposite to Hitler's character/persona. The ad generated heated feelings while i believe gandhi himself would have enjoyed the Advertissement. The media went to town showing the footage. Two channels were chided by the government and asked to submit an explanation. Cmon this is not democracy is it ?. The media is not allowed its fair share of free and fairness.

So whilst the Pre WORLD WAR II Germany was about intolerance is
Tolerant in the 21st Century.

India seems to have slipped the charts of Tolerance this century.

Indian government itself being currently run by the Gandhi family this seemingly Over-reaction of the people had Official backing. Though Manmohan Singh and APJ Abdul Kalam might have taken this in alighter vein.The Politiks of running the country and the Father Figure image of Gandhi forced them to do what *they would never have done * in ordinary circumstances.

The Irony is too much. Cmon india itz time u grew up !!!

When Jay Leno can make fun of Bush and get away with it !!!

When Germans can take a joke on Hitler in the right spirit!!!!

Where is our Sense of Humour headed in this 21st Century ?

For the Benefit of the
reader I am providing the link to the interesting letters Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi wrote to Adolf Hitler

Happy reading Fellas!

~P