New Delhi (Sputnik): An Indian-American woman in Ohio is winning praises back home in India for successfully convincing an American pub's management to remove images of Hindu goddesses from its walls and bathrooms. She got a positive reply with an apology after she slammed the US pub for decorating toilet walls with Hindu god figures.
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"It is unfortunate that the ripples of colonialism have such long-reaching wave. My true desire is to see the bathroom taken down. My parents would not have had the courage to stand up for what is right, but I as their daughter, do. Your mission statement is one that touts inclusivity, positivity, and safety. Please don't make me lose faith in the ability we all have to right some wrongs and truly hear each other out," Ankita's email to the pub management accessed and reproduced by the India Today magazine reads.
India Today also published the pub's response in apology.
Indian-American queer artist Ankita Mishra walked into a VIP toilet in a New York pub only to be met with Hindu gods on its toilet walls. Right above the toilet was Kali.https://t.co/DSpzWX9kW4
— India Today (@IndiaToday) November 19, 2018
"Hear you loud and clear and the tone-deaf appropriative/offensive bathroom will be dismantled and redesigned ASAP. To be transparent, the soonest I can take it on is right after Halloween. If you insist, we can put paint over it until then," the pub wrote in the apology.
There have been several cases in the past when Hindu gods were seen used as decorative pieces at places that were deemed inappropriate.
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"Last month, during a night out with friends, I could not stay quiet when I suddenly found myself in a curiously-decorated VIP bathroom inside House of Yes in Bushwick, NY. The walls were papered with bejeweled images of Hindu gods like Ganesha, Saraswati, Kali, and Shiva" Ankita wrote in a blog post.
Ankita is now winning praises from people the world over and especially from India for making herself heard and for letting the change happen.
What an awe inspiring letter! Have become an instant fan of this Ankita Mishra! https://t.co/iYuwZmk5HX
— Oddwani (@keshda) November 19, 2018
Well done Ankita Mishra. What a lucid, precise and heartfelt response to the utter wrongness of gods in the toilet! @BrownGirlMag https://t.co/K2HjNvQYqL
— Vamsee Juluri (@VamseeJuluri) November 17, 2018
Hats off to Ankita Mishra… https://t.co/JI3IQwbk5U
— here&now (@herenownbe) November 19, 2018
Heartiest congratulations Ankita Mishra for rightfully having taken such strong objection to depiction of Hindu Gods in a derogatory manner in a hotel in the US! You have done all Hindus proud! 👍👍👍! https://t.co/3zTnIftQBZ
— Col. Abhay Rishi (@AbhayRishi28) November 18, 2018
