that is a pretty awesome costume, if you ask me!

... but not as cute as this bodhi tinkerbell.

versions of evil ???

Oh, I don't mean to imply people ONLY dress up as versions of evil. But yeah, some people do: demons, devils, etc. etc.

Should add that I'm aware that "evil" for Kali is not quite complicated enough. But she is associated with death and destruction.

Versions of "darkness" sounded a little B-movie, though.

Now you know why Neelkanth was head over heals.

don't think kali is evil, she's more to do with change and transformation

That's an awesome costume! I'm not at all offended--it's just as much about the person wearing the costume as it is about the costume itself, in my mind. Heidi Klum seems like a relatively well-informed and -intentioned person. It's certainly way more classy and interesting than the tramp-y costumes that are so popular.

death and destruction OF evil, VV. Consuming it, therefore terrible. sorry, a little touchy about this.

this is ridiculously cool!!!!

the blue Kali in Eastern Indian tradition has her puja in the smashan ghat. The Kali who is puja'd at home is black. The black Kali Puja is done and over with before the blue Kali puja. And for the home puja -at least for Bengalis- mamsa and mathya i.e., meat - mutton only - and spirits are a must. After the black Kali Puja there are fireworks - it coincides with Dipavali - and then one goes over to the smashan ghat for the black Kali puja at about 1-2 AM, inebriation is OK. The smashan ghat Kali puja is a more restrained affair, and is performed with great solemnity, and breaks at about 5-6 AM, by which time the finest kichuree in the world is ready for the bhog, and that with some kheer is finished before one returns home tired and samporrna.

Kali as with Durga and all female devis of India are doe eyed, with bow-like brows, chubby cheeked and almost buxom. Some like Sarasvati are fair, Lakshmi is fawn, Kali and Durga are dark, and Minakshi is brown - though she is shown to be green. Heidi you need to beef up and don't scowl, smile!!

That is a seriously kick-ass costume.

It's only offensive if it's worn with a sense of "Look how silly those Hindus are." As long as she is respectful in her representation it is fine. And I don't think anybody well read enough to pay that sort of intricate detail to the costume would be ignorant enough to disrespect it.

As for Kali being evil, I don't think Hinduism generally draws hard and fast lines between "good" deeds and "evil" ones. Hindu ethics have always struck me as being much more based around the intentions behind your actions and the results of those actions rather than a focus on the action itself.
Kali, in my mind, represents the sort of primal destructive impulse that you'd find when you get between a mother bear and her cub.

This is the first I have heard of Kali being evil. She is associated with death and such but death is an essential a part of Hindu philosophy where creation cannot be without destruction and vice versa. For eg, a new moment wont begin until the old one ends and so on and thus destruction is as much a part of the fabric of the universe as creation is. Then there are also the stories of Kali destroying evil doers.....

i don't care for the fangs.

Hm, okay. All y'all above, thanks for the comments. kd, you don't have to apologize—I'm interested in knowing. So... I appreciate the feedback.

Evil is clearly not the right word, so I've stricken it above. My intention wasn't to prompt a religious discussion, but rather a discussion of the costume, so I've changed it to a more generic phrase that gets to my larger point. (Although I know that many an interesting Sepia thread has grown from stuff like this, too!)

If "evil" isn't the right word, I wonder what might have been. One incarnation of Kali is the patron saint of thieves; neither are her more general associations and stories of violence, vengeance, blood-drinking and destruction happy things. There are stories of her getting carried away by her own anger, and she is also frequently described as ferocious and inspiring fear. But kd is right, she is generally inspiring fear in those who have done wrong, and is directing her wrath at those who deserve it, so "evil" definitely doesn't cut it. (I agree NaraVara is also right that Hinduism isn't binary in its understanding of good and evil.)

Perhaps I should have said versions of violence, or representations of violence (which are very popular at Halloween). Would that have been accurate? Or perhaps I'm better off with what is above.

Also, kd, what DID you think of the costume? Others?

Looks like a caricature to me...especially the fangs..

if someone had dressed up as Muhammad...would it have been as "cool" ?

two thumbs down.

15 · V.V. Ganeshananthan said

One incarnation of Kali is the patron saint of thieves; neither are her more general associations and stories of violence, vengeance, blood-drinking and destruction happy things. There are stories of her getting carried away by her own anger, and she is also frequently described as ferocious and inspiring fear.

VVG there are innumerable Kalis and none of them is canonical. None of them is true or false, good or evil.

17 · Anil said

Looks like a caricature to me...especially the fangs..

if someone had dressed up as Muhammad...would it have been as "cool" ?

two thumbs down.

Muslims have pretty strict rules about depictions of their religious figures that we don't. Personally I don't think a Muhammad costume would have been all that offensive, but then again, I am not Muslim.

jyotsana, that's a rather selective quote. Right after I said that, I said (in the same paragraph, next sentence),

"But kd is right, she is generally inspiring fear in those who have done wrong, and is directing her wrath at those who deserve it, so "evil" definitely doesn't cut it. (I agree [sic] NaraVara is also right that Hinduism isn't binary in its understanding of good and evil.)"

So... "VVG there are innumerable Kalis and none of them is canonical. None of them is true or false, good or evil." Yes, I already agreed with that.

My initial thought was that I should be offended.

Not sure if you meant it that way, but the 'should' made it sounded like you are somehow duty-bound to be offended.

I think I was more referring to the evolution of my own reactions to representations of Eastern cultures (including desi ones) in Western popular culture. Once upon a time I probably would have been offended. Now, not so much. Like I said, I think the costume's pretty cool. V.V.G. = not offended :)

6 · Demi Moore said

Now you know why Neelkanth was head over heals.

Oops meant heels. No not offended at all. Indeed cool and stylish !

The designer is quite creative (or quite prone to perfection of an existing idea) and the shoes are kinda unique.
when it comes to sensibilities - no matter what the issue - there will be people offended. Not everybody sees reason, some effigy burners in the coming days may not really care what Halloween is about, and still burn effigies, especially for the second pic in the gallery. Klum didn't wear Kali costume to enact a kissing scene for sure but, does she care about the way she has to carry herself in a Kali costume? Not too sure.

hm. i'm not really into it being a halloween costume-- i'm a pretty devout hindu and a pretty tolerant person, but i just don't think our gods should be "costumes" -- not that it is barred in our religion in any way. to be truthful, i'm just not down with it. i just think she had a myriad of choices and went for the old Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 1-2 punch. yawn. get creative heidi-- you should have made one of your project runway contestants design you something.

There's no reason to be offended at all- it's just an awesome costume. How much do you want to bet some crazy group in India is going to protest this and file a court case?

I'm loving the costume!!
being a devout hindu, there's a lighter side in everything. people tend to be 'Jesus' or 'Noah' for halloween too, and this just pokes fun at being ourselves with our pantheon of gods (note: little 'g' in gods). besides hindu gods represent a supreme being that we lay people call GOD(YHWH, or Allah) for our inability to understand how great this 'being' is. So technically the other gods are 'costumes' of the supreme being. I'm not saying being a hindu is to observe halloween in gods..not at all. but the idea of our 'gods' is to represent a certain aspect via anthropomorphic qualities.

I wish Seal was Shiva or something...that've been perfect. The union of Death and Destruction would've been a perfect and morbid halloween look.

For many, when Kali and Shiva unite, it's said that the perfect balance is created for the world. It's a very taoist type of thinking. Also, this unification of man and woman is obviously seen in the lingam, though many people really hate to say the lingam is a phallic symbol. ok i really deterred from the subject. anyways, props for heidi for depicting the mythological Kali to the T.

Klum gets brownie points for creativity. I think Kali could appeal to the goths. But the satanic crowd might want to stay away from Kali worship because Kali is supposed to vanquish evil and injustice. Kali is just the really angry form of Uma or Parvathi Devi, from what I understand. As a Hindu (who obviously isn't too religious or dogmatic), I am not offended by this image in this post.

I'm not offended. I think Heidi probably understands what Kali is and what she stands for and that there are many aspects to Kali . The only problem is that people who see this might think that it's okay to mock hinduism, but that isn't really reason to criticize Heidi for wearing something creative.

23 · black goddess said

What about all the human sacrifices usually of children to Kali in pre-colonial times? Wasn't that evil?

Check out Mel Gibson on his Apocalypto - and read what he has to say on the allegorical thread within.

VVG, I think it isn't canonical, you think it isn't. We think it is not canonical!! Great I stand corrected.

"If you need to try to be offended at something then by definition that thing is not offensive. The world would be better off if people in general stopped trying so hard to be offended about things."

But--but--if I didn't cultivate a highly sensitized notion of being "offended" I might-gasp--sometimes vote for my interests--gasp!-can't have that--must. . . subordinate. . . "self" . . . to . . . (false) construction of "community interest." Naan yarendru yennakku theriyum.

It would have been even more awesome if she had dressed up like Chhinnamasta

Being offended is a natural emotional reaction. If you need to try to be offended at something then by definition that thing is not offensive. The world would be better off if people in general stopped trying so hard to be offended about things.

Sepia writers are becoming increasingly less interesting, and increasingly more interested in "edgy"/ "comidic" ways to report what is happening. Posting a picture like this and then talking about "pulling it off" as an obvious attempt at a lame joke reinforces the direction of the writing lately on sepia. While poeple have flocked to sepia because of the desi take on the elections, posts like this continue to depress the readers out there that are looking for something substanial.

I've seen people dressed up as Kali in India too. The major difference, that I can see, is that the Indian dresser-ups would paint their tongues blood red and stick them out. And, the jewelry was less intense and the heads less realistic.

Heidi Klum's husband Seal looks a lot like the stereotypical Indian Maharaja with that huge fake mustache. I think he looks a lot like Tipu Sultan. What do you all think?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/images/gal_tipu_sultan.jpg

She obviously researched Kali intensely, so in that sense it wasn't done in a superficial, and therefore disrespectful manner. If anything it will get people curious as to who this goddess is, and then research it themselves. Besides, while Hindus are notoriosuly clannish, Indians in general adopt and cross reference religions all the time, whether in practice or in theory, so whiteys should be allowed to dabble without being labled "offensive".

"besides hindu gods represent a supreme being that we lay people call GOD(YHWH, or Allah) for our inability to understand how great this 'being' is. So technically the other gods are 'costumes' of the supreme being. I'm not saying being a hindu is to observe halloween in gods..not at all. but the idea of our 'gods' is to represent a certain aspect via anthropomorphic qualities"

I am left aghast and breathless at the arrogance and religious chauvinism of some of the posters on this board who think their religion is superior and will defend primitive practices. Sounds like RSS mindset to me.

"What about all the human sacrifices usually of children to Kali in pre-colonial times? Wasn't that evil?"

A worthy question. But don't expect the posters to answer. Most posters here are upper caste and have stakes in the machinery of persecution that is the brahminical indian state.

"How much do you want to bet some crazy group in India is going to protest this and file a court case?"

Wow wanna bet. The Shiv Sena will murder another million minorities over this.

Iam extremely offended.
It would have been okay if she had represented Kaali in gracefully and in a positive way but what she did was very offencive and typical western christian mentality, which presents Kaali as something evil and Hindus as devil worshippers.Those Hindus who are saying they are not offended please check this picture "http://www.celebrity-gossip.net/celebrity_gallery/image_full/114089/" and decide what respect and understanding she has shown for our Goddess Kaali.

19 · NaraVara said

Muslims have pretty strict rules about depictions of their religious figures that we don't.

Since when? These are representation of Mohammed by Muslims in history -- 1, 2 and 3.

Some crazies think that you can't depict Mohammed but then many Muslims think you can. Mohammed never said anything about his being depicted. He just forbade idolatory and ironically the muslims who protest against his depiction are themselves guilty of making an idol of him.

17 · Anil said

if someone had dressed up as Muhammad...would it have been as "cool" ?

Ya think? Heidi would have have got something like this.

23 · black goddess said

What about all the human sacrifices usually of children to Kali in pre-colonial times? Wasn't that evil?

People did (and still do) a lot of evil things before the enlightenment e.g. The Crusades and Jihad

Did Kali ever explicitly demand child sacrifice?

41 · kayastha_lady said

"How much do you want to bet some crazy group in India is going to protest this and file a court case?"

Wow wanna bet. The Shiv Sena will murder another million minorities over this.

So what is the minimum number of minorities murdered by the Shiv Sena over this issue and over what time period?

The costume is pretty cool though. She looks hot!! Hopefully the nuts in India will not go overboard.

The question would be what would her reaction be if say one of the party attendees had come as a Nazi Kamp Kommandant? An Islamic Suicide Bomber? An aborted foetus? Inquiring minds want to know.

Staying on the topic of offensive things how would Heidi Klum say if someone to her party came dressed as Obama with a noose around his neck? After all She will leave the US if McCain wins.

Iam extremely offended. It would have been okay if she had represented Kaali in gracefully and in a positive way but what she did was very offencive and typical western christian mentality, which presents Kaali as something evil and Hindus as devil worshippers.Those Hindus who are saying they are not offended please check this picture "http://www.celebrity-gossip.net/celebrity_gallery/image_full/114089/" and decide what respect and understanding she has shown for our Goddess Kaali.

Aryan, I think you show character. It may be a gorgeous costume (and of course Hallowe'en is not for depicting anything in a positive light unless you're six years old), but Kali is the alter ego of Durga, and is as Shiv is to Nataraj, so dressing up as Kali and baring fake fangs to go clubbin' is a bit much. Plus, it betrays a thin grasp of the cosmology involved. Point is, Kali is the goddess of purposeful and necessary Destruction, not Evil, so Mother Kali is evil only in the same sense that Heidi Klum is evil on that crazy show of hers. Also I suspect, jyotsana, that Heidi Klum never got as far as to distinguish between blue Kali and black Kali, but is simply assuming that Krishna blue is an all-purpose complexion of the Desi Divine....and all this time, I believed what I was told and thought that Kali sticks her tongue out in the Bengali grimace of shame for accidentally trampling her husband, she's that proper.

It is true of women, and some would say particularly true of Bengali women, that we tend to pursue a scorched earth policy when roused to full rage. I remember an exhibition at the Met a few years ago, with some fine miniatures depicting Kali amid landscapes devastated by war, but can't remember what school of painting produced them.

black goddess, if I may say, christian were burnt at the stake in the name of Jesus in pre-colonial times as well--- something to do with the halting, one step forward, two steps back type progress of humanism everywhere, rather than cruelties being particular to any culture.

I think the costume is dope! Wish I had the money to put something like that together. Also see my previous Halloween post for similar costumes and "offensive candy":
http://www.sepiamutiny.com/sepia/archives/003909.html
http://www.sepiamutiny.com/sepia/archives/004830.html

Thanks, Abhi--will put linked posts above...

Hinduism is a tolerant religion. Sometimes so tolerant that if a fellow Hindu raises objection towards such mocking of Hindu Gods, he/she is labeled a chauvinist and extremist.
Maybe to the elite bloggers pictures of a kissing Kali aren't disturbing but I m sure they are to some Hindus. Everyone is entitled to live their sick fantasies as long as the rest of the world isn't forced to witness it.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,445904,00.html

A worthy question. But don't expect the posters to answer. Most posters here are upper caste and have stakes in the machinery of persecution that is the brahminical indian state.

Yes. Those of us who live in America have such a stake in a Brahmanical Indian state.

In fact, I do sometimes wonder if I could get a show of hands, how many American Raised Indians even know what caste they are?
I certainly don't. All I know is that my parents came from a mixed caste marriage. But I suppose some will spare no opportunity to cast all Indians with any shred of pride for their culture as being "backward" or whatever. Frankly it is a bit tiresome.

As for the human sacrifice thing, infanticide is nothing new to poor, agrarian societies. They didn't really have the medical knowhow to perform an proper abortion or anything. Being as how women did not have much in the way of rights and the idea of marital rape scarcely existed (Chanakya, in the Arthashastra, takes some tentative steps towards defining the concept but it's not exactly a law you could easily enforce back then) they didn't have much control over planning out the size of their family. When you're poor enough you will eventually have to face a decision where either one baby dies or all your babies die from not having enough food to go around. It's not a decision anyone should ever have to make, but you can see how someone might want to be able to create a ritualized process for doing such a thing. It would help with the emotional trauma that a mother would surely face when having to do this to her own child.

Come on, it's just a costume. In India parents have been dressing up their kids as small Krishnas for ages, taking pictures and framing them in for the whole family to adore, and tell the baby's mother how little Ashwini is soooo similar to the little "makhan thief". And that's ok?
It's just an spontaneous and immature reaction when you get offended by some hollywolly glam model dressing up as Kali. Instead you should ask yourself when did you last pray to that Godess. Lemme see...uhm, never?

22 · V.V. Ganeshananthan said

I think I was more referring to the evolution of my own reactions to representations of Eastern cultures (including desi ones) in Western popular culture. Once upon a time I probably would have been offended. Now, not so much. Like I said, I think the costume's pretty cool. V.V.G. = not offended :)

the evolution from white to brown

50 · kayastha_lady said

The Arthashastra/Niti is a very sexist treatise on moral and economic law. It goes to show how institutionalized bias against minorities and dalits is an age old phenomenon, almost a value system.

The Arthashastra is the ultimate work on political realism, and Chanakya is the most profound political philosopher of all time. The rest is familiar coming from Prema=kayastha_lady=loose cannon firing blanks; noisy but empty=bakwas!

34 · rob said

"If you need to try to be offended at something then by definition that thing is not offensive. The world would be better off if people in general stopped trying so hard to be offended about things."
But--but--if I didn't cultivate a highly sensitized notion of being "offended" I might-gasp--sometimes vote for my interests--gasp!-can't have that--must. . . subordinate. . . "self" . . . to . . . (false) construction of "community interest." Naan yarendru yennakku theriyum.

here are some random intellectual thoughts -
- Does Densensitization=not offended=Liberation ?
- provocative symbolism + artistic creativity = evoking public reaction ?

People should not get offended from the Kali Klum

But then when folks dress up as the prophet mohammad, islamic folks in the millions go crazy and burn and kill crazzy.

I dont get it ?? anyone care to explain ? The hypocrisy ?

See GR, it's alot like ISO compliance. With the progressives and cultural relatavists it's about consistency in following process and not about results.

I dont get it ?? anyone care to explain ? The hypocrisy ?

i'm a Kali 'fan', and not offended at all by this. Why should I? kayastha_lady, though, is another matter :)

Kali is a concept, given form as an idol. Concepts don't do evil things - people do.

If you click on the picture, you’ll see a gallery that includes her husband, Seal

Actually I was half expecting that she would be standing on her husband like Kali dancing on Shiva

'men' need license to commit evil? :)

i know what you mean, but the same logic would apply to pretty much all religion.

from nov 4th, let's appeal to our higher motivations ;)

by the way, VV - deeply appreciate the edit - rather, the consideration behind it.

may there be more civilized discourse.

Not offended, because she did it well. There are many times when representation of cultures that are not one's own are done poorly, which is why, after Jindal was elected governor here in Louisiana, I asked one of my Mardi Gras parading krewes to put the kaibosh on brownface and the capitol building in Baton Rouge decorated as the Taj Mahal as I foresaw that it could go horribly wrong. Dress-up, satire and send-ups are three very different things, and drunk/carousing folks are no subscribers to subtlety.

Madhurakali is our kula thaivam (family god). It was explained to us that Kali is not evil, destruction or death, but a representation/manifestation of vengeance, wrath and the responsibility of going on the war path towards the consumption of evil. She is nothing but an aspect, just like Rama is an aspect of dharma or Saraswati is education and literacy manifest. For the record, we are active Kali/Durga/Shakti/Rudra worshippers and sacrifice nothing but time and effort in prostration and long trips to obscure temples in obscure South Indian villages. Nowhere in the puranas or prayers that we read does it say that Kali requires blood/human sacrifice. Again, context is more important than concept; ever consider that, in some cultures/tribes/sects which already practised sacrifice, Kali was simply subsumed?

This all comes down to race. If Heidi was an Indian-American, or Indian, no one would care. But because she's white it's automatically assumed that she is making fun of the religion because as a white person, she can't possibly know anything substantial about Hinduism. The word "evil" has a different meaning in Hinduism. Hinduism teaches us that all are one, not the dichotomous Christian idea of either you're in heaven, or you're in hell. It's simply the opposite manifestation of good and the sacred texts don't assign it a value judgement.

43 · Digital Cabinet said

The question would be what would her reaction be if say one of the party attendees had come as a Nazi Kamp Kommandant? An Islamic Suicide Bomber? An aborted foetus?

Great analogy! Finally, somebody has the courage to point out that Kali is as offensive as a Nazi camp Kommandant, or an Islamic suicide bomber.

Well I suppose admins deleted a comment by somebody that this entire post is absolutely ridiculous...actually I would differ with that commenter because if not same but similar ridiculousness (questionable adjective maybe) folks encounter at workplace and one sometimes wonders what should be ones response.

As for Kali kissing, well, she's the consort of Shiva so I imagine at some point she's kissed him

Why, was Seal dressed as Shiva?

77 · Saraswati Palin said

What's offensive about Kali?

I think (a) human/child sacrifices ritual (b) very agressive unlike indian women/victorian ladies are expected to behave in public (c) flirting with shiva who is already married to parvathi. any othercCause célèbre ?

77 · Saraswati Palin said

What's offensive about Kali?

Hey, I was just admiring the genius comparison that really put the God in Godwin.

58 · black goddess said

The brahmins must have made it all up.

Let's see what Wikipedia says:
"She was worshipped initially by tribals and low-caste Hindus, in "wild places". An architectural work dating between the sixth to eighth century prescribes her temples be built near cremation grounds or houses of low-caste people"

69 · black goddess said

but the same logic would apply to pretty much all religion.

Hinduism is the only extant religion that practices human sacrifice. The evil insanity went on for millenia until a foreign occupying power, the British colonial rulers of India, made it illegal and forced the sacrificers to go underground. Even today countless innocent children are sacrificed illegally to Kali.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,501020729-322673,00.html

I would really like to see some hard evidence of any systemic process of killing grown kids.
I do hope you're not naive enough to think that the British were above making crap up to justify their dominion over India.

The Thuggee cult worshipped Kali AND they killed people (for money). They did so in a ritualized fashion, but everything in India gets done in a ritualized fashion. I don't see how it's any different from run of the mill banditry just because the bandits happen to have a spiritual side.

The theme of the costumes is scary. Not evil. Kali is scary but not evil. So we can console ourselves. A long-haired white man pinned to a board is also potentially scary but I doubt if many would risk it.

- Does Densensitization=not offended=Liberation ?

Thanks, Demi Moore--yes, that is what, roughly speaking, I meant. At least if you want to interact with your friends and family as such, and interact with others out of self-interest--that is, to make $$ (I don't mean this to sound so crass--after all, it's the basis of most happy lives, pace Tolstoy). That's why I said "Naan yarendru yennakku theriyum"--(loosely) translated, "I know who I am"--if one does, one doesn't need to freak out so much at others' perceptions of one, so long as the others are willing to--errr--deal (meant figuratively and literally).

17 · Anil said

if someone had dressed up as Muhammad...would it have been as "cool" ?

I agree. Hinduism should aspire to Islam's current manifestation as the ideal. Clearly, Islam has earned so much respect, adoration and understand in the West that we must all be envious of it, and emulate its behavior.

From Wikipedia:

Kālī is the feminine of kāla "black, dark coloured" (per Panini 4.1.42). It appears as the name of a form of Durga in Mahabharata 4.195, and as the name of an evil female spirit in Harivamsa 11552.

38 · banerjee said

I've seen people dressed up as Kali in India too. The major difference, that I can see, is that the Indian dresser-ups would paint their tongues blood red and stick them out. And, the jewelry was less intense and the heads less realistic.

As a kid I remember watching PachaiKali (Green Kali) and PavalaKali (Red Kali) parading the streets of Thanjavur all day long before doing a duel in the evening. PachaiKali Aatam and PavaliKali Aatam involved a huge costume (~ 8 to 10 feet tall) that was usually 'worn' by men and then danced. One more folk art form that is being preserved.

If 'evil' characters is what people are looking for in costumes, there are hundreds of such characters in Indian tradition from all kinds of Asuras (Narakaasura being one, who was vanquished as being the reason for Deepavali in Tamil Nadu), Rakshasas, Peis, Pisaasu (Kollivaai-[fire in the mouth] Pisaasu being especially fearsome), Bhoothams, Poochaandis and so forth.

Far from ancient barbarisms that refuse to die, sacrifice and sorcery are making a comeback. Sociologists explain the millions who now throng the two main Kali centers in eastern India, at Kamakhya and Tarapith, as what happens when the rat race that is India's future meets the superstitions of its past.

LOL--I assume you're joking--yeah, whatever crap you can describe is going on in (a) the world and (b)
South Asia, given that the latter is over 1/5 of the freaking world--so--what's your point? If it's that my family has anything to do with this, then, well--you're too crazy to even be worth the sand beneath my sandals--sorry. . . .

http://www.geocities.com/asia_correspondent/nepal99sacrificect.html

SHE LOOKS AMAZING!!!

This is another good picture

At Dakshinkali, meanwhile, some devotees don't wait to return home to dine on the dead meat. Instead, they picnic in the forest next to the shrine, roasting their meals on campfires while the slitting and hacking continues below amid clanging of bells and shouts of prayer.

LOL--definitely outside the range of my parents' practice, but--so what--what is the point, here? You obviously think you're baiting someone, but, really, who gives a damn about these fringe practices--apparently, you do--so, fine--go care about them--most people will carry on with their normal stuff, and not care. . . .

how hot are these shoes though :) i read somewhere it took 4 hrs to do the make up! wowie.

Although dressup as a Hindu Goddess is ok by me, I'm not ok with the hypocrisy. First of all, the fangs are out of place, and do not belong. Kali is not evil or a demonic figure, so why portray her as such? Secondly, yesterday's news said a New Jersey school boy was sent home for dressing up as Jesus. Hmm....so obviously, some people were offended. All religions should have the same treatment. I agree with the one commenter, would German Heidi be comfortable if someone went to her party with the Nazi (not Hindu:-) swastika? I think not.

It's my party and I'll slay if I want to, slay if I want to...it's my party.
I want the shoes!

88 · black goddess said

Kālī is the feminine of kāla "black, dark coloured" (per Panini 4.1.42). It appears as the name of a form of Durga in Mahabharata 4.195, and as the name of an evil female spirit in Harivamsa 11552

Kali traditions there are some pretty dark practices

I think (a) human/child sacrifices ritual (b) very agressive unlike indian women/victorian ladies are expected to behave in public (c) flirting with shiva who is already married to parvathi. any othercCause célèbre ? Kali IS non-other than Parvati. Read your Hindu epics/scriptures.

Maybe because Kali has got the blues since Shiva is flirting with Parvathi leaving her all alone ?

Please don't post entire articles from other sites--post the links!

Also, as a point of fact, the party wasn't at her home. But I don't think that changes the previous commenter's point.

94 · rob said

At Dakshinkali, meanwhile, some devotees don't wait to return home to dine on the dead meat. Instead, they picnic in the forest next to the shrine, roasting their meals on campfires while the slitting and hacking continues below amid clanging of bells and shouts of prayer.

LOL--definitely outside the range of my parents' practice, but--so what--what is the point, here? You obviously think you're baiting someone, but, really, who gives a damn about these fringe practices--apparently, you do--so, fine--go care about them--most people will carry on with their normal stuff, and not care. . . .

Roasting meat on a campfire is a fringe practice?
Just because the article's writer is one of those holier than thou types of vegetarians and feels like describing the butchery of an animal in the most graphic way possible doesn't mean it is at all barbaric or "fringe."

Really, if you want to see barbarism towards animals then temple sacrifices are the wrong place to look. You might want to start here: http://images.google.com/images?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=s&hl=en&q=factory%20farms&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

That "fringe" lady with the purse in the photograph behind Kali. Is she Parvathi ? ;)

Himesh - welcome to SM...

M. Nam

Guess, this should make it clearer about Klum's husband's costume - 'Angulimaal' (Anybody ever studied C.B.S.E syllabus?, don't bother if you can't understand the initials)

http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/nov/03look1.htm

i think she did a pretty good job.

re hindu gods not being a 'costume' - i studied bharata natyam for over 10 years, and dressing up as a hindu deity was a significant part of my experience as a dancer. more so, this is a pretty big part of culture among hindus – e.g. classical dance, ram leela, street artistes etc. – they all involve humans dressing up represent various deities. i’m not sure that this is that much different. i think hk’s intent is rather benign (and she also does not strike me, from what little i’ve read of her, as being a culturally ignorant person) so she’s prob. one of the ‘better’ celebrities to choose and pull off a costume such as this.

85 comments and not one person has said it yet? What's happening to SM?

I'd hit it.

By Swami Chetanananda

Originally published in the 1996 Kali Mandir Puja Program

A non-Christian who is unfamiliar with Jesus becomes horrified when he sees
Christians worshipping a portrait of an image of a person hanging on a cross,
bleeding, in pain and agony. Similarly, a Christian who is unfamiliar with the
Hindu Goddess Kali thinks Her image as dreadful and obnoxious. Ignorance is
the mother of all evil. It creates misunderstanding, hatred, intolerance, and
many other problems of life. So it is not wise to judge another's tradition.
It is better to study and try to understand it with sincerity and respect.

The Symbolism of Kali, by Swami Chetanananda, can be found on this page.

http://www.kalimandir.org/library/libraryhome.asp?page=articles&item=08_is_kali.xml

[This comment was edited by admin to redirect to this site, rather than re-pasting its text.)

There is a huge amount of literature in Bengal on Kali. I have given below
a poem by the poet Ramprasad.

Who is there that can understand what Mother Kali is?
Even the six Darshanas are powerless to reveal Her.
It is She, the scriptures say, that is the Inner Self
of the yogis; who in Self discovers all his joys:
She, that of Her own sweet will, inhabits every living being.

The macrocosm and microcosm rest in the Mother's womb;
Now do you see how vast it is? In the Muladhara
the yogi meditates on Her, and in the Sahasrara:
who but Shiva has beheld Her as She really is?
Within the lotus wilderness She Sports beside Her Mate, the Swan.

When man aspires to understand Her, Ramprasad must smile;
To think of knowing Her, he says, is quite laughable
As to imagine one can swim across the boundless sea.
But while my mind has understood, alas! my heart has not:
Though but a dwarf, it still would strive to make a captive of the
moon.

I have posted below couple of poems by the poet Kamalakanta.

(1) http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/K/Kamalakanta/blackbeeofmy.htm

(2) http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/K/Kamalakanta/Caneveryoneh.htm

[This comment was edited by admin to redirect to these sites, rather than re-pasting their texts.)

Earrings: Images of two little babies hang from Her ears; this means that She favors childlike devotees

Or it represents baby sacrifices. (just kidding)

My parents dressed me up as Krishna for a Diwali performance once and no one was offended.

Do you have to be a Hindu to dress up as a God in order to make it non-offensive?

I applaud Heidi for her creativity-- the costume is gorgeous.

http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/nov/03look1.htm

I have to say that I cringed when I read that... "mean"? VV there's going to be more networds on here... For the record, I think it's an excellent costume, and no, there is no Hindu gene that makes wearing it okay or not okay. But it's going to get bad out there... *backing into underground bunker.

Again, don't paste long blocks of text from other sites--provide the URLs instead. Thanks.

uh-oh

Some idiot Zed keeps acting as the spokesman for Hindus and makes us all look silly with this idiotic rantings. Now he is protesting this(which he is free to do so on an individual basis). Maybe some of us should start a Hindu organization just to protest other Hindu "organizations" that are outraged over trivial crap.

BTW, I like the costume. And for those quibbling about inaccuracies, keep in mind, Hindu god representations have a variety owing to new elements brought up by people from different regions or a different time.

Who in the world is Zed and where did he come from?

97 · palab said

Who in the world is Zed and where did he come from?

He once led a prayer in the senate, and some clowns tried to stop him, so I guess he's now returning the favor on a regular basis.

It is not so much the costume as Heidi Klum's insensitive remark on Ma Kali. It is not a
nice thing to call the God of another religion mean.Otherwise it doesn't matter what a
highly paid clothes hanger says or does.

this idiotic rantings.

Lets see, in the excerpt in the link Zed hadn't called for Klum death, hadn't called for a boycott against her or her employers, hadn't led any protests against her -- all responses we have seen occur regularly when this sort of thing happens. In fact going over the comments once more I notice that Zed hadn't even insulted her.

The tone of Zed's comment is polite. The content is entirely in line with mainstream thoughts on what is appropriate for Halloween -- see point 4 of this article on Halloween costumes

Zed's views may not be the same as yours. This is not a rant. If you want to look for a rant look for comments that delve in personal insults and are unjustifiably intolerant of the expression of differing opinions. They are pretty easy to find. Here is a pretty good example for instance.

Personally speaking I was not particularly offended by Heidi Klum's costume, I just did not care one way or the other*1. But I am amazed at the vitriol spewed here on Kali, and on anyone who was not not tickled pink by Heidi's costume.

(*1 I admit though, that if I had seen Klum in person, I would have been shocked, and would have probably told her to take off the Kali costume. A sentiment, I apparently share with others)

He might have been polite, but I don't think he's earned the right to speak for anyone other than himself. It's somewhat irksome to see people, and there seems to be a lot of them, calling themselves religious leaders.

I just resent the media taking this guy Zed to be the representative of all Hindus. Was he part of the same group that complained about Xena?

THE PICTURE
The picture of Kali is the sum representation of her story in a very artistic way by an unknown artist. The bowl catching the blood and each body part had to be caught else more cloning would have taken place is shown by a garlend of body parts. The many hands required to kill demons and catch the body and blood. The awesome face of rage that is required to kill such a beast. The angry beast within us is hard to control and requires such strength. Many symbolic meanings have also been made.
The Mother Kali is symbol of the highest victory of Good over the highest form of evil.

But, but but... what about the nipple?

The thing that is wrong with this dressing up as Kali is not the costume but the perception it has created that Kali is somehow evil and its OK to use this evil on Halloween day

Again, where did Heidi claim that Kali was evil? This seems to be an assumption on your part.

Who in the world is Zed and where did he come from?

He once led a prayer in the senate, and some clowns tried to stop him, so I guess he's now returning the favor on a regular basis.

Another old fuddy duddy with no sense of humor. Love Guru was funny. Loved the new age spoof. It was more satire of America's obsession with self-help and "life-coaching" than it was of India and Indian culture. Even Deepak Chopra made a cameo appearance to make fun of himself. Good Lord. The Love Guru was not even Indian, for gods sake. This guy Zed and his ilk need to take a laxative.

96 · Pravin said

Maybe some of us should start a Hindu organization just to protest other Hindu "organizations" that are outraged over trivial crap.

On Facebook, there's Hindus Against Hindutva.

108 · Nina P said

96 · Pravin said

Maybe some of us should start a Hindu organization just to protest other Hindu "organizations" that are outraged over trivial crap.

On Facebook, there's Hindus Against Hindutva.

Not a very credible group. I invite you all to check on the member links. Some of the names will be familiar to you (e.g. articles in the Guardian UK). Judge for yourselves if these people distinguish between Hindus and Hindutvaadis or take other communities to task for their contribution to South Asian strife.

I would very much like to join Hindus who understand the grievances of their community but understand that secularism & commitment to free speech ensure our people the best future. The great Indic philosophies would never have emerged had we adopted the literalism and absolutism of other faiths.

What's offensive to me is that people jump at the opportunity to find something like this offensive. Hindus dress up as gods all the time and not just for festivals, so why can't Heidi? If you go to any famous Kali or Durga temple, specially those that involve a trek, you will find scores of young girls along the way dressed up as little durgas or kalis (with begging bowls). Not necessarily a pretty sight but that's how it is.

Just because something like this is offensive in some religions does not mean it must be offensive for all religions. Not saying that Hindus don't have their own stuff to get them in a legitimate twist. If she'd just worn Kali boots perhaps that could be a considered a "hindu" issue. It's rather pathetic that instead of using such opportunities to point out differences in cultural sensitivities we tend instead to go into copycat mode and feel obliged to take offense when absolutely none is called for.

I just wish some of these people spent as much time being outraged by caste atrocities committed in the name of Hinduism and working against them as they do feigning outrage against silly movies and Halloween costumes.

111 · palab said

I just wish some of these people spent as much time being outraged by caste atrocities committed in the name of Hinduism and working against them as they do feigning outrage against silly movies and Halloween costumes.

I think most activists are capable of chewing gum and walking at the same time.

111 · palab said

I just wish some of these people spent as much time being outraged by caste atrocities committed in the name of Hinduism and working against them as they do feigning outrage against silly movies and Halloween costumes.

Indeed. Unfortunately the only outrage these hypocrites feel is for the "caste atrocity" of reservations for long oppressed low castes, outcastes and tribals.

110 · Divya said

What's offensive to me is that people jump at the opportunity to find something like this offensive. Hindus dress up as gods all the time and not just for festivals, so why can't Heidi? If you go to any famous Kali or Durga temple, specially those that involve a trek, you will find scores of young girls along the way dressed up as little durgas or kalis (with begging bowls). Not necessarily a pretty sight but that's how it is.

Just because something like this is offensive in some religions does not mean it must be offensive for all religions. Not saying that Hindus don't have their own stuff to get them in a legitimate twist. If she'd just worn Kali boots perhaps that could be a considered a "hindu" issue. It's rather pathetic that instead of using such opportunities to point out differences in cultural sensitivities we tend instead to go into copycat mode and feel obliged to take offense when absolutely none is called for.

I spent a good time writing my own layout of the story and a step by step analysis of why this is abusive and the events of the story which is so central to understanding Kali. Without the story everyone here fails to understand Kali.
Please explain why it has been delete?

Please dont say it was too long.
You cannot jusge what peiople are capable of reading and not.
If they do not read it then it is their loss.

It was my own views and my own writing. This was no cut and paste from some website.
I see no reason why you should edit my opinons to suit your end.

This is not fair and it sopils the arguments put forward.

And now you have left it open for abuse by likes of DrV who childishly quotes
"But, but but... what about the nipple?"
Off course anything negative such as this you enjoy leaving it and the postive argument I put forward was deleted.

Please reinstate my post.

105 · Saraswati Palin said

The thing that is wrong with this dressing up as Kali is not the costume but the perception it has created that Kali is somehow evil and its OK to use this evil on Halloween day

Again, where did Heidi claim that Kali was evil? This seems to be an assumption on your part.

Dear Sarawswati,

Halloween costumes are traditionally those of monsters such as ghosts, skeletons, witches, and devils.

Dear Divya

You wrote “What's offensive to me is that people jump at the opportunity to find something like this offensive. Hindus dress up as gods all the time and not just for festivals, so why can't Heidi?”

As I said before, its not the costume but the place where it is worn and the implication of why the costume was worn. Halloween costumes are traditionally those of monsters such as ghosts, skeletons, witches, and devils. Hindus dressing up at festivals are not out to be offensive.

Dear Palab

I also wish to echo the sentiments already expressed and say that yes we are also outraged by Caste differences and crime in the name Hinduism and yes even silly Bollywood movies that does not mean we should let those who abuse the religion continue to do so not make them aware of their folly.

Suraj you have a very good point there.

It seems my answers to the many odd comments made before me were deleted and still have still not been reinstated.
It is strange that Admins delete a very good answer that objectively looked at Hindus who misinterpret and westerners who misinterpret Kali.
It was a perfectly logical step by step answer to the many comments made.

I don’t even have an apology or explanation from the admin-- if it was deleted in error.
How do you expect people to participate in a discussion when you are deleting answers?

115 · suraj said

105 · Saraswati Palin said

The thing that is wrong with this dressing up as Kali is not the costume but the perception it has created that Kali is somehow evil and its OK to use this evil on Halloween day

Again, where did Heidi claim that Kali was evil? This seems to be an assumption on your part.

Dear Sarawswati,

Halloween costumes are traditionally those of monsters such as ghosts, skeletons, witches, and devils.

Dear NaraVara

Why should we think that its OK to have a Barack Obama masks on Halloween?
Just because some people have sought to make fun of him does not make it right.
Not everyone likes him and an attempt on his life has already been made. I just hope he stays alive long enough to be the President.

Halloween costumes are traditionally those of monsters. This great man is not a monster of any kind, but he may be perceived as a monster by a spiteful few.

Whatever their reason for wearing it we should seek to educate these ignorant folks and not laugh with them .....cute masks or not.

I dont believe you are ignorant enough to believe that the Kali costume was worn to respect the Mother Goddess.

As I said before, its not the costume but the place where it is worn and the implication of why the costume was worn. Halloween costumes are traditionally those of monsters such as ghosts, skeletons, witches, and devils. Hindus dressing up at festivals are not out to be offensive.

Suraj - people don't only wear witch and devil costumes on Halloween but that's a minor point. Kali is meant to be frightening, even if she assumes this form to fight evil. One of the words used to describe this form is "bhayankar" (fear inducing). Shiva too assumes this form (Rudra)which is his angry aspect and I'm sure there must be tons of regional gods with similar aspects. Pagan gods are all about personification of the passions so it does not make sense to only look at them in light of goodness and beauty. Nor is it appropriate to inflict deep philosophy on people when the tradition itself is largely expressed in the form of simple stories.

120 · suraj said

Dear NaraVara

Why should we think that its OK to have a Barack Obama masks on Halloween?
Just because some people have sought to make fun of him does not make it right.
Not everyone likes him and an attempt on his life has already been made. I just hope he stays alive long enough to be the President.

Halloween costumes are traditionally those of monsters. This great man is not a monster of any kind, but he may be perceived as a monster by a spiteful few.

Whatever their reason for wearing it we should seek to educate these ignorant folks and not laugh with them .....cute masks or not.

I think you missed the point. The people wearing Obama costumes were Obama supporters.
People also go out on Halloween dressed as nurses, cowboys, firefighters, police officers, heads of state, historical figures, Greek Gods and Goddesses, Jesus, Moses, and so on.

Wearing a costume does not mean that you consider the thing you are dressed as to be evil.

Do you even know the story behind why kids dress up on Halloween? Originally it was a Celtic festival in which the spirits of the departed were thought to return to Earth and help the druids to see the future. But along with the good spirits evil ones would also come out and walk around. The Celts would dress up as bears, wolves, and various monstrous creatures with the intention of scaring the evil spirits away.

Dressing as Kali is actually not all that different from the original tradition of Halloween. Kali herself is the most fearsome form of Durga, a form she takes on in order to frighten the hell out of the evil ones.

I dont believe you are ignorant enough to believe that the Kali costume was worn to respect the Mother Goddess.

Dear Divya,

“"bhayankar"
I hope youre not suggesting that because Mother Kali (or any other Gods such as Shankar Bhagvan or Narshima) is described in this way it somehow makes it alright for everyone to abuse them on Halloween.
If you knew the story of who she had to kill and how she had to kill and WHY she had to take this bhayankar appearance and did what she did, then you will not have sought to justify Klum using this dress which is what I assume you are trying to do.

Im not surprised that many have misconceptions and misunderstood Kali.
She has been misunderstood by many Hindus and hence one of the reasons why we had the evil outcome called Thuggis.
In other parts of India sacrifices took place in her name and which I assume may still go on in some backwards regions of the India.
These are the result of misconception of Kali which needs to be tackled today.
And we don’t need the likes of this Klum woman to spread or reinforce the already misunderstood Kali.

Kali is a Divine Energy Shakti or Prakriti and she can never be looked upon in another way accept goodness and beauty. If you try to relate her to anything else then you are moving away from the basic Hindus philosophy and into the realms of other religions and thoughts.
Please do take your time to read the full Hindu Puranas to realise Kali.

Let us unite to rid this world of the misconceptions of Kali and where better to start then by educating Hindus first then others like Klum and spread the word of Devi Mata who is worshiped by many as Brahman Itself.

Dear Naravara,
Actually I did read up about Halloween history and it is widely supposed that Halloween originated as a pagan Celtic festival of the dead related to the Irish and Scottish Samhain but there is no evidence that it was connected with the dead in pre-Christian times. (Stations of the Sun by Ronald Hutton pages 360-370).

The Celts believed that evil spirits came with the long hours of the winter darkness. They believed that on that night the barriers between our world and the spirit world were at their weakest and therefore spirits were most likely to be seen on earth. Bonfires were traditionally lit to frighten the spirits away. The people thought they could trick the ghosts into leaving them alone by dressing up as one of them! Hence the tradition of dressing up as ghosts and evil beings.

Hence today the Halloween imagery tends to involve death, evil, magic, or mythical monsters. Traditional characters include the Devil, the Grim Reaper, ghosts, ghouls, demons, witches, pumpkin-men, goblins, vampires, werewolves, zombies, mummies, skeletons, black cats, spiders, bats, owls, crows, and vultures.
You may have noble thought but Kali does not fits into these characters today.

Im sure people have a wonderful time whether they dress up as monsters or George Bush! But as Hindus whose religion has already been misunderstood by Hindus and nonHindus alike do not wish to see the good name of Kali tainted further or taken in vain or become and excuse for some twisted person to kill people in her name as has happened in the past.

People do not just dress up as evil entities, ghosts and demons on Halloween. They dress up as doctors and nurses, etc, as well. There is nothing here to suggest that Klum or anybody else assumes Kali Ma to be evil.

Here's an example of "hurt sentiments" run amok by old-world Hindus;

http://www.harekrsna.com/sun/news/11-08/news2326.htm

These people do not represent me and my version of inclusive, tolerant and fun Hinduism.

People do not just dress up as evil entities, ghosts and demons on Halloween. They dress up as doctors and nurses, etc, as well. There is nothing here to suggest that Klum or anybody else assumes Kali Ma to be evil.

Here's an example of "hurt sentiments" run amok by old-world Hindus;

http://www.harekrsna.com/sun/news/11-08/news2326.htm

These people do not represent me and my version of inclusive, tolerant and fun Hinduism.

Dear Mohapatra Dibyadeb
Dear Dibyadeb Mohapatra

“There is nothing here to suggest that Klum or anybody else assumes Kali Ma to be evil.”
After all that explaining you must be very naïve to think this.

The link you provided has no bearing on this topic.
But you said “These people do not represent me…….” after the link
Which people?
No don’t bother answering that, I was thinking out aloud. I cant get into another talk on the rights of the beautiful Hare Krishna sect.

But as a final word on Mother Kali and her abuse on Halloween; I will leave you with these links where she has been abused before.
1) Monster in my pocket.
Pocket CARD GAMES for children
http://www.raumhafen.de/cgi-bin/showp.pl?pic=/galerie/rubber_guys/mimp/s1&titel=Monster%20In%20My%20Pocket%20-%20Series%201
Look at number 19 0n this list Kali the monster!
There was complaints about this and it was removed from the monster packets.
But look they also included Ganesha, Hanuman, and Yama.

2 ) Kali - Dark Angel of Trecherous Intent
http://forum.yugiohcardmaker.net/thread-74574.html

3) Ultimate Monsters in Munchkin cards
Described as :- Monsters in Munchkin range in level from 1 (e.g. Potted Plant or Goldfish) to 20 (e.g. Plutonium Dragon, Kali or Great Cthulhu) and when a player defeats them they go up one or more levels and draw a certain amount of treasures, both depending on the particular monster and bonus effects.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munchkin_(game)

4) There are more links where Krishna and Arjuna are used as names of villainous spaceships which you have to destroy! I cant find the link to this.

5) Im sure there is lot more trash out their about our religion. Lets not all turn into Gandhi followers and occasionally be like Arjuna and Defend our religion.

Jai Mata Ki

The weeaboo artwork on Link #2 actually offends me more than the fact that they named it Kali.

But it's pretty clear that nothing about the stuff on that card is anything like our Goddess Kali save the name. It's like Final Fantasy regarding Shiva as the "Goddess of Ice."

I agree that the misrepresentations of Kali are dumb. But I see no reason to get offended by it. The intent is clearly not to offend. I would much rather just mock them for their ignorance than take umbrage.