Fortune Foods apologises for Durga Puja ad featuring non-veg food for 'hurting sentiments' during Navratri

In his Netflix comedy special Humanity, comedian Ricky Gervais while commenting on the alacrity with which people get outraged had pointed out some people went out of their way to get offended. Describing the Twitter’s perennially outraged, he said it was the equivalent of someone going to a townhall square, picking up a notice offering guitar lessons and outraging that one didn’t want guitar lessons.

In India, we see it almost every day with groups taking offence to every single thing under the sun including movies, books, plays and even food items that particular group has no interest in.

And it’s back again with a group taking offence to a Durga Puja ad, because it doesn’t fit their idea of Navratri.

A cooking oil ad by Fortune Foods has rubbed members of the Hindu Janjagriti Samiti the wrong way who have stated that eating non-veg food during Navratri was prohibited.

This was not intentional & we will withdraw the video from circulation other than in West Bengal where it is common practice to eat both veg & non veg food. We wish to respect all communities and apologize unconditionally if we have hurt anyone unknowingly. (2/2)@HinduJagrutiOrg

— Fortune Foods (@FortuneFoods) October 11, 2018

Never mind that Durga Puja is a different festival from Navratri and eating meat and fish isn’t taboo during this season. However, perhaps wary of the negative publicity, Fortune Foods apologised saying: “It has come to our notice that the Pet Pujo video has hurt the sensibilities of many communities, as it depicts consumption of non-vegetarian food during Navaratri. This was not intentional & we will withdraw the video from circulation other than in West Bengal where it is common practice to eat both veg & non-veg food. We wish to respect all communities and apologize unconditionally if we have hurt anyone unknowingly.”

One user wrote: “An advt is an advt. This is aimed at the food loving non vegetarian Bengalis and not at other communities, who abstain from non veg foods during Navratri. So, I don't see any reason why other communities should be offended. Ma Durga is coming to her Baaper bari and the celebration should be likewise, shouldn't it.”

Interestingly, on the same day, the Supreme Court opined it can’t pass an order that everyone should become vegetarian’ while adjourning a Public Interest Litigation seeking direction to ban the export of meat for consumption and manufacturing leather.

Perhaps it’s time for us to realise that all of us, irrespective of our traditions are part of the whole. As author and mythologist Devdutt Patnaik wrote on Twitter: “It is fun during Navaratri to see North Indians going stoically vegetarian while Bengalis rushing towards pandals selling savoury mutton/egg/fish/chicken dishes. Hinduism is diverse. Thank Goddess.” Hopefully, we can all agree on this.