Panaji (Goa), 27th December – Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) protests against the organizers of ‘Sunburn’ for denigrating Bhagwan Nataraj by using His picture on the hoardings advertising the controversial musical event ‘Sunburn’ at various places. The HJS demands that the organizers of ‘Sunburn’ stop this denigration of Bhagwan Nataraj immediately and tender an unconditional apology for hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus.
The advertisement of ‘Sunburn’ published all over, depicts a picture of Bhagwan Nataraj on a stage with people dancing in front. There is going to be a dance item called ‘Dance temple’ in the musical event. It has been stated in the advertisement that there is going to be a statue of Bhagwan Nataraj on the stage. Bhagwan Nataraj is a form of Lord Shiva and is worshipped in Hindu religion. To dance in front of the holy picture of Nataraj to the rhythm of western music, consuming intoxicating drinks is a serious denigration of Bhagwan Nataraj.
In fact, Gomantak (Goa) is known as the land of Lord Parshuram, meaning the land of Deities since long. Now, under the name of tourism, the image of this divine region, Goa, has been transformed as the land of ‘Wine, women, casino and drugs’! In this context, controversial programs like ‘Sunburn’ re-inforce this wrongly created negative image of Goa and attack the Goan culture. The ‘Sunburn’ festival is commencing on 27th December at Vagator beach. According to the organizers, it is the biggest music festival in Asia and more than 120 artistes including international DJ’s, instrumentalists and artists are going to participate in it. This festival is based on Western music and it is specific because it is organised every year, some days before the New Year.