美国国家公共电台 NPR Diwali Dilemma: My Complicated Relationship With The Swastika

Diwali Dilemma¹: My Complicated Relationship With The Swastika

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Halloween isn't the only major holiday around the corner. Thanks to this year's lunar calendar, Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, falls on October 30. As NPR's Parth Shah reports, one traditional Diwali decoration could discourage trick or treaters. It's also raising questions from some Hindu families.

PARTH SHAH, BYLINE³: Scarecrows and jack-o'-lanterns are standard front yard decorations around this time of the year but not for the Prakash family. Instead they're decorating the pathway leading to their suburban⁴ D.C. home with rangoli.

TARA PRAKASH: It's colored sand.

SHAH: Ten-year-old Tara Prakash is using the sand to make designs on the asphalt. It's kind of like sidewalk chalk. The rangoli is drawn⁵ for Diwali, a major holiday celebrated⁶ by South Asians all around the world.

SARLA PRAKASH: Diwali, for me personally - nice clothes and lots of sweets.

INDIRA PAREKH: Diwali is like Christmas is here. In Diwali, everybody gets gifts.

SHAH: Sarla Prakash and Indira Parekh, Tara's grandmothers, are standing⁷ on the front porch overlooking the rangoli.

TARA: I made a peace sign here. Here's a star. Mom, what's that called again?

SHAH: What's that one?

TARA: I keep forgetting the name.

ANJALI PRAKASH: That's called a swastika.

TARA: Oh, and then this is a swastika.

SHAH: A swastika - some might be more familiar with the Americanized pronunciation, a swastika. And there's a large red one drawn on the porch steps. Tara's mom, Anjali Prakash, explains.

A. PRAKASH: For Hindus, it has a very positive connotation, and it means good fortune and good wishes to all that are coming in during the Diwali season. You know, and now the connotations are not so positive.

SHAH: The swastika has existed in Asia for 5,000 years as a symbol of good fortune. It has roots in Hinduism and Buddhism⁸. But the Nazis¹⁰ appropriated it as a symbol of Aryan identity and German nationalist pride.

To the untrained eye, the ancient swastika and the Nazi⁹ one are pretty indistinguishable. But if you grew up seeing it year round at weddings and religious festivals like grandmother Indira Parekh, you can notice the differences.

PAREKH: This swastika is straight. The Nazi swastika is crooked¹¹. It's half-turned.

KEN¹² JACOBSON: Someone from the West visits an Asian country and is horrified¹³ that they saw a swastika, and then we have to explain that for them it has a different meaning and a different context.

SHAH: Ken Jacobson is with the Anti-Defamation League, a civil rights group focused on anti-Semitism. He doesn't think that the swastika can exist in mainstream¹⁴ American society as a symbol of good fortune.

JACOBSON: The swastika, as some people have written, was hijacked¹⁵, if you will, by the Nazis. And it has so overtaken history, and to be honest, I don't believe that history can be turned back with regard to the swastika. When others see it, they are only going to see it in the most negative way.

GAUTAM PRAKASH: I think that's a copout.

SHAH: Enter Anjali's husband, Gautam Prakash. He says reclaiming¹⁶ the swastika is a way of normalizing Hindu identity in America.

G. PRAKASH: Most Americans when they do look at that symbol will think Nazi. I 100 percent agree with that. That should mean - is - there should be more Hindus that very consciously put this symbol out.

SHAH: He says it's a means of taking back the image.

G. PRAKASH: Adolf Hitler - it's very unfortunate that he took this to be a symbol of his white supremacy¹⁷ and hatred¹⁸ of Jews. But that's not at all what this means to us.

SHAH: For the Prakash family, and for Hindu Americans around the country, the swastika symbolizes¹⁹ well-wishes to everyone who comes to their home this Diwali. And with the holiday being one day before Halloween, they'll be extending that message to trick or treaters, too. Parth Shah, NPR News.

1 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

2 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

5 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

6 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 Buddhism   

n.佛教（教义）

参考例句：

• Buddhism was introduced into China about 67 AD.佛教是在公元67年左右传入中国的。
• Many people willingly converted to Buddhism.很多人情愿皈依佛教。

9 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

10 Nazis   

n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 crooked   

adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He crooked a finger to tell us to go over to him.他弯了弯手指，示意我们到他那儿去。
• You have to drive slowly on these crooked country roads.在这些弯弯曲曲的乡间小路上你得慢慢开车。

12 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

13 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

14 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

15 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

16 reclaiming   

v.开拓( reclaim的现在分词 )；要求收回；从废料中回收（有用的材料）；挽救

参考例句：

• People here are reclaiming land from the sea. 这儿的人们正在填海拓地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• How could such a man need reclaiming? 这么一个了不起的人怎么还需要别人拯救呢？ 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

17 supremacy   

n.至上；至高权力

参考例句：

• No one could challenge her supremacy in gymnastics.她是最优秀的体操运动员，无人能胜过她。
• Theoretically,she holds supremacy as the head of the state.从理论上说，她作为国家的最高元首拥有至高无上的权力。

18 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

19 symbolizes   

v.象征，作为…的象征( symbolize的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The use of light and dark symbolizes good and evil. 用光明与黑暗来象征善与恶。
• She likes olive because It'symbolizes peace. 她喜欢橄榄色因为它象征着和平。 来自《简明英汉词典》