The organisers had to apologise for hurting sentiments, without meaning to

Illustration/Devdutt Pattanaik

At the Paris Olympics, a dance performance provoked outrage. Christians saw it as a parody of Last Supper as depicted by Leonardo da Vinci. The organisers insisted it was based on another painting depicting Bacchanalia, the wild party of the god of wine, Dionysus, which is part of Greek mythology, much like the Olympic games. But the damage was done. The organisers had to apologise for hurting sentiments, without meaning to.

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The French are famous for introducing the world to rather disruptive post-modern philosophy in the 20th century that argues that meaning rests not just with the artist but also the audience. So, the French got a taste of their own medicine—how the message was seen differently by different people. Diversity........

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