Olympics Opening Ceremony Controversy Rages Is Religion Private In Sports NewsX- 27Jul24

Sandeep Chachra, Executive Director, ActionAid Association speaking to NewsX on the controversy surrounding the tableaux featured in the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. At a personal level Sandeep said he found the depiction distasteful, but he said criticism should consider that the objective was to spread tolerance, which was much needed at a time when the world still witnesses war. Sandeep also remarked that we should consider the long tradition of satire with religion, which is present in Europe and in India, as is seen in many of Kabir’s couplets.
Later it has been reported in the press that the inspiration to the tableaux was not Leonardo Da Vinci's Last Supper (1494-98) but Jan Harmens van Bijlert's The Feast of the Gods (1635).