Michel Boucher wrote:
> Mark Thorson > wrote in
> :
>
>> Who would have thought of naming a restaurant after
>> Adolf Hitler?
>
> That is odd, but given that the restaurant is in Mumbai, it may have been
> the association with the swastika (which goes back to the Neolithic
> period and is a symbol of good things in Hinduism), rather than Hitler
> himself, which is definitely an unfortunate association.
>
Except that the Indian swastika usually faces in the other direction.

> "The word swastika is derived from the Sanskrit word svastika, meaning
> any lucky or auspicious object, and in particular a mark made on persons
> and things to denote good luck. It is composed of su-, meaning "good,
> well" and asti, a verbal abstract to the root as "to be" (cognate with
> the Romance copula, coming ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root
> *h1es-); svasti thus means "well-being." The suffix -ka either forms a
> diminutive or intensifies the verbal meaning, and svastika might thus be
> translated literally as "that which is associated with well-being,"
> corresponding to "lucky charm" or "thing that is auspicious."
>
> Of course, this symbol of goodness has been severely damaged by the
> untalented Austrian housepainter.

Housepainter ? Hmmmm ...

The wrong-facing swastika was the emblem of a Swedish airline.
Goering married the daughter of the owner ...

Cheers,

Michael Kuettner