title: Python : How to compare strings and ignore white space and special characters
body: <p>I want to compare two strings such that the comparison should ignore differences in the special characters. That is,</p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>Hai, this is a test</p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>Should match with </p>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>Hai ! this is a test  "or" Hai this is a test</p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>Is there any way to do this without modifying the original strings? </p>