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Published: October 10th 2018
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Remembering MahaAtma at Sabarmati
'An eye for an eye will make world go blind’ -M K Gandhi
'I am a retired soldier from the Indian Army,’ he gently intoned. 'And I weave cotton daily at the Sabarmati Ashram,’ she replied with a smile. The bearded man then went on to briefly describe the place of his origins in South India, while the lady gave him a patient hearing. Sitting cross legged on the floor while gently turning the Spinning Wheel (Chakra) she mentioned she was from Netherlands & spent a major part of her life at the Ashram. Being of foreign origin I was certain she had to deal with a number of curious visitors each day! Elsewhere a steady stream of visitors made their way into the sprawling complex located on the bank of the Sabarmati River, now looking cleaner & fuller with water, than it did twenty years ago. Then, the Ashram compound looked barren, now there were patches of green all over.
Opened on 17 June 1917, the Satyagraha Ashram (as it was commonly referred to in those days) was the home of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi until 1930, when he launched the famous Salt March
to Dandi from Sabarmati Ashram. Mahatma Gandhi was no ordinary man, he almost single handedly wove together India’s populace who cajoled & ultimately forced Colonial Britain to depart from India. 'Non-violence’ & 'fasting’ were his two great weapons, this, he unleashed when fighting for his cause; be it during the Quit India movement, or when he implored Hindus & Muslims to desist from killing each other during the Partition of India & subsequent riots that followed.
I ambled from one spartan room to the next, bereft of life’s daily necessities, like an air-conditioner for example, absorbing the simplicity & the magnanimity of the man who left behind an indelible mark not only on sub-continental India but the entire world as well. Often referred to as the 'Man of the Century,’ Gandhi’s panache lied in the fact he was able stir the emotions of people on simple issues & stir them to action, rising together as one nation. The best example that comes to mind is the Salt Tax & how he organised the historic march to the beach at Dandi. Affectionately known as the Dandi March, Gandhi was able to influence the Imperial Rulers to withdraw this cruel tax.
A hum could be heard in the rooms as most visitors chose to remain silent or mumble an occasional comment. Well documented & artistically arranged, I was able to view scrolls, super print pictures, stoic statues & iconic scripts in an unhurried manner. Great leaders had many fine things to say about the Mahatma, one which caught attention were the words of the Noble Prize Winner – Rabindranath Tagore. He didn’t say 'Gandhi is a fine man,’ instead he wrote – 'His simplicity of life is child-like, he adherence to truth is unflinching, his love for mankind is positive & aggressive. He has what is known as the Christ-spirit.’
The last few days of Gandhi are always the most terrifying for someone born much after Independence. Who in his right mind would’ve pulled the trigger? Yet it happened, the explanation afforded from various books & reference materials suggests the act was a reaction to the Mahatma agreeing to Partition of India with Pakistan, probably his never-say-die-attitude & defiant spirit may have harboured enemies.
All these moments remain etched in time in a separate room of the sprawling Ashram. From the time of his leaving Birla House, Delhi
with two attendants by his side on fateful evening of 30
th January 1948, to being felled with three bullets that pierced his chest, his last two words – Hey Ram, the tunnel vision picture of longest funeral procession the Nation has ever witnessed, headlines in the following morning newspapers - 'Gandhiji Shot Dead,’ one among the many; to tributes that poured in from across the world; 'the half-naked fakir’ as Churchill once called him, draped in the National Flag with a hundreds of followers by his side, & the lasting image of a forlorn Nehru standing, his head bowed in front of a lit pyre of Bapu (as he was affectionately called) are so vividly captured in print at the Ashram, I felt I was a living witness to those heart rendering historic moments. Truly, Gandhi lived to his prophetic words: 'My Life is My Message.’
It was mid-morning & the crowds began to increase, in the background the sounds of the devotional Hindu hymn & Gandhi’s favourite bhajan – Raghupati Raghav Raj Ram became audible. Tiny tots accompanied by their teachers made it to the main door, while others chanced upon a conversation with the unassuming lady spinning cotton; many posed next to the life statue of Gandhi making selfies (me included!) & some simply gazed at the flowing waters of the River Sabarmati from the boundary walls. Much water has flown since Gandhi’s stay at the ashram, yet, the effervescence, the magnanimity & the aura of Bapu are what trippers experience to this very day. If you wish to relive the legend of the Maha Atma (Great Soul), then it’s time to Visit Sabarmati.
- Hector Dsouza
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