The Mahatma is on the currency and the celluloid and the
consciousness of a nation. Indians may not be too keen on charkha and
celibacy but are striving to keep the memory of the Father alive. He is
elsewhere too — in unexpected places. There is a photograph of Gandhi
at Ground Zero in New York where terror brought down the Twin Towers; he
is on the placards in anti-Israel demonstration in West Bank; as a
silhouette against the mist-enveloped Golden Gate Bridge in San
Francisco; and even on a pair of paint-splashed jeans in Hong Kong.
Vijay Rana, a contributor to The Indian Express and editor of
London-based web-radio NRIfm.com, has culled these images in his book
Mahatma Gandhi: Images and Ideas for Non-Violence (NRIfm).
The book features quotations along with photographs to show how the
man remains the face against oppression. “Villagers of Bel’ in West
Bank scored an important court victory against the Israeli government.
The Israeli Supreme Court was impressed by their peaceful protest and
asked the government to remove the electric barrier from their village.
This is the triumph of the Gandhian way,” says Rana.
During his journeys, Rana saw Gandhi sharing wall space with Harry
Potter in Notting Hill and on Spanish Steps. “I saw Gandhi puppets and
posters in the anti-war protests in the UK and the US and was convinced
that his image and ideas were being used to spread the message of peace
across the world,” says Rana. The book took him three years and
hundreds of e-mails to Gandhian groups and photographers from across the
world.
Apparently, and thankfully, it is not just Munna Bhai who has had an
encounter with Gandhigiri.
