Mahatma Gandhi was the original minimalist, a man who spurned all materialistic possessions. As we celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi today, some may argue that in these times of violence, greed, hatred and brute force being used to assert authority, Gandhiji's teachings don't hold relevance.
They do. We may not consciously say “Gandhian life” but a majority of people —excluding dirty politics — lead their life practicing non-violence, swatchatha, turning vegan/vegetarians, wearing khadi, doing social work, helping the needy... Children are told stories of Gandhiji where emphasis is laid on his teachings and principles.
A few from around India tell us about the Gandhi memorabilia they have in their collection and how they revere it and treasure it in the name of the nation’s biggest leader.
A Lladro figure of Gandhi
I got this statue of Gandhiji about five years back as a gift — a token of gratitude — from Mr Jindal, whose father’s biography I helped him to write. Since my childhood I followed Gandhiji’s principles. During my boarding school days, I heard this story, about Gandhiji eating goat’s meat one night and that whole night he saw that the goat was crying inside his stomach. The goat was so miserable. Then Gandhiji cried, “I can’t eat meat anymore! I have seen the goat crying inside me.” This story remained with me till now. I am staunch vegetarian.
— Anju Poddar art connoisseur & author
We need 100 more Gandhis
I do posses the rare original 16mm projector print of the 1950’s film by 20th Century Fox commentary by Walter Cronkite: “The Triumph and Tragedy of Gandhi”. It is one of my favorite pieces of memorabilia, it’s probably the only surviving copy. The need of the hour is to find the next Gandhi, the world needs a 100 of him to survive and it is important to follow the principles of truth and love. — Birad Rajaram Yajnik, public speaker and author of MKG Mahatma Gandhi 1869-1948
