The principles and ideas of Mahatma Gandhi has penetrated through generations and still finds relevance in today's times. He was a firm believer of non violence and truth, never compromised on his morals and stayed true to his ground. However, we see his ideas changing in retrospect to time that he lived. What is the future of Gandhi.
A young boy livid in his teens, ran across the house to find a portrait smeared in dust. In grimy corners of a store room, taking apart the shacks of old books and broken furniture. He made it through with a strict resolve. It was a picture of Mahatma Gandhi. The fervour of emancipation had been laced with fading colours on the edges. The freshly printed finger tips on the sides were anointed as signature to it's revival.
The portrait adorned the wall of the public washroom. It didn't take hours for the people to notice. Perplexed at the stint of hooligans, the urinal was epicentre of outrage by the evening. The local news channels had alarmingly minced its words to curtail the the outrage of viewers. There hasn't been a single great person who hasn't gone through rough opposition. It has only made their impression on history stronger. Words were passed around media channels and press like hot sauce. The political parties at usual were in mud slinging mode.
Ishan had come back home. It was his time to catch up on his afternoon sleep. A sweet afternoon sleep had changed things around.. After the colony men had called a meeting to prepare themselves from encroachment of outsiders, especially media persons who wanted to inquire about the public washroom; that usually finds a a spectacle of Mahatma Gandhi as a part of
Swachh Bharat logo, how it had plunged into a full framed photo of him. It was delirious enough to call trouble.
Dr Vinayak, who chaired the position of society head, had blurted out orders to restore the picture from the washroom back into the colony. It was embarrassing enough. Ishan's grandfather had joined the proceedings and in a glance he knew who it was. The bed time stories had now found expression in vandalism. He drew out a handkerchief out from his pocket, dabbed it on the picture to take off the dust and settled in with the crowd at the meeting. Ishan's father was not present, much like his relationship with his son. He was unavailable. His grandfather pulled a chair and called out commandments.
Gandhi ji has merely exposed his own self-conceit. Gandhi ji was paradoxically a violent pacifist who brought untold calamities on the country in the name of truth and non violence. While Maharana Pratap, Shivaji and Gurugovind Singh ji remain enshrined in our hearts of countrymen together.
The youth whose imagination was celebrated the struggle of Bhagat Singh were seemingly pleasant while hearing about the photograph incident. Youthful, Gurdas who exclaimed a great length after hearing this news. Running through the streets, he reached the Chai shop where he and his friends used got together to discuss political ideologies over cups of Masala Chai of Nikumbh desai who himself participated in core debates. Gurdas having had a cracker of a time, decided to pay for the extra cigarettes. He ran through his pocket to realise he had dropped his wallet in excitement of reaching Chai shop over the news of portrait of Gandhi. Now the Gandhi in pocket was missing.
Let us understand that the civilisation and civility does not necessarily stand for each other. Sabhyata in an Indian term for civilisation which is derivied from the word "Sabhya" that means civil. These sets of social conventions which are swadeshi in nature are unlikely to be adopted through infiltration of western thought. In times of crumbling economies and businesses, civilisations are not left out. Then what would be left of us to make out of a situation that divides a set of people in two. A link of missing mutual respect. To balance out these two sets, a new mechanism is drawn onto a country so multicultural and complex that you can't compresses wishes of majority to appease minorities that bear the fruits of someone else's labour. The composite cultural heritage that binds this country also allows itself to re frame a new structure of ideas. The problem arises when the same set of constructive equilibrium is not well perceived by the contrarian views. This embarks a nation to stutter and find moral grounds. The system is broken down from generations to generation with imposition of fragments of docile resistance. Successful to the point where words like nationalism sends shudders of discomfort to the left led crippling academia of nation.
Grandfather reached home and called Ishan. A remorseful boy who always overheard discussions of father with grandfather had latched onto a dangerous catapult. Grandfather having realised it, opened up Gandhi to Ishan like he had never seen before. Gandhi had identified tremendous tools like Satyagraha and Swaraj to mobilise large masses. The Sanskrit terms which were loosely translated as insistence on truth and self rule. The movement of freedom was driven on such tools. They are not mere slogans but real instruments of achieving self realisation. It was when Ishan realised Gandhi knew people more than they knew themselves because he was always rooting for the righteousness and truth. He would most certainly be rebuked for his decisions for turning a blind eye to the plight of majority of people. Therefore he shall be respected for ages to come.
The kid was anxious but he committed it as his duty to tell people about what they refused to see. His voice filled with tremendous fervour. The audience was bedazzled. While most people chose to live by the templates, only a few gain an insight of it becomes a tatpurush. If one does not exercise on such methods then living under a template is a foolish jeopardy. Leaving the grey area open to common parlance can create ruckus if it not defined by the uniform laws that underline mutual respect, peace and prosperity. Ishan owned up to it like a true Gandhian.
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