In a little park, near the United Nations’ offices in Geneva, Switzerland, is a statue of Mahatma Gandhi reading a book and with a look of utmost concentration on his face.
The statue was unlike any Mahatma Gandhi statue I had seen or come across before — I had always seen his statues in a standing or walking position. This one of him reading seemed more like one I could relate to.
And to think, in retrospect, that I almost missed seeing this. Let me elaborate.
It was the summer of 2009 and I spent a few days in Geneva prior to beginning a dissertation. A friend was working in Geneva at that time and I was staying with him. It was a time of total relaxation and all I did was binge on mangoes and Indian food (I was living in London at that time and had been deprived of these luxuries !), chat with my friend, and listen to the opera. I was very content to stay at my friend’s flat and watch life in Geneva go by from the windows..
Finally, on the eve of my return to London, I gave in to my friend’s persuasion to explore the city and ventured out. Mahatma Gandhi’s statue happened to be one of the first things I saw.
And the quote inscribed on the base — “My life is my message” — was so apt. Isn’t it true for all of us? Isn’t our life and what we do a message and what we communicate to others?
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Sorry to say I am not a fan of Gandhi.. with a lot of secret documents now no more a secret it just shows some realities which not many know..
but neverthless a good pic 🙂
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I agree Bikramjit. I do respect MKG for his contribution to India’s Independence, but I feel there is more hype about him. Many other freedom fighters deserve international recognition but they never even get it on a national level. It almost looks like Gandhi alone got the independence like a one man army, but sadly that’s not the case.
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I respect your views, Pathbreakingwriter. As I mentioned in my reply to Bikramjit, I’m neutral about him. I also agree with you that that are many people who have contributed to India’s independence and have been forgotten. Their list is probably longer than the ones who hare remembered.
But it is important to reflect, who has created the “hype” about him? And more importantly why? It is even more important to understand that Gandhi never claimed to have won India’s independence single-handedly.
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Thanks, Bikram. 🙂
I have been through a phase where I idolised Gandhi, and started hating him when I read his autobiography. Today, I am neutral about him. Perhaps that is because I’m older and understand that we are trying to understand Gandhi in a modern day context far removed from the one that he lived it. In my opinion, it is also unfair to criticise someone, when they are not around to present their POV.
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Very true. . But still I feel many more did much more.
He was a brilliant politician and what we know about him was written to show him great.. It was biased 🙂
But I agree he is not here to give his POV. .so I shall shutup. .
Sorry if I said anything to offend you.
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I agree that that are many who did much more. But it always happens that for some reason, often inexplicable, one person or a few people get more famous than the others. Look at films, authors and even bloggers themselves !
And no, you said nothing to offend me. 🙂
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Why did gandhi die when someone shot him?
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I do believe MKG was the great human being but his few political decisions were wrong.
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I would like to debate on that.. what or which decision of his makes him a great human..
And also what is it that he did.. which made him great human..
Just curious to know. ..
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Welcome here, Sandeep and thank you for stopping by and commenting.
Gandhi was a human being first and foremost, flaws and all. I think we should remember that of him and anyone else we attempt to deify.
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