kayarbee

With 'Sare Jahan Se Achcha' and 'Abide with Me'the Soul-stirring martial tunes and solemn drum beats at the majestic Raisina Hills the "Beating the Retreat" ceremony marked the conclusion of the week long ceremonial functions of India celebrating her 62nd year of Republic.As the illumination lit up the edifices of Imperial India..my thought reached out to that day into the history of independence that finally dropped the curtain on a life called "Gandhi"...the man whose experiment with truth may not have jelled with today but his name has truly become the brand that remain most misused & manipulated both in trade & politics.As I key-in these lines I can read out the conversation that would have transpired between the "soul of Nation" (SON) and "Mahatma Gandhi"(Bapu)....Read on what I read..... SON: Bapu it's me,are you sleeping....? BAPU: How can you ask that...don't you know this day in the year 1948..I was gu...

It was today but the year was 1981 and the day was probably a Saturday. I was there on the ceremonial stretch of "Raj path".There were about 4 lac people like me "all excited", getting ready for the "action shot" for Richard Atendbrough's film "GANDHI". The scene was Gandhiji's "funeral procession".I was wearing white khadi "Pajama & Kurta" which I bought from Khadi gram udyog at 'Regal building the previous evening. This was the recommended "dress code" for the shoot. Probably I never thought then that I was about to be part of a "live action crowd" of this magnitude that will never again be filmed. Soon the heavy camera's parked on the cranes started rolling. I lost the count of how many times those giant like cameras zoomed in and zoomed out of me. I was simply emotionally charged walking the stretch shouting "Vande Matram","Mahatma Gandhi" "AmarRahe"...

‘I beg to differ’,-I said . I was addressing my ‘mind’…little ticklish though it remains my most enlightening companion... At this point it was debating about what Gandhi & Gandhisim was all about.One part of my ‘mind’ was saying that ‘Gandhi’ was an epitome of humanity . The other part maintained that ‘Gandhi’ was a true karam yogi.. It was at this point that I intervened and said, I beg to differ… not that I carried any difference of opinion ….it was simply meant to keep the conversation rolling..Having said that, I took a pause ;..noticing my 'mind’ giving me a look that said 'how sad we have to endure this stupid companion for the rest of our soul' .On my part however I never want to lose my mind over matters of historical interest.This perhaps became my reason to do a soul searching to understand what is Gandhi all about...read on to know what is Gandhi in "India...... Today"... … ‘Gandhi’ in my my opinion is a "Brand" that sells and sells like...