New Delhi, October 02: Gandhi Jayanti means different things to different people. “I remember getting sweets, conducting skits, plays and fancy dress competitions on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti,” says Pooja Varma, a housewife.
Gandhi is one figure that stands tall as a man who stood for several values that need to be emulated more so in this day and age. “The relevance of Gandhi will never wane as Gandhi spoke about truth and non-violence whose importance cannot be overemphasised,” says Naresh P Reddy, a call centre executive.
An inspiration to several luminaries like Martin Luther King Junior and Nelson Mandela, Gandhi has and always been the beacon of light to many. “How can we forget the contribution of Gandhi to our freedom struggle. He was the one who made it a mass movement not restricted to the intelligentsia of the country then,” says Shamija Begumm, a soft skills trainer in a bank adding that Gandhi’s writings enjoy wide readership even today. “I read his autobiography, My Experiments With Truth in school and was profoundly moved by it. I was struck by his simplicity of expression and brutal honestly,” says Shamija adding “And I discover that the book grows on you as one grows older.”
Many believe that every small gesture made by Gandhi has had a huge impact on Indians. “He was the right man to deal with the British rule. They could have easily crushed any violent uprisings. It was Gandhi who knew how to give them a taste of their own medicine,” says 60-year-old V Ramani Rao who fondly reminsicences about her father who was a Gandhian and freedom fighter.
“He was and continues to be a towering personality. And trust me, it will always be so, come what may,” says Sandeep Bhargav, a student.
–Agencies