Gandhigiri is sweeping the country. For starters, it is the Gandhian equivalent of Dadagiri. For the discerning, its just a hyperbole revolving around popular Bollywood flick Lage Raho Munnabhai.
Munnabhai is the local loafer who thinks the significance of October 2 is that it is a dry day.
But then you just don’t expect small-time connoisseurs of Santhara (Country liquor) to give a lecture on Gandhian economy.
The new generation has finally connected with Mahatma Gandhi through Munnabhai’s latest incarnation, according to a section of the media.
It is not the case.
Generation X has no urge to connect with a social icon of the past. And no compelling reason too.
They are just celebrating the Sanjay Dutt flick and the unwarranted media attention that comes with it.
Gandhi would have no reason to complain, though. It doesn’t hurt anyone.
4 comments:
i think that people are desperately looking for options to fight the small battles of their daily lives. but i too think that it will not last very long. still somehow it seems very apt somehow that it should now when terriorism, the complete antithesis of the gandhian philosophy is the most talked about issue around.
Prem, I suggest you should accept the fact that Gandhism (or Gandhigiri, if you may) is relevant even today. I'm afraid you have missed the fact that Lage Raho Munnabhai is not just about a Mumbai loafer who knows Gandhi only as the notewala, and that his "Happy Birthday" is a "dry day". More important, it is also about the philosophy of a man who could well connect with one and all, be it the loafer you talk about or the whole GenX. It may not be easy accepting this today. For, Gandhi bashing is fashion for a sizeble chunk of GenX . Try saying sorry to a man who you abused on your way to office or after yesternite's pegs and you will know how tough it is. Film or no film, try understanding the man's philosophy and his simplicity. If Lage Raho... helped at least one among the so called GenX flag bearers to think good, consider Gandhigiri as something worth an applause. And, last but not the least, I dont think I need the media to know the significance of Gandhism. This because, metro newspapers start an end with just page 3, though they come in different avataars. I don't expect to find Gandhi on a broadsheet full of turnoff-ish Bipasha oily (duh) cleavage and Aishwarya glassdoll dumbness. If a Sunjay Dutt flick can instill social commitment in a school kid than can a broadsheet full of skin and sleaze, I would want my kids to go to the cinema hall. Sorry dost, do you want to slap me twice? Bhai Bapu toh God-like hai, tension nahin hone ka.
This comes from my published book Secrets & Lies and gives another perspective on the old icon:
Mahatma Gandhi regularly slept naked with young virgins
The is a statue of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi at Westminster Abbey, for many this does not seem incongruous as the Indian leader is seen by many as saint. Albert Einstein said: “Generations to come will scarcely believe that such a one as this, ever in flesh and blood, walked upon this earth.” Voted man of the Millienium and call Mahatma by his followrs (often mistaken for his first name it is a title meaning ‘Great Soul’) it is often difficult to tell if people believe he a man or an incarnation of some higher force.
From Richard Attenborough’s overblown movie Gandhi, to countless hagiographies., the truth about the more secretive aspects of Gandhi’s life is usually and consciously omitted. Whilst his role in fighting for civil liberties in South Africa and Indian independence are repeated ad infinitum, you’ll have to search hard for details of the Great Soul’s habit of sleeping naked with young virgins.
Details of Gandhi’s odd practice of sleeping naked with young women first emerged when it became known he was sleeping with a 19-year-old grandniece called Manu. When challenged to explain what was going on, Gandhi claimed it was his way of testing his vow of chastity known as brahmacharya. His reasoning was that if he could spend the night in bed with an attractive young woman without any sexual thoughts, it showed he was keeping his vow in thought as well as deed. Gentleman readers are advised never to use this as an excuse for any of their indiscretions. Manu was not the only woman his tested brahmacharya with, a number of women as young as 18 shared the mattress of the Mahatma.
Gandhi’s wife was not around to offer her views on the Great Soul’s sleeping arrangements at hte end of his life. She had died in a British prison from a lung infection. Gandhi had refused to allow her to be treated with antibiotics claiming that drug treatment would go against his faith. However, when he contracted malaria a few weeks later, he seemed to find no problem in taking quinine tablets to aid his recovery.
Frankly, I find Mr David's observations ridiculous and funny. How can any one trivialise Mahatma Gandhi at all. Think of the Indian Freedom Movement. Think of the battle fought with just truth and non violence. For heavens sake, for the sake of the Indian soul, why cant we please try and acknowledge that greatness. Can anyone today, including you Mr David, emulate Gandhi. It is easy finding such instances from a great man's life. But Gandhi is still my hero, India's hero.
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