How Gandhi made a comeback! Anuj Saxena

How Gandhi made a comeback!

Mahatma Gandhi, the peace-loving Libran, is making waves even today. Gandhigiri rocks, for sure!

MONISHA PRATAP-SHAH

Patience wears a triumphant smile while aggression sulks in a corner. The customary deep frown gives way to a calm _expression. With Munnabhai's 'cool' Gandhiji having stirred millions of hearts, it's likely that life could soon reach higher levels of satisfaction. Cut to the future — streets are clear of garbage, potholes don't abuse our spines any longer, commuters don't push and shove, communal knives are not drawn and bribes are a thing of the past — only 'Satya' prevails. It's a world of 'influenced eyes' and 'awakened consciences' — it's Utopia.
Cut to the past — if we are 'free' today, it's thanks to Gandhi and his miracle weapon of nonviolence to ascertain the truth. Mind you folks, nonviolence is not meek — it's being assertive without being emotionally affected. Amrita Rao insists that, "ahimsa as a concept will never be outdated. One can achieve their goals much faster and with much more grace by kindness."
Sure enough, Gandhigiri has suddenly caught on as a lifestyle mantra. Images of Munnabhai, Gandhiji and our aam janta are fused. As actor Dia Mirza puts it, "Earlier, we either turned a blind eye to injustice or were just infuriated by it. But now we have a new way of handling problems. Now I smile more often, even when people are nasty to me." Fashion designer Lina Tipnis adds that she has realised that love and compassion gets her better results.
Sleeping consciences have woken up with a start. Anuj Saxena admits that although things have not changed dramatically for him, the thought process has definitely begun. "One does tend to rethink society's morals," says Anuj. These values transcend all boundaries of age and nations because of their refreshingly casual manner of teaching. 14-year-old student Esha Shah insists that "the subtle messages presented in a humourous way has made her generation sit up and do some serious thinking." Small day-to-day issues are being tackled with conviction — bus conductors are being warned for not giving tickets, black marketers are being caught, 'gandhigiri wins over dadagiri' is the slogan of the times. Although we might have just started, Dia is optimistic. "This path will blaze and burn forever." However, walking this old-time Libran path in contemporary times is not always that easy. But there are other ways of propagating the message of Gandhi, believes Lina. "Fusing Gandhian ideas with bhaigiri tactics will give us a modus operandi 'Gandhibhaigiri'", says Lina, explaining, "If someone slaps you on one cheek, give them the other cheek with a smile, yet hold his hand so that he doesn't slap you back." Just as Munnabhai revived Gandhian ideas, this remix might just be the next chartbuster. So sceptics, let's give this a chance. If even hot-tempered people can consider a calm path, this mantra must be infectious.