Delhi: Today marks the Father of the Nation’s 144th birth anniversary, and the city’s culture scene is celebrating it big. The various tributes in honour of national icon Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869 -1948) clock a 360-degree coverage this year, and while his Three Wise Monkeys — See no evil, Hear
no evil and Speak no evil — showed you what NOT to do, we tell you here’s all that you SHOULD do to get to know his life and his message better.
What to hear
Hear no evil, said the Mahatma, so he’d definitely egg you on to this virtuous musical performance. Titled Remembering Mahatma Gandhi — A Musical Memorial on Gandhi Jayanti, this initiative by Lorraine Music Academy will see youngsters performing Bapu’s favourite prayers. The event will also feature patriotic and folk songs depicting India’s cultural ethos, diversity and richness.
“Music is food for the soul. Like good food intake and exercise ensures physical fitness, a good diet of the right kind of music gives mental, emotional, intellectual and spiritual fitness. The songs aim at instilling an attitude for positive living and nation building,” says Aubrey Aloysius, founder of the music academy. Today, at Epicentre, Apparel House, Sector 44, Gurgaon. Time: 11am onwards.
What to see
The art show, Salt: The Great March, features works of Shelly Jyoti who has explored contemporary quilt-making traditions in azrakh textiles. Through her creations, she wishes to establish an alternate society where the patriarchal values can be replaced by Gandhian ideals of Swadharma and Sarvodya. On display are 25 khadi artworks with quilting technique (as hanging tapestry) and a large scale installation — Integrating Khadi — which has been made using 30 metres of khadi. At Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts. Until October 20.
What to do
Back in 1930, the Dandi March played a vital role in the Independence movement, calling on the masses to join in. A walk on similar lines, organised with an intent to
contribute to the society, aims at supporting different NGOs in the city by helping them raise resources for their causes. The Delhi Charity Run/Walk — an initiative by an NGO, Cure India — invites all. Today, at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Timings: 7.30am (run), 7.45am (walk). Contact Santhosh George at 9868993746 to register.
Know Gandhi better
Here’s a just-released book that introduces you to the young, lesser-known Gandhi, much before his lathi and charkha. Titled Gandhi Before India, the book presents a vivid portrait of Gandhi and the world that he lived in — a world of sharp contrasts between the coastal culture of Gujarat, High Victorian London, and colonial South Africa. In the biography, author Ramachandra Guha argues that Gandhi’s ideas were fundamentally shaped before his return to India in 1915. It was during his years in England and South Africa that he came to understand the nature of imperialism and racism; and it was in South Africa that he forged the philosophy and techniques that would undermine and ultimately usurp the British Raj.
