The event on the 30th of January on did not get off to the best of starts. In fact the event nearly never got off to a start at all. The organisers of the Gandhi walk on martyr’s day- the anniversary of Gandhi’s assassination, said that police permission for their planned walk from Connaught Place to Rajghat had been revoked the night before. Around 30 to 40 police personnel gathered to prevent the “unlawful assembly” of the 20 or so khadi wearing grand parents, grand kids, artists and college students.
The police were unlikely to arrest such an innocuous group and finally did give the marchers permission to walk, albeit in small groups. The week before, Shailendra Unniyal and Himanshu Verma the organisers of the march had posted an invite on their respective Facebook pages. The choice of the co – organiser was an apparently odd one. Himanshu is an art curator and the founder of the Red Earth organisation and frequently organises shows and events with an emphasis on conservation.
Shailendra explained “If one looks carefully at the guiding principles of the global conservation movement such as Greenpeace, you will see the essence of Gandhianism in their actions. The small Greenpeace boat taking on giant whaling ships is a parallel to the innocents facing off with the British.” He said the aim of the walk was to get people involved with Gandhian thinking at a time of increasing suspicion, hatred and violence. “Giving lectures in a hall, or academic seminars is not going to get the common man involved in understanding and appreciating Gandhi. That’s where art can make a difference.”
The walk took the marchers through Barakhamba Road which was the site of one of the 2008 Delhi serial bomb blasts that killed over 30 people and injured over 70. It was perhaps a way to reclaim a place that had become ingrained in the public consciousness as a site of violence and uncontrollable hatred. Here the organisers stopped and placed a pair of wooden Gandhi slippers on the pavement. They invited bystanders, to literally step into Gandhi’s shoes and speak about what Gandhi meant to them.
Ashok Kumar was an office worker at the Nirmal Tower office building over-looking the blast site. He had witnessed the mayhem through his office window. “There was a victim I saw. He was unrecognisable as a human. For a long time I wondered why some one would do such a thing to another human”. His body was shaking and cheeks were wet as he stepped into the Gandhi slippers. All he said was “Respect and love every living creature.”
All along the marchers distributed marigolds, speech bubble stickers with printed Gandhian ideals and told curious onlookers about the importance of the day. And as they heard about the purpose of the day, the people, bowed their heads, folded their hands and received the flowers in obeisance. Hundreds of people must have received flowers- shopkeepers, schoolgirls in pigtails, salarymen, auntiji’s doing their weekend shopping, beggars and even a gaggle of four urchins along with a donkey they were “taking for a walk.”
A couple left what they had been doing and joined the walkers. Mohit Gupta, a resident of Meerut had just appeared for an interview in CP and was doing some sightseeing when he came across the procession. Joining in alongside he said “I can sightsee later as well, this(the march) is something I want to be a part of.”
By the time the procession reached Rajghat it was well into the afternoon. Having walked upwards of 5km everyone was tired, the policemen had mostly left. The people paid their respects to the Gandhi memorial. They then gathered in a circle and shared their experiences. One additional addition to the group was a police constable. One of those who had received orders to prevent the walk taking place. He did not say anything but appeared thoughtful. The constable left RajGhat carrying a lathi in one hand, and a marigold in the other.
The police were unlikely to arrest such an innocuous group and finally did give the marchers permission to walk, albeit in small groups. The week before, Shailendra Unniyal and Himanshu Verma the organisers of the march had posted an invite on their respective Facebook pages. The choice of the co – organiser was an apparently odd one. Himanshu is an art curator and the founder of the Red Earth organisation and frequently organises shows and events with an emphasis on conservation.
Shailendra explained “If one looks carefully at the guiding principles of the global conservation movement such as Greenpeace, you will see the essence of Gandhianism in their actions. The small Greenpeace boat taking on giant whaling ships is a parallel to the innocents facing off with the British.” He said the aim of the walk was to get people involved with Gandhian thinking at a time of increasing suspicion, hatred and violence. “Giving lectures in a hall, or academic seminars is not going to get the common man involved in understanding and appreciating Gandhi. That’s where art can make a difference.”
The walk took the marchers through Barakhamba Road which was the site of one of the 2008 Delhi serial bomb blasts that killed over 30 people and injured over 70. It was perhaps a way to reclaim a place that had become ingrained in the public consciousness as a site of violence and uncontrollable hatred. Here the organisers stopped and placed a pair of wooden Gandhi slippers on the pavement. They invited bystanders, to literally step into Gandhi’s shoes and speak about what Gandhi meant to them.
Ashok Kumar was an office worker at the Nirmal Tower office building over-looking the blast site. He had witnessed the mayhem through his office window. “There was a victim I saw. He was unrecognisable as a human. For a long time I wondered why some one would do such a thing to another human”. His body was shaking and cheeks were wet as he stepped into the Gandhi slippers. All he said was “Respect and love every living creature.”
All along the marchers distributed marigolds, speech bubble stickers with printed Gandhian ideals and told curious onlookers about the importance of the day. And as they heard about the purpose of the day, the people, bowed their heads, folded their hands and received the flowers in obeisance. Hundreds of people must have received flowers- shopkeepers, schoolgirls in pigtails, salarymen, auntiji’s doing their weekend shopping, beggars and even a gaggle of four urchins along with a donkey they were “taking for a walk.”
A couple left what they had been doing and joined the walkers. Mohit Gupta, a resident of Meerut had just appeared for an interview in CP and was doing some sightseeing when he came across the procession. Joining in alongside he said “I can sightsee later as well, this(the march) is something I want to be a part of.”
By the time the procession reached Rajghat it was well into the afternoon. Having walked upwards of 5km everyone was tired, the policemen had mostly left. The people paid their respects to the Gandhi memorial. They then gathered in a circle and shared their experiences. One additional addition to the group was a police constable. One of those who had received orders to prevent the walk taking place. He did not say anything but appeared thoughtful. The constable left RajGhat carrying a lathi in one hand, and a marigold in the other.
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