Gandhigiri was proof that the Father of the Nation can never fade into irrelevance. There was proof again for the same as the crowd poured in at the 10-day book exhibition and short films on the life, philosophy and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, currently on at Gandhi Bhavan in the City.

The crowd at the exhibition, put together by Gandhi Bhavan and the Ministry of Information, was sprinkled with — surprise of the surprise — the GenNext. While many had come exclusively to have a look at the books, there were also those who waited for hours and sat through the video documentaries.

A casual chat with the people gathered was revealing. Gandhi is certainly a hero among today's hip crowd. There's a conscious effort among the Gen X to know how indeed such a man existed in flesh and blood.

“The ideals are bigger than the man. Those ideals will never die and will never gather dust. Gandhi is not dead. He is alive. The least one can do is to remind people of his existence," said Rajesh C, a techie, who had dropped in en route to work. “Books, documentaries, press clippings are the only source of information on Gandhiji.  Today one is confronted with violence, commercialism and consumerism. In the midst of all this, Gandhiji is our only peg to sanity,” he adds.

Gandhian messages — non-violence, satyagraha, truth, and tolerance — immediately struck a chord with the young. “Peace and love, it seems, are a thing of the past today. The world around us is terrifying. You walk down the street not knowing what will happen next moment. Anything can strike you,” says Srinivas Raju, a student of
engineering at HKBK College.

There were also those who felt that exhibitions like these go a great way in building a world that Gandhiji
envisioned.

B S Divakar, Director Megamiles Bearing Cups, says “What Gandhi preached in 1907 is still relevant today. The Gandhian way is the only path to salvation. His ideals must be propagated with a missionary zeal.”

Nina C George