To Bapu, with love
Most of the visitors at Sabarmati Ashram pay
glowing tributes to Gandhi in the diaries kept there, but some leave
vulgar remarks; trustees contemplate installing CCTV cameras to catch
those who make offending entries
Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Tuesday, October 02, 2012 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/2/201210022012100203064332834a96618/To-Bapu-with-love.html)
This hermitage was the hub of India’s freedom movement. The people who
lived here and their thought inspired a generation to challenge the
might of an empire on which the sun never set. The serene Sabarmati
Ashram continues to inspire awe among most of the visitors from India
and abroad even today. Sadly, some locals come here to abuse the apostle
of peace, the Father of Nation, the Mahatma.
There has been a surge in the number of visitors of late. As against a few hundred people visiting the ashram every day, the number now rises to 3000 on many days. Sabarmati Ashram Preservation Trust officials are happy, as they feel Gandhiji’s message has reached more people who, in turn, must be spreading it to many more. Trust officials keep a diary near the entrance of the ashram museum to let people place on record their tribute to Gandhi. “People often feel spiritually elevated here.
There has been a surge in the number of visitors of late. As against a few hundred people visiting the ashram every day, the number now rises to 3000 on many days. Sabarmati Ashram Preservation Trust officials are happy, as they feel Gandhiji’s message has reached more people who, in turn, must be spreading it to many more. Trust officials keep a diary near the entrance of the ashram museum to let people place on record their tribute to Gandhi. “People often feel spiritually elevated here.
This is evident in the remarks they make in the diary. As they move
around the premises, their appreciation of Gandhiji’s life and work only
increases. “Some times people also leave critical remarks. That is fine
with us. People have the right to disagree and dissent. Sometimes
people give us suggestions and we try to implement them. “However, what
makes us sad is that some people leave vulgar comments. Some people use
the leaves to write love letters. We keep checking the diary. Some
times, we tear off the pages, some times we change the diary itself so
that other visitors do not get offended. However, we have not been able
to catch any offender,” said veteran Gandhian and senior trustee Amrut
Modi. Ashram officials are contemplating measures to check this.
“We never stationed any person near the diary to catch those who write
objectionable and offending stuff. We are thinking about what to do.
Maybe, we can install a CCTV camera to monitor the visitors writing
their comments. Nothing is decided yet,” Modi said. A look at the leaves
of the diary shows how most of the visitors pay their tribute to Father
of the Nation. People write their messages in Hindi, English, Gujarati,
Tamil, and many other Indian as well as foreign languages. The
reverence people have for Gandhi is obvious.
Visitors are of the opinion that the people who write offensive words must be from city or elsewhere in the Gujarat, as most of the inappropriate messages are written in Gujarati. The diary, in fact, serves as an outlet to many people. Some of them write love letters, others take the opportunity to pour out their frustrations. Aleaf signed by “an unemployed youth” reads: “If you come back Bapu, I shall ask you for an unemployment- free Gujarat. Save my Gujarat from the demon of unemployment. Many educated youths like me are roaming aimlessly.”
Visitors are of the opinion that the people who write offensive words must be from city or elsewhere in the Gujarat, as most of the inappropriate messages are written in Gujarati. The diary, in fact, serves as an outlet to many people. Some of them write love letters, others take the opportunity to pour out their frustrations. Aleaf signed by “an unemployed youth” reads: “If you come back Bapu, I shall ask you for an unemployment- free Gujarat. Save my Gujarat from the demon of unemployment. Many educated youths like me are roaming aimlessly.”
Often school and college students are found reading their text books here. Others visit the place for its historical importance. Said Unmesh Sharma, a 40-year-old visitor from Jaipur, “The pages of these diaries give you an understanding of the psyche of a cross section of people. Actually the place is so awe-inspiring that even those who come here with evil designs and thoughts would be inspired to transform themselves.
