Gandhigiri rocks even today

Rahul Bajaj's comments in Economic times and few other Industry leaders brings the focus of the nation back to Mahatma as we near yet another of his birth anniversary and in the midst of centenary celebrations of his non-cooperation moment in South Africa. Of course the whole country is now debating this subject thanks to the film Lage Raho Munnabhai which has brilliantly brought out the relevance of Gandhian principles which is all the more relevant in today's world dominated by Vengeance, animosity for fellow human beings, hatred, religious clashes, crime and corruption and above all the meaningless bomb blasts and the aftermath. Incidentally in the latest Economic Times survey of Young Management graduates and Industry captains Bill Gates walks away as the most inspired hero with 37 % of the votes and Gandhiji has been relegated to the second place with 30 % votes.

Though my Hindi Knowledge is poor I thoroughly enjoyed the film since it crossed all language barriers and the main characters including Sanjay Dutt and Circuit were simply class in their respective roles not to forget the portrayal of Mahatma Gandhi as a guide to Munnabhai. The whole message of how you can even turn a dreaded gangster around towards love, truth and non violent means is put across in a simple way with lots of funny and hilarious situations without ever losing sight of the core message right through the film which is
'means is as important as your end goals and what matters is not only when you achieve them but also how you achieve them'

Though I have hardly read any of his books or even attempted to understand his core principles like may be many of the millions of fellow countrymen, this film definitely has made me re think on at least trying and following if possible some of his concepts in day to day life which are relevant even today. This movie is a must for every Indian young or old!

RK