‘Mahatma Gandhi’ from France is Rajghat sidelight

Jeannot Marciniak, the 67-year-old look-a-like, landed in India on Saturday on his second visit to the country. Marciniak chose Rajghat as his first destination in Delhi because this is where he said he “belongs”.

“I had come to Pondicherry the first time I came to India in 2013. That is when a photographer approached me with a camera and showed me an Indian currency note. He excitedly pointed to the picture of Gandhi and said he wanted to photograph me because I looked like Gandhi. That is when I decided to play Gandhi,” he explained in broken English.

He said he had worked most of his life but is retired now and “has nothing much to do”. Moving around as Mahatma Gandhi is exciting and makes him happy, he said. Marciniak’s companion Sylvin, a television reporter from Paris who is shooting a documentary on him said, “Jean used to work as a garbage collector in Toulouse in Southwest France. He travels to a new destination for two months each year. But what changed things for him was when he visited India.”

Marciniak claimed he has read many books on Mahatma Gandhi and watched movies on him, including the 1982 film by Richard Attenborough.

Marciniak claimed he managed to save most of his money because he lives frugally. “I live in a small house and I don’t drink or smoke. I also work as an extra hand in the market to make some extra money.”

After Sylvin is satisfied with the shots, the duo makes their way back to a rented accommodation in Paharganj. “He became a sensation after he donned the Gandhi attire. He has been covered in the local media in Paris and Toulouse by newspapers like Le Figaro and La Depeche du Midi.”