75-year-old Sivangnanam, a resident of Thanjavur, has been coming to Rajghat for 15 years now. (Express File Photo) From Thanjavur to Chembur, people travelled across states to pay homage to the Mahatma at Rajghat on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti Monday. Among them was Sivangnanam, a resident of Thanjavur who travelled over 2,500 km on the Tamil Nadu Express on Friday to reach Delhi. This, however, is not his first visit — he has been visiting Delhi every year for the past 15 years to mark the occasion.
Sporting a white hand-spun dhoti and holding a tricolor, Sivangnanam said, “I would be willing to travel any distance to pay my respects to the Mahatma.”
On how he spends his annual October 2 visit to Rajghat, he said, “I reach at 10 am and profess my love for the Mahatma by prostrating in front of his memorial. I then pray and meditate. For lunch, I always carry curd rice which I eat at Rajghat. Then, I interact with people and spread awareness about the Mahatma’s teachings.”
The 72-year-old Gandhian also clicks pictures and gets them printed every time he visits the Raj Ghat. “Since 2015, I have started documenting and taking pictures of every visit…I carry them everywhere,” he said while showing his pictures where he was seen posing in front of the black marble structure of Gandhi’s memorial.
Sivangnanam believes that his troubles in life have vanished ever since he started following the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi. “I have started living a simple and disciplined lifestyle, this has helped me solve half my worries,” he said.
Impressed with Sivangnanam’s Gandhi attire, many visitors at Raj Ghat clicked pictures with him. “It always warms my heart when kids identify me as Bapu because of my attire,” he said.
“We are here on the occasion of the birth anniversary two leaders…both Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri have made huge contributions to this nation’s history,” said Renu Pandey, a resident of Gurgaon.
Bani Jha, a resident of Chembur said, “I was on an official visit to Delhi and extended my trip by one day so that I could take a tour of the city and since it was Gandhi Jayanti, I added the Gandhi Smriti and Raj Ghat to the list,” she said.