Kathakar Bapu who builds bridges

Two days later, at ‘Chitrakoot’, the ashram in Talgajarda in Bhavnagar district, he gave a patient hearing to Kokilaben Ambani, who came by a special flight to seek his intervention in the family feud and invite him to hold a Ram katha in Jamnagar.

But that’s nothing out of the ordinary for Bapu. ‘‘Building bridges is my job as a Ram kathakar, that’s what I am trying to do,’’ Bapu says over the phone. ‘‘I think a good beginning has been made in Juhapura. It gave me immense joy to see people of different communities hug each other. Like a farmer who sows the seed and hopes it will grow, I’m also hoping this sadbhavna will grow,’’ he says.

Later this week, the Ambani family is expected to meet Morari Bapu over the family feud. He will also conduct a Ram katha in Moti Khavdi near Jamnagar at the Reliance refinery from January 1 to January 9. ‘‘I can pray for the family’s well-being…that their troubles are over soon.’’

Born into a family of religious scholars in Talgajarda in Mahuva taluka in Bhavnagar district, Morari Bapu took to ‘Ram kathas’ when he was 15. His audience now span NRIs in US, Canada, UK and Kenya. ‘‘He is not your ordinary religious figure giving discourses. He laces his Ram katha with interesting anecdotes from modern life, politics and current affairs. He combines wit and wisdom to deliver the message,’’ says Nagindas Sanghvi, a former professor of political science, who usually translates for Morari Bapu when he preaches to an English-speaking audience abroad.

A keen student and promotor of Gujarati literature, he has instituted the Narsinh Mehta Award which carries a Rs 1.51 lakh prize. The religious leader also helped raise Rs 20 crore for a cancer hospital being built at Goraj near Vadodara besides taking up construction of another hospital near Bhavnagar.