Remembering the Mahatma

MUMBAI, Jan 30: Rich tributes were paid to Mahatma Gandhi on the occasion of his 50th death anniversary today, also referred to as Ahimsa Da...

MUMBAI, Jan 30: Rich tributes were paid to Mahatma Gandhi on the occasion of his 50th death anniversary today, also referred to as Ahimsa Day. Early this morning at Mani Bhavan at Tardeo, where the Mahatma stayed for a considerable period of time during his visits to Mumbai, bhajans and devotional renditions, some of Gandhi8217;s personal favourites, rent the air.

At Mantralaya Gardens, where the largest statue of Mahatma Gandhi stands, the Mahatma Gandhi Smarak Samiti organised a function involving children from various schools. Children sang songs and diligently placed rose-petals at the feet of the statue.

The function started on the note of an all-religion prayer after which Governor Dr P C Alexander garlanded the statue. In his speech, Alexander told the children that Gandhi was revered the world over among universal liberators and others in history on the one radical count that 8220;he embodied in himself the essence of goodness and truth.8221;

The Governor inaugurated a cleanliness drive atDharavi, part of the country-wide celebrations beginning this year to be held annually. All slaughtering units at Deonar abattoir were closed on account of Gandhi8217;s death anniversary.

Hundreds of National Service Scheme NSS volunteers from city colleges assembled at the Vidyapeeth Vidyarthi Bhavan and along with a delegation of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Peace Culture Foundation of Japan undertook a march to the University of Mumbai8217;s Fort Campus. Several colourful placards denouncing violence and calling for peace efforts bobbed above teeming heads. A speaker from the Foundation recalled the horrors of the bombing that destroyed life in the twin-cities and continues to haunt the Japanese even today. 8220;Gandhi was a firm believer in peace and non-violence. Japan to this day knows the horror of an atomic holocaust. With the invention of nuclear weapons, mankind had come in the grip of disaster,8221; he said, reiterating the need to emphasize non-violence to solve international disputes.

At the Veer HutatmaChowk, the activists of Rashtriya Yuva Sangh gathered to commemorate the day, with slogans which said, quot;We need to grow up. Not to blow upquot;. A book exhibition was also held on the life of Mahatma Gandhi.