What is your message?

‘My Life My Message’ : Mahatma Gandhi - is engraved on the metal plate at the foot of the statue of Gandhi that was unveiled at the Indian Embassy premises on October 3, 2022 by V Muraleedharan, Indian Minister of State for External Affairs.

The sculpture has all the details and is in rich brown colour - interestingly it is made out of bronze.

The 7-feet statue is the work of Naresh Kumawat, sculpture artist who designed and sculpted this statue - the work of which took three to four months to complete.

Looked at the feet and they were adorned with the same type of sandals that have been seen in thousands of pictures.

Took me back to a photo frame I used to look at as a child. The picture was of Gandhiji and it had already gained a bluish tinge. He was holding the walking stick and wearing similar sandals. He was walking and I did not know about 'Dandi March' then. However I grew up knowing that he was a doer and was someone who stood for values.

There were no special walking shoes or protective ones to prevent blisters. The sandals must have served the purpose and probably was hand made.

The peaceful 24-day walk covering 385 km to the town called Dandi on the coast of the Arabian Sea to make salt from seawater became a historical cause.

He made a statement even out of walks. But he also believed in being the change. So he had convinced himself enough to say, ‘My Life is My Message.’

Everyone has an opportunity to hold onto that statement and try to lead a life with purpose.

Is it enough just to exist and try to have a peaceful life or should everyone find their bigger purpose in life. As someone said Mohandas was born in Gujarat but Mahatma Gandhi was born in Africa. It was the challenges that brought out the qualities in him to the surface and eventually for the society. He went on to become an international personality so much that his birthday, October 2, is celebrated as the International Day for Non-violence.

It seems difficulties in life bring out not only the survival instincts but often techniques to overcome and excel. No two challenges can be same because the capacity and capability vary from person to person.

And that is why probably this quote of Gandhi makes it even more meaningful- “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”

And it goes on to prove why it is not the muscle power that often wins, rather it is the power of the mind - the will power that wins.

We can find many winners in this regard in our lives, when we find them we ought to celebrate them. We can all become successful but a few more extra steps and then we can become exceptional. It takes a bit of sacrifice and discipline but for sure your story will be an inspiration.

As in the case of Naresh Kumawat so far he has designed and sculpted more than 200 statues of all different national hero’s for 65 countries and he has been in the field for 24 years. All the numbers are more than the number of years he has been in the profession. But that is not all, he is the third generation in the field of sculpting. His father Shri Matu Ram Verma is his Guru, teacher, who taught him sculpting. Sculpting might run in the genes, but it requires determination and patience to reach the stage of excellence.