Harish G. Bhatt wanted a way to commemorate the 136th
birthday of Mohandas Gandhi while raising awareness of the Mahatma’s
life and “principles of nonviolence, truth, and love for all
beings,” particularly for local Americans who might not know much
about the Nobel Prize winner. So, he called India and ordered 140 copies of
Gandhi’s An Autobiography: The Story of
My Experiments with Truth. The shipping alone,
he says, cost more than $500. He is giving away 136 of the books to any
Springfieldian who wants one. He will host a showing of Gandhi at ShowPlace East 8. Originally from India but a 25-year resident of
Springfield, Bhatt believes that sharing Gandhi’s legacy with his
adopted hometown “would be good in this time of violence.”
Upon the Mahatma’s death, Gen. Douglas
MacArthur, leader of the Allied forces during the World War II, echoed
Gandhi’s philosophy that war “is fundamentally not only wrong
but contains within itself the germs of self-destruction.”
Gandhi wasn’t easily intimidated, Bhatt says,
no matter how bullheaded somebody was. If he were alive at the beginning of
the Iraq war, Gandhi would have approached Presidents George W. Bush and
Saddam Hussein and, using his trademark charisma, convinced the leaders to
come to a peaceful compromise, Bhatt hypothesizes. The principal of a local elementary school recently
invited Bhatt to educate her staff on the Mahatma’s nonviolent
teachings. Making it clear that he’s no Gandhi expert nor
philosophical scholar, Bhatt accepted the offer simply because he enjoys
talking about the man he calls Ghandiji (adding “ji” is a form
of affectionate respect) to whomever is willing to listen. “He’s my hero and I believe in
him,” Bhatt says.
A free showing of Gandhi
will be held at ShowPlace East 8. (2945 S.
Dirksen Parkway; 217-528-3456) on Saturday, Oct.1 and Sunday, Oct. 2
at 10:30 a.m. each day. For more information, or to receive a free copy of
Gandhi’s autobiography, contact Harish G. Bhatt at HBhatt2000@aol.com
or 529-0223. Both the film and the books are available on a first-come,
first-served basis.
This article appears in Sep 29 – Oct 5, 2005.
