Tuesday, October 2, 2007

October 2 - International Day of Non-Violence






















I apologize for not having a proper Hyderabad photo today. Instead I have an image of a 500 rupee note depicting Mahatma Gandhi on the front, and on the back it depicts him leading the Salt March to Dandi. On the left side of the back, the currency denomination (500 Rupees) is written in the different languages of India. Gandhi has been depicted on the following denominations of the Indian currency notes - 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1000. It is quite common to see people with 500 rupee notes now. The UN has declared October 2nd, Gandhi's birthday, as the International Day of Non-Violence, which I think is quite ironic given that there is so much violence right here in the land of Gandhi and other spiritual giants. He would be turning in his grave seeing the terrorist attacks in India and seeing the antics and waste in his name. Gandhi was quite witty. When asked what he thought of western civilization, he replied, "I think it is a good idea." Another favorite witticism of mine is his response when he was asked about his modest attire when meeting King Edward VII of England - "The King was wearing enough for both of us."

3 comments:

Kate said...

What a wonderful, fitting post for today! I'm am so happy that you gave us this photo to enjoy and reflect upon. He has been one of my heros for many years. I saw the memorial where Gandhi was murdered -- very moving to have been there. My post today is also appropriate, but in a very different way. Come visit!

Bob Crowe said...

Thanks for your comment on my blog today. The CD of the opera about Gandhi is still in print. If you have access, you can get it through large dealers like Amazon - see href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/B000002621/sr=8-1/qid=1191362595/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_top/103-1802620-7715802?ie=UTF8&n=5174&s=music&qid=1191362595&sr=8-1#customerReviews

It must be available somewhere in India.

I enjoyed your post today with more information about the International Day of Non-Violence. It's been a some years since I last visited India but I think I still have a few rupees with the great man's picture.

Waldo Oiseau said...

I like the quotes you posted of Gandhi's!