FilmIndia (1948)

ober, 1948 FILMINDIA The ingenious combination of Gandhi incense and Idha burner brings both India and China rushing toler to the ignorant Yankee mind but I was not quite I pared when I was asked questions like: "Has Gandhi a I factory for manufacturing incense?", "How much |;nse did Gandhi burn every day?", "Is it true that fidhi went into a trance for a full month once?", "How )ch goat's milk did Gandhi drink every day?". It was possible to satisfy these folks, for, more than 75 per t of Americans display, congenital ignorance when y talk about India and the Orient, being completely ware of the world outside I .S.A. The Gandhi incense and the Buddha burner, howr, command a big sale and more so after the news of (idhiji's murder completely dominating all the front i;es of all the American newspapers for a full week i;r the tragedy. The American manufacturer of the ink se turned the Great Death into millions and thousands c half-bred Chinese in different Chinese Cafes went alIst crazy counting the dollars which the Gandhi inI se brought in. ' Of course quite a few Americans connected with the lense manuTacturing plant must have been deeply hurt iGandhiji being "snuffed out" without giving them any jivious notice to pile up stocks of the incense. Had (ndhiji's murderer given a month's notice of his fell hntion to the manufacturers, his family would have led comfortably on the "cut" he would have got from f sales of the incense. e Buddlia Burner! The palms are turned into u bowl to hold the burning tablets of Gandhi Incense. The Americans, however, don't mean any insult either to the Father of our nation or to Lord Buddha. Due to his lack of culture, traditions or even knowledge of contemporary life outside U.S.A., the average American will exploit anything between heaven and earth to earn a few dollars without even being conscious of the distant possibility of hurting anyone by misusing the names of the national or spiritual symbols of other people. Seeing Lord Buddha sitting in a happy pose they found it convenient to use the idol for burning incense. Had they known the symbolic legend of the River Ganga and Lord Shiva, they would have probably used Lord Shiva's idol for their public fountains, unaware of the resentment such a procedure would cause in the average Hindu mind. We can't teach the average American. He is too far away, too ignorant and too mammon crazy ever to get an insight into our spiritual heritage. But we can certainly ask our own people to behave with respect towards our national symbols. Gandhiji has climbed to the altar of a free nation and millions today pay their homage, silentlv or otherwise, to the saint who not only brought freedom to 400 million struggling slaves but also gave them spiritual guidance in their hour of need. Born an ordinary mortal, by his life of virtue and patriotism Gandhiji died a god. And within a few months of his death, our markets, streets and cinemas are flooded with bidis, cigarettes, pan, tea, drinks, shoes, sandals, hotels, hair-cutting saloons etc. all named after our revered saint and father. Our cinemas show hundreds of slides with Gandhiji's photos providing a sales message for anything between a cap and a shoe. Does this not lower the dignity and the spiritual stature of the great man in the eves of the masses? Are we to allow a few mercenary vandals to destroy the spiritual image in the hearts of millions, the image they have learned to revere and worship through fifty years of selfless service to a fifth of humanity? What is Gandhiji's first heir, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, doing? Has he gone blind with the glamour of his present glory not to see the heartless vandalism of a few mercenaries who are busy desecrating our new spiritual altar merely to sell their filthy products? Pandit Nehru's touching reference to Gandhiji as the Father of our nation makes impressive hearing during his frequent orations, but the people want Gandhiji's heir to look after the Nation's Altar and not allow it to be desecrated. It is high time that the Government of India make the abuse of Gandhiji's name a State penal offence and protect the sacred idol of millions from the onslaughts of a^few mercenaries. Is this too much to ask of Jawaharlal, the heir and first son of Gandhiji? 9