selmeya selmeya – peaceful peaceful

 
The Indian Embassy in Cairo has announced a poster contest to celebrate the spirit of Tahrir square.

“ Did you sense the spirit of Gandhi in Tahrir Square? “ entries are accepted  till the 15^th of December 2012 , results will be announced on the 25^th of January 2013 – coinciding with the 2^nd anniversary of the Egyptian revolution.

Birad Rajaram Yajnik: Gandhi has been an inspiration in Cairo since 1930, and his influence in spirit is stamped all over Tahrir square even today …  I WAS INSPIRED BY THIS STORY from the Square.

EGYPT - SALMA IN THE SQUARE

Mark Corcoran the foreign correspondent of ABC news follows an extraordinary woman through the 18 days of the peaceful Egyptian revolution

 “ It’s an extraordinary feat of endurance and will. Salma el Tarzi is a popping, fizzing bundle of energy and exuberance who was in Cairo’s Tahrir Square from the outset, leading a corner of the protest. Despite the violent counter-attacks, the cold nights and the fear of government retribution, she was there at the end when belligerent Hosni Mubarak let go.”

Birad Rajaram Yajnik: A TRANSCRIPT OF MY FAVORITE PART:

CORCORAN: (Feb 11) Day 18 and Cairo is on knife edge. How much longer can this go on? Will the military turn on the people? The protests are peaceful, the army holds its fire. In the evening more rumours that Mubarak has left Cairo. An official statement is expected but nobody believes it. Then it happens. A dictator is disposed.

VICE PRESIDENT SULEIMAN: “President Hosni Mubarak has decided to step down from the office of President of the Republic and has instructed the council of the armed forces to administer the affairs of the country. May God help everybody”.

CORCORAN: People power has prevailed.

CROWD: Allah Akbar! Allah Akbar!

SALMA EL TARZI: “I’m still under shock so I don’t know what to feel. I think I’m going to have a delayed reaction but I really don’t know. I just can’t feel anything right now. It’s too confusing”.

CORCORAN: “What happens now?”

SALMA EL TARZI: “I think we’re going to celebrate for another couple of days! (laughter) I don’t think anyone’s going home now.”

CORCORAN: “Well it’s extraordinary it’s the happy ending that certainly nobody envisaged this morning. An extraordinary moment in both Egyptian history and Arab history. The revolution has won but the big question is, what happens next?”

Few give much thought to what lies ahead tomorrow. The army takes power in a “coup by consensus” with a vow to rewrite the constitution and oversee a transition to democracy. For now, the Facebook revolutionaries will put their trust in the soldiers. In just 18 days, a new generation of leaders has been forged and tempered in the political furnace of Tahrir Square. Salma won’t be joining their ranks. She says her revolution is over.

“What will the future hold for you? A career in politics?”

SALMA EL TARZI: “No”.

CORCORAN: “What are you going to do when this is over?”

SALMA EL TARZI: “I’m going to still make films. I’m sure there’ll be a lot of films to make”.

THE LARGEST PICTURE WALL IN THE WORLD ON MAHATMA

October 2nd 2012

THE LARGEST PICTURE WALL IN THE WORLD ON MAHATMA GANDHI at Bapu Ghat, Langar Houz  in Hyderabad.

The wall is 76 feet long and encapsulates more than 400 images of the Mahatma.  The wall also serves as a learning tool on Bapu and allows visitors to learn via an interactive quiz. It’s the first of its kind in the world and features images from the book – Peace Truth and Ahimsa by Birad Rajaram Yajnik – a special edition of this book was launched at the United Nations in New York by the President to mark the International Day of Non-Violence.