Information Pages

Friday, November 8, 2013

Views of a young man after visiting the Peace Truth Ahimsa Museum




I must admit that by the end the “Peace, Truth, and Ahimsa” session that I experienced today, I was overwhelmed with a sense of joy. ‘Joy’, not out of the information and moral values I garnered during my visit, but ‘joy’ because something ‘different’ was being done about ‘Mahatma Gandhi’. The idea of taking Gandhi as an ideology rather than a person of historic significance, was the underlying difference between Bapu Ghat “Gandhi Digital Museum” and the other Gandhi memorabilia I have witnessed. By the end of today’s session there were only three lessons to take back from this outstanding museum- ‘believe that you can and then you can’, ‘whatever the circumstances are, one must stand by their conscience’, and lastly, ‘think like Gandhi; think differently’.

The entire digital museum experience is coordinated exceptionally well. Every part of the experience was illustrated according to the level of the understanding of the audience. I witnessed the program along with a group of teenage students. Handling these reckless teenagers no doubt was an arduous task, yet the museum anchors successfully managed to titillate their curiosity time and again, throughout the entire session.

The introduction was close to perfect. The crux of this session was to place Gandhi in the context of the 21st century and show the relevance his message has for all of us. Here I feel that it would be nice if the anchor calls a few members of the audience and asks them to narrate their personal interaction with Gandhi. This will enable the anchors to understand their audience better.

The yoga, meditation session should in my opinion be shortened to include Gandhi’s notions of “Karma yoga”; what he practiced in his life. For example it should include activities like sweeping the Bapu Ghat auditorium or washing plates after the sumptuous lunch (also a way of eliminating plastic from the meals). Gandhi Ji’s stress on physical work is something that should be considered to create an understanding of the Man himself. The meditation in this session can include the Tibetan Buddhist meditation on ‘equanimity’ for audiences of higher age groups.

The digital interaction is a masterpiece selection for school children. It is the perfect way to introduce Gandhi and learn about who he is. The selection of movies too is magnum opus. This selection aptly portrays what Gandhi wanted to tell all of us. The selected videos also stick in the mind and really manage to create an impact.

The finale though unexpected and different was not to my taste. Maybe this is because I have never found any fascination for motorcycles and such material things. But I think it works perfectly for the ‘ordinary’ human; it gives him the 21st century “cool” symbol for peace. At the finale maybe the anchors can conduct a short discussion and a short reading session of Gandhi’s writings.

On the whole I thoroughly enjoyed my three four hour experience at the museum. I mentioned earlier, adding a few activities and including a session of active discussion would enhance the existing program.
 
- Soham