Treading Mahatma’s footsteps, vicariously

A young bureaucrat and a journalist collaborate to find people in Maharashtra’s heartland who continue the Gandhian struggle

On a winter afternoon of January 2019, while he was studying for his LLM degree at Harvard Law School, Ashutosh Salil experienced pangs of homesickness which was not to be quelled by an Indian takeaway meal. He projected on the white wall of his room, his head swimming with images of people, places, smells and experiences that he had left behind in India.

Treading Mahatma’s footsteps, vicariously

He was reminded of Bandu Dhotre, the green warrior of Chandrapur, a district in Vidarbha, Maharashtra, where Salil was earlier posted as district collector. The memory triggered in him a quest to find and tabulate similar stories of people who found in themselves an enormous reservoir of selflessness to lead a life of simplicity and do good for others, and thereby impact a small change in their ecosystem.

Salil, an Indian Administrative Service officer from the Maharashtra cadre, who is currently on deputation for government of India, dashed off an email to Nagpur-based journalist Barkha Mathur, from Boston sharing his idea. In subsequent years, after his return from Harvard, the duo spent time chronicling life stories of individuals like Bandu.

The collection of stories, published in a book titled, ‘Being the Change, in the footsteps of the Mahatma,’ is a homage to Mahatma Gandhi.

Gandhi’s philosophy has touched the lives of all Indians, be it through academia, an intellectual quest or simply from stories passed down through generations in families that bear a link with the freedom movement. Fancy dress events and plays on the freedom struggle in school make an imprint in the minds of young adults in their formative years.

When he was posted in Chandrapur, Salil came across Mathur’s story on tribal kids from the district who had scaled Mt. Everest. Also, seven years in this region led him to similar stories “of people who live differently than us and go out and do good”.

“They are the unsung heroes, and their stories needed to be told,” said Salil about the genesis of the book. “We had observed the work being done by these good men and women and were fairly impressed by their grit and perseverance. There was a feeling that their work should be noticed by a larger number of people. We felt a book on them could achieve this,” said Mathur.

Having set their minds on the project, making the list was the next challenge. As Salil said, “There are many in this region, as in other parts of the country, who are doing remarkable work in the social sector. In Vidarbha itself there are many more (than those featured in the book) who are making a considerable contribution to bringing about change.” The selection of stories was based on the size and impact their work had had. “There was also a lot of due diligence and fact finding before the list was whittled down to seven.”

And so, there are stories of people like Dr Smita Kolhe, who had a lucrative homoeopathy practice when she married Dr Ravindra Kolhe. A fashionista, she gave it all up and today wears only khadi saris that are sold at ration shops. “She moved to the back of beyond for the welfare of the last man standing at the bottom of the social ladder – it involves a lot of sacrifice,” said Salil.

Dr Ashish Satav’s parents were riddled with multiple medical issues when he decided to work in Melghat. He hails from Wardha, 200 kilometers from Harisal, where he has set up a critical care hospital. Incidentally, he is the only doctor in his family.

Bandu Dhotre’s wife and children are making sacrifices for a cause which is not even theirs. Dhotre became a household name in Chandrapur as an eco-warrior when his organisation Eco-Pro had resurrected the city’s landmark water body by clearing water hyacinths. Dhotre turned his disappointment of not making it to the Indian army into a mission to serve the people of his city. “It made us realise that a good deed doesn’t need a designation. It can be performed by anyone,” said Salil.

“These are sterling examples of selflessness,” said Salil.

Mohan Hirabai Hiralal, an affluent businessman’s son and an avid reader, found his calling in the jungles of central India amid the original inhabitants of the land – the tribals. He is committed to spreading social reformer Vinoba Bhave’s vision of an equal society. He told the authors during their research that when “we begin things with a good intention to serve the larger good, they almost always see success.”

A social worker from Kurkheda and its neighbouring villages, 150 kilometers from Nagpur, Shubhda Deshmukh had observed that she learned to be happy under all circumstances as she watched women engaged in construction work singing songs while at work, tending to their children at the site and sitting together to enjoy their meals. “It may be a very prosaic example but says a lot”.

Has the journey into an India that is not accessible to him (and to many others) impacted Salil?

“In more ways than one,” said the bureaucrat. “It has made me more conscious of my responsibilities as a civil servant and has further cemented the spirit of service in my life. It has also made me a better person by helping me appreciate extraordinary virtues these men and women exhibit in their daily life. Hopefully, some of that has rubbed off on me as well.”

Mathur recalled how Dr Ashish Satav, who along with his wife Dr Kavita Satav, would wait outside his OPD which was in a mud hut for patients to come. “His perseverance is very inspiring, as is the self-discipline and commitment of the third generation of Amtes, who are carrying forward their grandfather’s good work. These are all very motivating and inspiring stories which can lift the spirit and inspire us not to give up even in the face of severe adversities,” she said.

Salil hopes he can take time out in the future to travel across the country – a Jagriti yatra kind of enterprise -- “to know the land and seek out the pleasures of a very textured country”. And that could be the beginning of another set of stories.