Thursday, July 24, 2008
Gandhi Feri
THE TIMES OF INDIA, Ahmedabad, Monday, October 1, 2007
This 58-yr-old gives a new lease of life to Bapu's ‘Prabhat Feri’
Ahmedabad: Prabhat feri, a concept of Mahatma Gandhi which he abided by, till his last day has got a new lease of life in Gujarat. All due to the effort of a graphic designer of a Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), who has found an innovative way to revive this form of Gandhigiri.
Pravin Patel, 58, rides a bicycle through the city covering more than 35 kilometers everyday and what accompanies him is a battery operated MP3 player and two small speakers.
At 3.45 am, Patel leaves his home at Parul flats on the Satellite road to start, what he calls, 'Gandhi Feri' that takes him to the Gandhi Ashram in Sabarmati.
The tune of ‘Raghu Pati Raghav Raja Raam’ and ‘Vaishnav Jan toh tene kahiye’ seems to follow him on his journey. Riding through Satellite road, Gujarat University, Ushmanpura, Vadaj Patel reaches the Ashram at 4.25 am, every day.
Soaking in the tranquility of the Ashram, Patel spends about 30 minutes dwelling in the ideologies of the Mahatma and then gets on his bicycle at 5.05 am, again riding through the city and reaches his residence at 6.45 am. Patel has been doing this, without any break, since November 2006.
"Today people remember Gandhiji only on two days - his birth anniversary and his death anniversary. But there had to be a way to make them remember him everyday, thus the Gandhi Feri," he says.
He adds, "Prabhat Feri was for people to get up early in the morning and spend a few moments thinking about God. Since people could not collect daily for this, I decided to go to them."
Patel, who wears nothing but Khadi, however; refuses to be called a Gandhian. He says, "I am not a Gandhian, but yes, I follow Mahatma Gandhi's ideologies about life".
Considering his contribution to spreading the Gandhian way of life among people, the committee managing the upkeep of the Gandhi Ashram has given Patel the permission to conduct his prayers at the ashram, sitting exactly where the Mahatma used to.
A graduate of MS University, fine arts, Baroda Patel says, "I am a son of a farmer and to support my family, I used to work as a paper-delivery boy. My inspiration was news reports on Gandhiji which appeared regularly in newspapers till a decade after Independence."
"When I started Gandhi Feri, I thought people would stop me in between and beat me up for spoiling their sleep at that hour. People do stop me, but now to ask what am I doing this for. Now, there are families who stand in the balconies waiting for me to begin their day," says Patel who has distributed more than 70 audio CDs to the curious people he meets while on his feri. "There are also these poor and slum people who stop me. Since they don't have CD players, I give them audio cassettes."
This 58-yr-old gives a new lease of life to Bapu's ‘Prabhat Feri’
Ahmedabad: Prabhat feri, a concept of Mahatma Gandhi which he abided by, till his last day has got a new lease of life in Gujarat. All due to the effort of a graphic designer of a Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), who has found an innovative way to revive this form of Gandhigiri.
Pravin Patel, 58, rides a bicycle through the city covering more than 35 kilometers everyday and what accompanies him is a battery operated MP3 player and two small speakers.
At 3.45 am, Patel leaves his home at Parul flats on the Satellite road to start, what he calls, 'Gandhi Feri' that takes him to the Gandhi Ashram in Sabarmati.
The tune of ‘Raghu Pati Raghav Raja Raam’ and ‘Vaishnav Jan toh tene kahiye’ seems to follow him on his journey. Riding through Satellite road, Gujarat University, Ushmanpura, Vadaj Patel reaches the Ashram at 4.25 am, every day.
Soaking in the tranquility of the Ashram, Patel spends about 30 minutes dwelling in the ideologies of the Mahatma and then gets on his bicycle at 5.05 am, again riding through the city and reaches his residence at 6.45 am. Patel has been doing this, without any break, since November 2006.
"Today people remember Gandhiji only on two days - his birth anniversary and his death anniversary. But there had to be a way to make them remember him everyday, thus the Gandhi Feri," he says.
He adds, "Prabhat Feri was for people to get up early in the morning and spend a few moments thinking about God. Since people could not collect daily for this, I decided to go to them."
Patel, who wears nothing but Khadi, however; refuses to be called a Gandhian. He says, "I am not a Gandhian, but yes, I follow Mahatma Gandhi's ideologies about life".
Considering his contribution to spreading the Gandhian way of life among people, the committee managing the upkeep of the Gandhi Ashram has given Patel the permission to conduct his prayers at the ashram, sitting exactly where the Mahatma used to.
A graduate of MS University, fine arts, Baroda Patel says, "I am a son of a farmer and to support my family, I used to work as a paper-delivery boy. My inspiration was news reports on Gandhiji which appeared regularly in newspapers till a decade after Independence."
"When I started Gandhi Feri, I thought people would stop me in between and beat me up for spoiling their sleep at that hour. People do stop me, but now to ask what am I doing this for. Now, there are families who stand in the balconies waiting for me to begin their day," says Patel who has distributed more than 70 audio CDs to the curious people he meets while on his feri. "There are also these poor and slum people who stop me. Since they don't have CD players, I give them audio cassettes."
Gandhi Feri
THE TIMES OF INDIA, Ahmedabad, Monday, October 1, 2007
This 58-yr-old gives a new lease of life to Bapu's ‘Prabhat Feri’
Ahmedabad: Prabhat feri, a concept of Mahatma Gandhi which he abided by, till his last day has got a new lease of life in Gujarat. All due to the effort of a graphic designer of a Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), who has found an innovative way to revive this form of Gandhigiri.
Pravin Patel, 58, rides a bicycle through the city covering more than 35 kilometers everyday and what accompanies him is a battery operated MP3 player and two small speakers.
At 3.45 am, Patel leaves his home at Parul flats on the Satellite road to start, what he calls, 'Gandhi Feri' that takes him to the Gandhi Ashram in Sabarmati.
The tune of ‘Raghu Pati Raghav Raja Raam’ and ‘Vaishnav Jan toh tene kahiye’ seems to follow him on his journey. Riding through Satellite road, Gujarat University, Ushmanpura, Vadaj Patel reaches the Ashram at 4.25 am, every day.
Soaking in the tranquility of the Ashram, Patel spends about 30 minutes dwelling in the ideologies of the Mahatma and then gets on his bicycle at 5.05 am, again riding through the city and reaches his residence at 6.45 am. Patel has been doing this, without any break, since November 2006.
"Today people remember Gandhiji only on two days - his birth anniversary and his death anniversary. But there had to be a way to make them remember him everyday, thus the Gandhi Feri," he says.
He adds, "Prabhat Feri was for people to get up early in the morning and spend a few moments thinking about God. Since people could not collect daily for this, I decided to go to them."
Patel, who wears nothing but Khadi, however; refuses to be called a Gandhian. He says, "I am not a Gandhian, but yes, I follow Mahatma Gandhi's ideologies about life".
Considering his contribution to spreading the Gandhian way of life among people, the committee managing the upkeep of the Gandhi Ashram has given Patel the permission to conduct his prayers at the ashram, sitting exactly where the Mahatma used to.
A graduate of MS University, fine arts, Baroda Patel says, "I am a son of a farmer and to support my family, I used to work as a paper-delivery boy. My inspiration was news reports on Gandhiji which appeared regularly in newspapers till a decade after Independence."
"When I started Gandhi Feri, I thought people would stop me in between and beat me up for spoiling their sleep at that hour. People do stop me, but now to ask what am I doing this for. Now, there are families who stand in the balconies waiting for me to begin their day," says Patel who has distributed more than 70 audio CDs to the curious people he meets while on his feri. "There are also these poor and slum people who stop me. Since they don't have CD players, I give them audio cassettes."
This 58-yr-old gives a new lease of life to Bapu's ‘Prabhat Feri’
Ahmedabad: Prabhat feri, a concept of Mahatma Gandhi which he abided by, till his last day has got a new lease of life in Gujarat. All due to the effort of a graphic designer of a Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), who has found an innovative way to revive this form of Gandhigiri.
Pravin Patel, 58, rides a bicycle through the city covering more than 35 kilometers everyday and what accompanies him is a battery operated MP3 player and two small speakers.
At 3.45 am, Patel leaves his home at Parul flats on the Satellite road to start, what he calls, 'Gandhi Feri' that takes him to the Gandhi Ashram in Sabarmati.
The tune of ‘Raghu Pati Raghav Raja Raam’ and ‘Vaishnav Jan toh tene kahiye’ seems to follow him on his journey. Riding through Satellite road, Gujarat University, Ushmanpura, Vadaj Patel reaches the Ashram at 4.25 am, every day.
Soaking in the tranquility of the Ashram, Patel spends about 30 minutes dwelling in the ideologies of the Mahatma and then gets on his bicycle at 5.05 am, again riding through the city and reaches his residence at 6.45 am. Patel has been doing this, without any break, since November 2006.
"Today people remember Gandhiji only on two days - his birth anniversary and his death anniversary. But there had to be a way to make them remember him everyday, thus the Gandhi Feri," he says.
He adds, "Prabhat Feri was for people to get up early in the morning and spend a few moments thinking about God. Since people could not collect daily for this, I decided to go to them."
Patel, who wears nothing but Khadi, however; refuses to be called a Gandhian. He says, "I am not a Gandhian, but yes, I follow Mahatma Gandhi's ideologies about life".
Considering his contribution to spreading the Gandhian way of life among people, the committee managing the upkeep of the Gandhi Ashram has given Patel the permission to conduct his prayers at the ashram, sitting exactly where the Mahatma used to.
A graduate of MS University, fine arts, Baroda Patel says, "I am a son of a farmer and to support my family, I used to work as a paper-delivery boy. My inspiration was news reports on Gandhiji which appeared regularly in newspapers till a decade after Independence."
"When I started Gandhi Feri, I thought people would stop me in between and beat me up for spoiling their sleep at that hour. People do stop me, but now to ask what am I doing this for. Now, there are families who stand in the balconies waiting for me to begin their day," says Patel who has distributed more than 70 audio CDs to the curious people he meets while on his feri. "There are also these poor and slum people who stop me. Since they don't have CD players, I give them audio cassettes."
Friday, July 18, 2008
Contact
Pravin Patel
Gandhi Feri
A-4, Parul Flats,
Behind Umiya Vijay Society
Satellite Road
Ahmedabad-380015
Gujarat, India
Tel: 079-26763531
+91-9879636731
email: pravin3113@yahoo.co.in
pravin@sac.isro.gov.in
www.gandhiferi.blogspot.com
Gandhi Feri
A-4, Parul Flats,
Behind Umiya Vijay Society
Satellite Road
Ahmedabad-380015
Gujarat, India
Tel: 079-26763531
+91-9879636731
email: pravin3113@yahoo.co.in
pravin@sac.isro.gov.in
www.gandhiferi.blogspot.com
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