Sometimes We Walk Alone

279 Pages·2008·1.53 MB·English

Sometimes We Walk Alone
{notes from a pilgrimage}
Ankur Shah
2008
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for Ramachandra Gowda

Author’s Note
(worth reading first)
Welcome to India.
On March 12, 1930 Mohandas K. Gandhi began walking with 78
satyagrahis from his ashram at Sabarmati, through the Gujarati coun-
tryside, to the Indian ocean at Dandi, to break the law. When he did
so, on April 6th, through the simple act of making salt from seawater,
millions of his soon-to-be countryfolk broke the law with him, and the
Indian independence movement entered a stage of massive non-violent
civil disobedience.
That’s the short version of the story. Clearly, there’s a lot of preg-
nantbackground. Thousandsofyearsofpregnantbackgroundthatthis
book will not provide.
Instead I have chosen to focus on another journey. On March 12,
2006,IbeganwalkingfromGandhi’sashram atSabarmati,throughthe
Gujarati countryside, to the Indian ocean at Dandi, to understand a
little of Gandhiji’s life and message.
I have provided definitions and footnotes that I consider necessary
to understand the text. Please use them. It is an extremely limited
introductiontothevastandunifiedterritoriesofIndianphilosophyand
culture.
There is a mountain in the South of Indian that is Shiva (a God).
We call it Arunachala, arun being the color between the black of night
and the first reds of the dawn. Since Arunachala is Shiva and the
rocksonArunachalaareShivaandthedirtshimmyingdownthesideof
Arunachala, too, is Shiva then she who would seek the end and extent
ofShivashouldwalk, itseems, untothesea. Andtheneven, she, inher
dedication, may not be sure to stop.
So it is with the pregnant background.
In the text you may also note a frustrating diversity of titles and
suffixes to peoples’ names. In general, it is impolite to refer to an elder
onlybytheirfirstname,sans respectfulsuffix. Itisthesuffixthatshows
the relation involved in an interaction, much more important than the
names of the participants. For historical personages, such as Gandhi, I
tend to use the ‘ji’ of respect when I am referring to him as a personal
influence, and to leave it out when I am referring to him as a historical
figure.
As for the text that follows, it is a transcription and translation of
the scragged journals I kept while walking. Over the last two years,
I have occasionally had a week or two, here and there, to correct, to
clarify, andtootherwisetranslatefrommyprivatedialecttosomething
more comprehensible for public digestion. It is not a ‘literary’ work.
I have resisted a great deal of temptation to insert sentiments, re-
flections, and supposed wisdoms that I have accumulated over the past
twoyears–Iwantthebooktoreflectthepilgrim’sprogressatthetime.
TheepigraphsIhaveusedtoprecedeeachchaptercomefromabook
ofGandhiji’swritingsentitledMyNon-violence,publishedbyNavajivan
in Ahmedabad. It was the only guide I carried with me through the
evolving moral and physical topography of rural Gujarat.
Finally, a note on the title. The most common question I fielded
during my pilgrimage was “You are walking alone?”. I would be asked
over and over by the same person, in flat disbelief. I should normally
have said ‘Yes’ – I had set out with the intention to walk alone, in the
footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi, to Dandi. However, I was required in
the interest of Truth to say ‘No’ – for anytime I was being asked if I
were alone, I was not alone. And – remember, this is India, mystic and
sacredandsuper-populated–Iwasalwaysbeingasked. Hencethetitle,
Sometimes We Walk Alone, from the song Eyes of the World, written
byRobertHunterandfirstperformedliveatMaplesPavilion, Stanford
University, on February 9th, 1973.
Sometimes we ride on your horses
Sometimes we walk alone
Sometimes the songs that we sing
Are just songs of our own
- ankurbhai
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A great deal of thanks are in order, for those who have helped this
become whatever it is.
I would first like to thank all the Gods, all those who have walked
before, and all my relations.
IneverwouldhavegottenstartedwithoutthekindnessofJayeshbhai
and Anarben, and never would have made it without the help of every-
one mentioned in the journeys that follow. My community in Ahmed-
abad has only grown stronger since the pilgrimage, and I look to them
as aconstant source ofloveand inspiration. Special thanksto Anarben
for culinary advice and to Anjali for many of the linguistic and cultural
translations that appear in the glossary.
Iwanttothankeveryonewhohasinspiredandsupportedmethrough
the years, and, specifically, those who told me to keep a journal, to
type my journal, and to edit those journals. Especially Neilu Naini
and Christopher Holmes. I did most of the revision at two places of
safety and reflection: Ishwardada’s Environmental Sanitation Institute
in Sughad, Gujarat, and Nash’s Organic Farm in Sequim, Washington.
My friends and their computers, at both locations, have been too open,
too giving, and too kind.
My editors, Erik Uzureau, Denali DeGraf, and Chris Pierson, were
instrumental in helping me to clean, shape, and translate these fevered
writings.
SpecialthankstoallthosewhodevelopedLATEX,especiallythe‘glos-
saries’ package, and to Pat Linehan for teaching me how to use it. May
open-source software and natural farming prevail, together.
Thanks also to Tomas Werner for the cover photography, and to
Scott Chichester for graphic design consultation.
The printing of this book was made possible by numerous generous
investments,somefromdearfriends,somefromnewacquaintances,and
somefrompeopleIhavenevermet. Indeed,theflowofeventsregarding
the financing process left me with the same cocktail of disbelief and
gratitude that I felt during the entire pilgrimage. Truly fractal.
ItwasinArgentinePatagonia,yearsago,thatIbecameinterestedin
India and the lessons she had for me. I owe so much to my community
there, and especially to Ramachandra Gowda.
I will say, in closing, that no harm was intended in the writing of
this book, and that I acknowledge all errors to be my own.
Contents
1 March 12, 2006 1
2 March 13, 2006 19
3 March 14, 2006 29
4 March 15, 2006 43
5 March 16, 2006 51
6 March 17, 2006 63
7 March 18, 2006 71
8 March 19, 2006 81
9 March 20, 2006 93
10 March 21, 2006 103
11 March 22, 2006 113
12 March 23, 2006 123
13 March 24, 2006 135
14 March 25, 2006 141
15 March 26, 2006 151
16 March 27, 2006 161
17 March 28, 2006 173
18 March 29, 2006 183
19 March 30, 2006 191
20 March 31, 2006 195
21 April 1, 2006 199
22 April 2, 2006 205
23 April 3, 2006 215
24 April 4, 2006 221
25 April 5, 2006 227
26 April 6, 2006 233
Appendices 240
A Sabarmati Ashram Observances 243
B Songs in English 249
C Dandi Kooch Programme 251
D Map to Dandi 253
Glossary 255