Lia Diskin, the Gandhian in Brazil

Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary will be celebrated on 2 October this year for the 30th consecutive year by Lia Diskin and her organisation Palas Atena in Sao Paulo. This is a commemoration with a difference. It is not a one-day affair. It is called as Semana de Gandhi (Gandhi Week) and more often the celebrations go on for two weeks and some times a month. It is not a mere ritual or a show of garlanding the statue, paying eloquent homage in a comfortable hall and forgetting it till the next October. For Lia Diskin, Gandhism is a celebration and commitment throughout the year. It has become her mission in life. Gandhi is not history for Lia. She sees his message as relevant for the future. She believes that Gandhi's ideas and practice of non-violence are preventive remedies for the future of the Brazilian society which is facing serious problems of violence and crime. The criminalisation of young minds in the favelas (slums) is brought out vividly in the famous Brazilian film City of God (cidade de deus) which is based on real life stories. Lia Diskin has the firm conviction that sowing the seeds of Gandhian values among the children and youth will help to prevent the infection of their mind. The focus of the Semana de Gandhi is, therefore, children, youth and education. The venues of the events are schools, prisons, streets and public spaces. The events are organised in collaboration with educationists, intellectuals, government authorities, artists, civil society activists as well as with UNESCO.

Here are the list of their activities during the Gandhi week this year from 30 September to 27 October. ¨ The art of life consists in making of life an art ¨ is the Gandhian quote to inspire this year's celebrations and so there are more artistic activities this time.

- Drum Ensemble by the youth group Rede Beija Flor

-Words from Gandhi – talk by Hamilton Faria, poet and anthropologist

- Sketch: Gandhi receives Kasturbai’s letter in prison – actors Joao Signorelli and Meeta

- Indian Music – by Meeta Ravindra group

- Kathak Dance – by Meeta and Gyaneshree

- Play by actor Joao Signorelli who impersonates Gandhi and leads the audience through his life and ideas.

- Video-dialog by Luiz Goes who shows Gandhi videos and invites discussion

- Talking about Gandhi with mediator Joao Moris

- Poems of Rabindranath Tagore -reading by Joao Moris

- Instrumental and vocal music –by Krucis

- Culture of Peace in Education - Awareness Raising Walk

- Several sessions for treatment of delinquent youth

- Indian classical dance – Silvana Duarte

- Storytelling: An Indian Tale about Shiva – Tininha Calazans

- Sumi-e painting and crafts workshop

- Talk by Egberto de Almeida Penido, a judge

- Children’s Choir

- Floral offering to Gandhi statue. The public is being invited to come by cycle and avoid car.

Lia Diskin believes that non-violence is a practice and a constant educational process. She explains this to me, ¨ Within the culture of violence in which we are steeped, we hardly notice the abuses we commit on a daily basis. Violence is not a destiny. It is a choice. This is why it is important to add in the school curriculum itself Education for Non-Violence and Living Together in harmony with others¨. She is convinced that this education will bring about a change in the mindset of people in the same way as the education on environment has made us conscious of this theme starting especially with the Rio Earth Summit of 1992.

Lia Diskin and her educationist collaborators have devised special courses for the government schools and teachers on development of ethics in their curricula and daily routine. Under this project, named as “Priceless Values and Gandhi and Non-Violence” 40,000 teachers have been trained in the state of São Paulo. They have a programme of monthly seminars called as “Values for Coexistence”. Both the projects have institutional support from UNESCO. Palas Athena is also involved in the UN “Human Safety” programme through projects such as “Open Doors” and “Peace Wants Partners”. These have been held in favelas and prisons.

Palas Atena has established Culture of Peace Committees to pursue the goals of UNESCO’s Culture of Peace Decade. This inspired the creation of the Parliamentary Culture of Peace Advisory Boards, active in the São Paulo Assembly, and in several other Brazilian cities, such as Curitiba and Londrina. These boards include representatives of the civil society, religious institutions and non-governmental organizations besides the members of the state or municipal assemblies.

Palas Atena has taken initiatives to apply Gandhian ideas in the health sector too. In partnership with the Municipal Health Department, they have trained over 5000 health professionals of hospitals and basic health units.

More information on Palas Atena in their website: http://www.palasathena.org/

Lia Diskin with school children, in the picture below:

One of the most memorable projects of Palas Atena in which I had the opportunity (when I was the consul general in Sao Paulo 1996-2000) to collaborate, was with the military police of the state of Sao Paulo. We sent to every one of the 85,000 military police of the state a ten page write-up of Gandhi's message of non-violence in Portuguese. We organised seminars, workshops and essay and poetry competitions for the police personnel. The military police who faced violent criminals and dangerous situations in their daily job found the practice of non-violence by Gandhi as fascinating and inspiring. It provoked them into new ways of thinking and challenged their conventional wisdom. They started looking into the causes of the violence and minds of the criminals going beyond their professional instinct to catch and punish them. They saw possibilities of redemption for the criminal minds with a new Gandhian approach. They poured out their heart in the essays and talked about the difficult and painful situations they had faced in their work. Some of their poems were intensely emotional and moving. The Brazilian public was excited by the entry of Mahatma Gandhi in the mind space of military police. The police department was very happy with the project and its impact on the mindset of the police.

The second project in which I had the privilege to collaborate was the publication of the autobiography of Gandhi in portuguese. Lia had got the book translated in modern Brazilian portuguese by four eminent Brazilian scholars who divided the work among themselves. The SESC Pompeia auditorium, where the launching event was held, was overflowing with more than 400 people. A delegation of Indian Parliamentarians who were visiting Sao Paulo at that time was overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of the audience inspired by Lia Diskin. They could not believe that the book of Gandhi would attract so much serious interest in the distant land of Brazil. The book has been reprinted several times since then to meet the increase in demand.

The auditorium of Palas Atena is called as Mahatma Gandhi Auditorium, where I had made my first public speech in Portuguese language on Gandhi. Several Gandhian scholars of India have given talk there. The library of Palas Atena has the largest collection of books on Gandhi. They also have a publishing house, with many titles on Gandhi, non-violence,culture and peace. Palas Atena gives regular courses on philosophy and holds cultural and spiritual events, seminars and workshops. Education, art, human rights, environment, ethics and multicultural and religious exchanges are the principal themes of the activities. Yoga, meditation and Indian classical music and dance are also organised in the auditorium. Lia Diskin took the initiative in the establishment of Gandhi Square in Sao Paulo city with a garden and statue of Gandhi, seen in the picture below.

Lia is the author and co-author of many books on education, peace, ethics and culture. Her book, ¨Paz, como se faz? ¨( peace, how to make?) has been adopted by schools in six states of Brazil and has seen sale of 500,000 copies. Another book “Cultura de Paz – de reflexão à ação” (culture of peace- from reflection to action) was published by UNESCO and the Brazilian Ministry of Justice.

Lia Diskin is a true Gandhian in her public and personal life. She pracises what she preaches. Her favourite Gandhi quote is ¨ Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony¨. She has devoted her life completely and selflessly to social service. Like Gandhi, her mind and heart are anchored in profound philosophy, ethics and morality. With an open mind, she has imbibed both western and eastern wisdom and is an admirer of Dalai Lama. At the same time, she applies her principles pragmatically to find practical solutions to social problems. Her child-like smile, kindness, enthusiasm, energy and optimism bring cheer and inspiration to street children, delinquent youth and prisoners.

Born in Argentina, Lia Diskin and her husband Basilio Pawlowicz moved to Sao Paulo in 1972 . They established Palas Atena for social service and study of philosophy. They run an orphanage in Sao Paulo called as Casa de Pandavas (House of Pandavas). The orphans are showered with affection and personal care by Lia and Basilio who do not have their own children. Lia lives a simple and modest life with a strict Gandhian discipline. She is a vegetarian. She is not in the cocktail circuit nor does she use her work for any personal publicity. Her interest in Gandhi started early as a child after she read books on Gandhi. She was inspired by the autobiography of Gandhi and was totally taken by the idea of a person with such commitment to truth. She told me, ¨I never found a philosopher with such earnest desire and serious sustained effort to translate truth into daily life¨.

Lia Diskin was an invitee at the Satyagraha centeneray celebrations in India in 2006. She was one of the dozen global personalities invited in 2007 by India to address the United Nations in New York which declared 2 October as the International Day of Non- Violence. She was given the Jamnalal Bajaj award in January 2011 for her service to people in the Gandhian way.

Here is Lia Diskin with her Jamnalal Bajaj award at the Consulate of India in Sao Paulo

Mahatma Gandhi developed his method of non-violence during his stay in South Africa. Then he took it to India and practised it successfully to get independence for the country and uplift the Indian society. Lia Diskin has brought the Gandhian message to Brazil and made it relevant for Brazilian situation. This triangular Gandhian connection adds another dimension to the IBSA (India- Brazil- South Africa) alliance of the three countries which share democratic values and developmental challenges as well as common agenda and aspirations.

Pondicherry Tamil from Paris, born in Vietnam, producing Argentine wine in Mendoza

¨I am a foreigner in any country¨, This is how Aziz Abdul responded with a smile when I asked him to which country he belonged. ¨What is your mother tongue?¨. He smiled again, greeted me in Tamil, switched to English with heavy French accent and then completed the conversation in fluent Spanish. He was born in South Vietnam where he lived for the first fifteen years. He speaks Vietnamese like a native. His mother is half-Vietnamese and her mother local Vietnamese. His father, a Tamil from Pondicherry. When Saigon fell in 1975, his family lost everything. They went back to Pondicherry and started a new life running "Chez Aziz" a gourmet restaurant . Aziz went to the French school there and improved his Tamil language. He went to Paris for higher education. He studied mathematics and thereafter computer science at the University of Orsay. He fell in love with Najma from Madagascar who was studying Sanskrit in Paris. I raised my eyebrows … With his trade mark smile, he said Najma chose to learn Sanskrit since she wanted to get back to the root of her original country. She is an Ismaili muslim of Gujrati origin and speaks fluent Gujrati. They have two daughters. Aziz has named his wine Chateau Hana, a combination of the initials of his family- H- Hema his first daughter (his wife is a fan of Hemamalini), A- Anjuli, the second daughter, N- Najma, the wife and A for Aziz.

Aziz produces high-end wine which sells for 90 pesos ( 22 US $ ) in the wine shops of Argentina. His wine is served in the upscale hotels such as Park Hyatt and in exclusive restaurants and high-end wine shops in Buenos Aires, Bariloche, Mendoza, Mar del Plata, Cordoba and Rosario. Info on his wine http://www.chateauhana.com

He is planning to start exports soon. How about exporting to India?, I ask him and he beams with yet another smile. When we served his wine at our embassy receptions, the guests were ecstatic. We told our guests, it is an Argentine Wine made with Indian hands and spirit.

Picture: Aziz in El Paraiso ( paradise ), his house on the left, winery on the right and vineyard behind.

Aziz worked for 20 years in the IT department of the French multinational group Lagardere. But he did not want to end up life staring at the computer screens. He wanted to become his own boss and longed to have a quiet life in countryside. He was saving money to pursue his dream- to own a vineyard and make his own wine.

Aziz Abdul…drinking and making wine? I could not hide my puzzle. Aziz smiled again and started another story. It was his father, a Muslim who enjoyed alcohol and let his son also follow. He was liberal and cosmopolitan and inspired his son too. While studying in Paris, Aziz tried wine and liked it. He was a frequent visitor to the cellar of the home of one of his university friends. He was very excited to drink a 21- years old Morgon on the 21st birthday of his friend. The taste for wine lead him to explore the vineyards in France and beyond. He visited the wineries and got to meet wine makers such as Alexandre Thienpont and Denis Lurton. He studied viticulture and enology.The taste for wine became a passion. As soon as he had the minimum savings he started looking to buy a vineyard. The French and European ones being expensive, he tried India. He visited the wine growing areas of India hoping that he would be able reroot himself to his fatherland. But it did not work out.

Thereafter, Aziz came to Argentina, the fifth largest wine producer in the world. He bought a 15- hectare vineyard on the outskirts of San Rafael city in Mendoza province in 2008. He put up a brand new boutique winery, with a capacity of 85, 000 litres. He is into his fourth crop this year. He grows malbec, cabernet sauvignon and bonarda varietals. He manages the farm himself with the help of a local husband-wife pair who live in the farmhouse. During harvest season, he hires extra help. He takes the help of an Argentine enologist too. He uses certain French practices in the growing of grapes, pruning of the plant and in the making of wines, different from the the local Argentine way of doing things. He enjoys taking care of the plants and the processing with an eye for every detail. Aziz's favourite quotation ¨God had created water, men the wines- Victor Hugo¨.

Aziz has integrated well in the small town San Rafael society. He speaks fluent spanish and has made a number of friends. While he makes upscale wine he himself leads a simple life. He enjoys working with his own hands in the vineyard and the winery. He literally breathes the aroma of his wine every day and night since his house is full of wine cases all around. When he gets time, he plays tennis and goes for skiing in winter. He is connected to his family in Paris by skype. His wife shares her time between the husband in Argentina and the daughters who live in their apartment, a few blocks from Eiffel tower in Paris.

Like Aziz, many foreigners are investing in vineyards in Mendoza for the pleasure and pride of having their own vineyard and boutique winery. Of course, it is a solid investment too, given the constant appreciation of the price of the land and the profitability of wine business. Aziz had bought the vineyard from an American investor. A few retired people also settle down in the farm houses surrounded by their own vineyards or spend a few months every year. The Argentine prices are affordable and vineyards and land are available. There is no restriction on foreign investment. Aziz's own investment in the vineyard and winery is about 500,000 dollars. The cost of living in Mendoza is low while the quality of life is excellent with peaceful atmosphere and friendly local people. The climate is perfect for the grapes with warm days and cold nights and sunshine throughout the year.

The Argentines have started producing and exporting more wine in recent years. Their exports reached 864 million dollars in 2010. The Argentine wines are getting more recognition in international markets. It has overtaken the Chilean wines in the US market. Malbec has become famous around the world as the signature wine of Argentina.

I spent two days last month visiting his vineyard and listening to his stories over many glasses of Chateau Hana wine. After this, I have become an admirer and started calling him as Che Aziz. In Argentina, Che is a colloquial way of saying ¨friend¨, as Che Guevara.

Cheers…Che Aziz…

Global Brazil and U.S.-Brazil Relations

¨Global Brazil and US-Brazil relations¨, the paper published by The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), New York in July this year, is one of the latest studies to reiterate and reconfirm the emergence of Brazil ¨as a significant power and presence on the world stage¨. The study has advised the US policy makers that the emergence of Brazil as a global power is an opportunity for US which should formulate policies to make use of the complementary role of Brazil in the pursuit of American strategic interests. The 85- page CFR report is the work of an Independent Task Force which consisted of 30 American academics, business leaders, experts and ex-policy makers.

The Council has highlighted the unique position of Brazil as a country with surplus food and energy in this time of growing global concern over food and energy security. Brazil is the fourth-largest exporter of food and leader in exports of staples like soy, sugarcane, coffee, orange juice and beef. It is a major producer of tobacco, cotton and cashews. The Report gives credit to Brazilian advances in agricultural technology and innovations which have made agriculture more efficient making Brazil as an agriculture powerhouse. Brazil has the potential to bring more land under cultivation than any other country in the world.

On energy, the report makes the following points:

-With as many as 50 billion barrels of oil beneath Brazilian waters, 167 million barrels of annual ethanol production (and plans to increase output to more than 400 million barrels by 2019), hydroelectric dams that supply as much as 75 percent of Brazilian electricity, and the world’s sixth-largest proven uranium reserves, Brazil is poised to become a significant exporter of diverse energy products.

-The Brazilian energy matrix is among the least carbon intensive of the major economies and has one of the highest shares of renewable energy in power generation in the world.

- The pre-salt reserves would place Brazil among the world’s ten largest oil reserve holders and a major global oil exporter. It may produce up to four million barrels of oil per day of which one million barrels could be exported. Brazil is one of just a few countries in the Western Hemisphere— Canada being another—that will significantly increase oil production over the next decade.

-Brazil is a major global ethanol producer, consumer, and exporter, and plans to double biofuels production over the next decade. Total ethanol production is now in excess of 430,000 barrels per day, roughly 80 percent of which is used by the Flexifuel vehicles which reached 94 percent of Brazil’s new car sales in August 2009. There are already more than ten million flexi-fuel vehicles on the road.

- Brazil holds 18 percent of the world’s available fresh water which is a valuable asset considering the fact that countries such as China and India face water shortages especially for agriculture.

- The Amazon rainforest is itself a precious resource, recycling carbon dioxide to produce more than 20 percent of the world’s oxygen.

Blessed with these God-given endowments, the Brazilians have started putting their act together to realise the potential of Brazil. The Brazilian government has lifted over thirty million of its citizens out of poverty and significantly expanded its middle class in the last two decades. They have achieved significant reductions in the levels of poverty, inequality, unemployment, and malnutrition with large-scale social programs such as Fome Zero (Zero Hunger) and Bolsa Família (Family Allowance). Brazil’s GDP per capita is now twice as high and poverty rate half of what it was ten years ago. The Brazilian economic fundamentals have become stronger and healthier which have helped the country to weather the storms of crisis coming from the northern hemisphere in recent years.

Riding on this new wave of domestic strength and confidence, the Brazilians have become increasingly active in multilateral institutions and international fora. They are reaching out to other parts of the world which were not in the radar of their foreign policy earlier. Look at their Africa initiative. President Lula made eleven official visits to Africa traveling to twenty-five countries—more than any other Brazilian president or BRIC head of state. In the last ten years, Brazil has doubled the number of its embassies in Africa to thirty four. Trade and investment are booming. The Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht is the largest private sector employer in Angola. Brazil has invested more than $4 billion in Africa’s agriculture sector over the past five years to develop production capacity. The Brazilian agri research agency Embrapa has opened a satellite regional office in Ghana to deepen research collaboration and strengthen its advisory role throughout the continent. Through the transfer of technology, skills training, research and development, and the infusion of capital, Brazil is breaking fresh ground in constructing a new development paradigm. For example, the Africa-Brazil Cooperation Programme on Social Protection, launched in 2009, creates a platform for Brazilian experts to work with their African counterparts in sharing their best practices in social development such as Bolsa Familia and HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment.

There is another example of how Brazil leverages its strength in building Development Partnership. It is helping countries such as El Salvador,Haiti, Dominican Republic, St. Kitts and Nevis, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Guinea-Bissau, and Senegal and Cuba to develop fuel ethanol programmes.

The CFR report has a clear message: Brazil is and will remain an integral force in the evolution of a multi- polar world. Its decisions and actions will affect the world’s economy, environment, and energy future as well as prospects for diplomacy and stability. Brazil is on the short list of countries that will most shape the twenty-first century.Brazil has transcended its status as the largest and most resource-rich country in Latin America to now be counted among the world’s pivotal powers. It ranks as the world’s fifth-largest landmass, fifth-largest population, and eighth-largest economy. Brazil matters not just regionally but globally.

CFR advises the US policy makers to recognize Brazil’s standing as a global actor, treat its emergence as an opportunity for the United States, and work with the Brazilians to to advance shared interests and common goals by reinvigorating and deepening their partnership through expanded governmental and economic ties. They recommend US to fully endorse Brazil as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.

CFR has cautioned the policy makers to recognize that independence will almost certainly remain a hallmark of Brazilian foreign policy, even as the two countries develop a closer relationship. It expects that Brazil will continue to define its national interest independently from the United States, and the United States cannot decide where and how Brazil will engage internationally. Brazilians will resist a tight U.S. embrace, and warming relations will not necessarily translate into Brazil’s standing in line behind the United States. The United States will need to adjust to a more assertive and independent Brazil.

CFR has, of course, tempered the positives with the challenges faced by Brazil such as favelas, urban violence, drugs, poor infrastructure, anachronistic tax and labour laws, corruption and governance issues. It has also pointed out the vulnerability of Brazil whose recent growth has got acceleration by the tailwind of high commodity demand and prices and its overdependence on exports of raw materials.

Let me add here two points which are missing in the CFR report. Brazil enjoys some critical advantages in comparison to the other members of the BRIC group as well as USA. Brazil does not face any problem of terrorism which is a threat faced by other major powers. It does not have any land or maritime border conflicts nor does it face inimical neighbours threatening its peaceful existence. On the other hand, Brazil has embraced regional integration through Mercosur and Unasur whose collective strength reinforces the profile of Brazil. Despite being a melting pot with immigrants from Europe, Africa, Middle east and Japan, the country is free from linguistic, religious, ethnic or ideological conflicts.

Secondly, Brazil has become a role model for Latin America with its balanced and pragmatic mix of Inclusive Development and market- friendly policies. This has become the new paradigm for the region which has, in the recent past, gone through costly leftist and neoliberalist experiments. The Latin Americans recall the price they had paid in following the Washington Consensus which triggered a turn to the extreme left which also inflicted its own damage. No more imports of external ideology.... Brasilia Consensus is home-made.

India has rightly chosen Brazil as a bilateral, trilateral (IBSA) and global strategic partner. India's trade with Brazil reached 7.7 billion dollars in 2010. Indian companies have made substantial investments in Brazil in sectors such as agribusiness, energy, pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals and IT. The latest big ticket investments in 2010-11 were by Renuka Sugar (400 million dollars in agribusiness) and United Phosphorous Limited ( 750 million dollars in agrochemicals). Rattan Tata announced this month that the famous Nano and other Tata vehicles might be assembled in Brazil.

Message of Gandhi in Medellin

Be careful.. Friends advised me when I told them I was going to visit Medellin, notorious for kidnappings, murders and drug trafficking. Another set of friends also gave me the same advice but for a different reason. They were jealous...Medellin women, are reputed to be the most beautiful in Latin America. So you could imagine my accompanied baggage full of fears, expectations and fantasies with which I reached the city on 7 July. But I was in for a totally different surprise. I found a Mahatma Gandhi Foundation there celebrating Festival of Non- Violence, started by a Gujarati... Mr Harivardhan Shah.

So my first visit in the city was to the Gandhi Foundation. Shah described it as ¨an organisation that seeks to reclaim Life and to rebuild Hope in a city that no longer wants to see its children die in the street either by a bullet or at the hands of a murderer¨. The Foundation's objective is ¨to teach everyone that, it is indeed possible to restore the hope that violence has stolen from us. This begins only when each citizen consciously decides: not to contribute any more to the culture of violence that surrounds us and instead to do something to build a peaceful coexistence, not only with others, but also within oneself¨.

The Gandhi Foundation has an auditorium for meetings. There are two full time employees at the office of the Foundation, located on the top floor of the factory of Mr Shah.The local authorities, NGOs and some companies support the foundation and its activities with thirty percent of financing while the remaining seventy percent of the funds are from Mr Shah himself. The local media has given wide publicity praising the work of the Foundation.

The Foundation celebrates Gandhi Jayanti every year with seminars, workshops, candle-light marches and events in schools and colleges. They invite the people ¨to find solutions to the problem of violence in the city - initially in oneself and then to replicate those solutions with the people around them. The Foundation teaches yoga and meditation to help people to achieve inner peace and harmony.

The Foundation does not preach within the safety of four walls. They organise campaigns at the Metro stations and streets and even in dangerous neighbourhoods such as Comun Popular which is rife with crime and narcotrafficking. In Colombia they call the slums as Comuns. The Foundation holds solidarity meetings with the victims of violence. The volunteers of the Foundation work the Metros and streets with banners in spanish which say,

- If you are at peace with yourself, there is atleast one peaceful place in the world.

-There is no way to peace.. peace itself is the way.

-eye for an eye will make the world go blind.

The Foundation distributes Gandhi masks and spectacle frames to the marchers. Some Colombians dress up like Gandhi during the marches, as in the photo below.

Colombians with Gandhi masks, in the picture below.

Shah himself was a victim of the Medellin violence. Once, a gang of armed robbers attacked his factory at gun point and took away everything they could. Second time the robbers threatened to shoot him but he took a risk of diverting their attention and managed to escape. Then a criminal gang put his name among the list of people to be eliminated. At this time he thought of leaving Colombia. But his two daughters, who were born and brought up as Paisas ( inhabitants of Medellin) did not want to leave. They were firm and convinced Shah that they should live and die there itself.

In the picture above- Mr Shah.

The Gandhi Foundation focusses on the youth who are the potential recruits of criminal gangs. The Foundation works with schools and colleges and teach the students tolerance and compassion and the need to respect others with different beliefs. They tell the adolescents that they must change themselves first before expecting the world to change. Their most important programme is to develop, nurture and multiply young leaders. They select leaders from the schools through a series of interviews. The young leaders are given scholarships to pursue their higher education. These leaders carry out the campaign of non-violence and participate actively in all the Gandhi events. When these Medellin young leaders tell the other youth about non-violence it makes a greater impact than if Shah were to give lectures himself. The only condition the Foundation lays down for the leaders is that when they get jobs and settle down in life they must help at least two other deserving candidates and mentor them. One of the interview committee members had a doubt and asked Shah, what if they do not help others? what is the gurantee?. Shah , who is as much a pragmatist as an idealist replied, ¨Do we seek such a guarantee from our own children when we invest in their education that they would help the parents?¨.

Sara (in the picture below) is one of the Gandhi Foundation scholarship holders. She studies business management. To my question as to what kind of company she would like to work, she responded quickly and unhesitatingly, ¨I want to start my own business.¨ I asked her about the public response to the campaign for non-violence in which she takes part. She said that the kids in the slums were initially curious. Later some of them turned positive and wanted to know more about Gandhi. She told me that the non-violence campaign has made some of the young people to think about the situation in Medellin in a new light with a different approach.

Shah has been living in Medellin for the last 36 years. He went to work there as a chemical engineer in a local company after completing six years of University studies in Germany. He fell in love with the beautiful city, pleasant weather ( they call it as eternal spring since the average temperature is 21 degrees). After some years, he started his own factory to produce chemicals.

Shah and his Gujarati wife Hasita as well his two daughters speak to each other in spanish all the time. They have a creatively designed country house where they hold retreats for the Gandhi Foundation scholarship holders.

Shah is also the mentor, guardian and Guru for the 80 Indians most of whom have come to the city for IT projects. He and his wife are avid and competitive bridge players and participate in the national and regional tournaments. Shah dances Salsa and Tango, throws fiestas for the smallest excuse and lives upto the Latino philosophy, ¨We do not stop having fun when we are old. We become old only when we stop having fun¨.

With such a broad bandwidth of Gujrati mind and Latino heart Shah has made Mahatma Gandhi meaningful to Medellin in a practical and pragmatic way.

Here is Mr and Mrs Shah at the their country house..

More info on the Gandhi Foundation at http://www.edugandhi.org

They are in facebook too ...http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=152900591407225

Medellin is not alone in rediscovering Mahatma Gandhi. There is a resurgence of interest in Gandhi's concept and practice of non-violence across Latin America which is facing a growing challenge of urban crime and violence. Policy and opinion makers and intellectuals realise that policing could deal only with the surface part of the problem. They want to go to the roots and cultivate a new culture of non-violence in the hearts and minds of the young people. It is in this task that they find Mahatma Gandhi as an inspiration and his ideas relevant to the Latin American situation.

Hastinapur, the city of wisdom, in Argentina

Hastinapur has a total area of twelve acres. Its population consists of a dozen Indian gods and an equal number of Argentine human beings. Some of the Indian gods reside in authentic temples filled with the scent of Indian agarbatties while others stay outdoor enjoying the fragrance of the flowers from the garden. Some are sitting or standing on the pedestals and others hang on the sides of walls and pillars. The gods who have their own temples include Ganesh, Krishna, Surya, Narayana and Siva. Since it is Hastinapur there is a temple for Pandavas too. Hastinapur is clearly a place fit for the gods ...who should be pleased with the cleanliness of the place, the serene surroundings and the green garden with Rosewood trees. The only noise comes from the hundreds of birds nesting in the trees. Then there is the soft music of the devotees who sing Bhajans. It is indeed a divine place which inspires sacred thoughts and holy spirit.

Ganesh is standing out in white against the greenery of the garden in the picture below.

The dozen Argentines who live there look after the gods and the place. During weekend, the human population increases to over one hundred. The Argentines do not go there seeking favours as many Indians do in Tirupathi. They go there for wisdom. This is why Hastinapur is called as the City of Wisdom (ciudad de la sabiduria). Saraswati, the Goddess of Learning blesses the students through the sculptures all around the compound. The Argentines learn philosophy, read in the library, practise yoga and meditation and sing Bhajans.

On the other side of the fence, there are cows grazing and occasionally staring at the Indian gods. The cows are relaxed and free from fear because they know that they will not become food at the dining table in Hastinapur, which is a vegetarian place. The inmates cook vegetarian food and share it with the children from poor families in the neighbourhood.

Hastinapur does not have any godmen seeking fame and fortune and flaunting wealthy followers. It is an instituition to pursue pure wisdom, peace and divinity. Neither in the city nor in the website names of those who run the place are given. The founders and directors of the Hastinapura Foundation do not seek publicity. They are humble but devoted people. They have their professions as company managers, engineers or professors. They volunteer their time and talents for the foundation.

Nor is Hastinapur the work of some overenthusiastic drum-beating Hare Krishna types or faith-lead Saibaba followers. Hastinapur respects all the religions and beliefs. Their ten temples include one for Buddha, one for Virgin Mary, one for the Greek god Demeter and another one called as the the Temple of All Faiths. Their library has books of all religions and schools of thought. Hastinapur seeks true wisdom, going beyond the boundaries of established religions. The City of Wisdom is not the ultimate destination. It does not prescribe wisdom doses. It simply helps people to seek, find and pursue their own path to wisdom. They give classes in yoga, meditation, philosophy, devotional singing and sacred drama. They organise workshops, seminars and retreats. They also provide community service. They celebrate festivals such as Ganesh Chathurthi and Baishaki. Their next project is to broadcast through radio.

Hastinapur temples do not have priests or other middlemen between the gods and worshippers. There is no money collection, like in Tirupathi. Worshippers pray, recite mantras and sing devotional songs individually or in groups.

Meditation Hall

Hastinapur has a post graduate course in yoga which takes three years to complete. The classes are held in the weekends only. There are 2500 students studying yoga and philosophy in the Hastinapur centres. The students are being taught by 100 teachers on philosophy and 120 teachers on yoga.

Many Argentines go to Hastinapur as a retreat from the hectic city of Buenos Aires which is just fifty kilometres away. They practise meditation in the quiet natural environment. They do yoga, read books from the library, discuss philosophy and join the singing of bhajans. Hastinapur is an authentic Ashram.

Hastinapur Foundation has published a number of books on Indian philosophy and translated Bhagwat Gita, Bhakti Sutras, Upanishads,Srimad Bhagwatam and Yoga Sutras. Their latest publication is Mahabharatha in Spanish. They have so far published three volumes and plan to do a total of twelve volumes in the coming years. Each volume is over 500 pages. The founder Alda Albrecht and other members of the Foundation have also written a number of books.

main entrance to the Hastinapur city

Hastinapura Foundation was established by Ada Albrecht in 1981. She introduced Indian philosophy and became a Guru for the Argentines seeking wisdom. She wrote a number of books such as ¨The Saints and teachings of India¨ and ¨The teachings of the monks from Himalayas¨.

Gustavo Canzobre was one of her students, who is now the Director of the Hastinapur college of professors. He was seventeen years old when he became interested in Indian wisdom. During the Third Festival of India organised by the embassy in Buenos Aires in November 2010, he gave a talk on the temple architecture of South India. He has agreed to give a talk on Indian philosophy in the forthcoming Fourth Festival of India in December 2011. He is a manager in a local company for living and dedicates rest of his time to Hastinapura Foundation. He is knowledgeable about Indian vedas and upanishads and is going to India on his second visit in August this year.

Gustavo Canzobre in the picture below:

The architectural and scuplting work of the Hastinapur complex has been done entirely by Argentines. The architects and sculptors have studied Indian temples and have done their work professionally and aesthetically. Even now they are constructing some more buildings with Indian sculptures and statues.

Pillars of the entrance to Ganesh temple below:

The pond in front of the temple has fresh water and fish:

A small outdoor Ganesh temple in the garden

Hastinapura Foundation has sixteen centres in Buenos Aires and three more in the rest of Argentina. They have also established centres in Uruguay, Bolivia and Colombia. Information on the Foundation and its activities can be seen at their website

http://www.hastinapura.org.ar/

Lord Siva is sitting majestically in the large garden guarded by Ganesh on the four sides:

Latin Americans are, of course, known for fun and fiesta. At the same time, there are thousands of Latin Americans who take Mahabharatha and Meditation more seriously than many Indians....

Indian scientist receives Paraguayan honour

Dr Mohan Kohli, an Indian agricultural scientist received Honorary Doctorate from the San Carlos University of Paraguay on 18 May in Asuncion. This is a recognition of the contribution of Dr Kohli in the last three decades to improvement of wheat cultivation and production. The Paraguayans expressed their gratitude to Dr Kohli who is credited with the transformation of Paraguay from a wheat importer till the eighties into a wheat exporter since 2004. The wheat production of Paraguay has increased from 30,000 tons in 1978 to 1.2 million tons now. In 2010 Paraguay earned 230 million dollars from wheat exports.

Dr Kohli is a wheat specialist and is a senior scientific consultant to the Paraguayan National Wheat Programme. He started off his career with the legendary Norman Borlaug ( Nobel prize winner who contributed to the Green revolution of India) in 1971 and worked with him for six years in Mexico. In 1978 he came to South America as a regional wheat breeder. Since then he has been working in the South American countries of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia and Chile. He has worked in collaboration with the governments as well as the private sector agricultural organisations and associations. He has been awarded many honours by the governments and universities of Latin American countries.

Dr Kohli has spent a total of 40 years in Latin America, of which he has lived in South America for 33 years. He is married to a Mexican. Currently he lives in Paraguay and is also working as senior technical consultant to the Argentine wheat project. Dr Kohli who speaks fluent spanish is admired and valued in the agricultural and scientific communities of Latin America. Besides developing new varieties of wheat to suit the different climates and soil conditions of South America, Dr Kohli has trained hundreds of scientists and contributed to human resource development. He has published over 150 papers and articles in USA and Latin America.

Dr Kohli did his B.Sc in agriculture from the Rajasthan Agricultural University and Masters and PhD at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute.He had done Post Doctoral work in the University of California and Oregon State University. The American Society of Agronomy honoured him with a ¨International Service Award ¨ in 2010.

Dr Kohli is not just another laboratory scientist confined to the four walls and surrounded by scientific papers. He is a practical scientist with a pragmatic approach. He is passionate about agriculture. He enjoys his research and putting the outcomes of his research into practical action. He spends as much time on the fields as he does in the laboratories. He loves the company of small farmers and shares coffee in their homes. During my tours with him, I have seen myself how he is admired as a hero by the farmers of Paraguay and Argentina. He has earned the respect and admiration of the Latin Americans with his Indian humility, sincerity, brilliance and hard work. He has stimulated interest and respect for India in the rural areas of Latin America. I call him as the Agricultural Ambassador of India. In my speech at the 18 May ceremony, I thanked him for raising the flag of India in places where Indian Ambassadors have never been.

Dr Kohli is not a ivory tower scientist. He has a global vision and is concerned with food security. He has the big picture and ideas for making the world a better place. He has a heart for the poor and hungry and is committed to do his part to solve the global problem of poverty.

Dr Kohli made an inspiring presentation to Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar when he was in Buenos Aires in September 2010. He advocated No-Till ( Direct Seeding) Method of cultivation for India and showed how this method has revolutionised the agriculture of South America, which is emerging as a superpower in agriculture. He has given an Action Plan to Minister Pawar for implementation of No-Till cultivation method and other measures to improve productivity and sustainable cultivation in India. He took me to the farms in Paraguay and showed me how the small farmers are successfully practising the No-Till cultivation using bullock carts and small tractors. He believes strongly that India can increase productivity, reduce soil degradation and practise sustainable farming, learning from the South American experience. He is willing to share his expertise and contribute to India.

Latin America has made use of Dr Kohli's expertise for the last 40 years....Will India take advantage of the expertise and willingness of Dr Kohli to contribute to the motherland ???