Kerala   

A torch-bearer of Gandhian values

T.R. Damodaran

T.R. Damodaran belongs to a rapidly dwindling group of social workers who preaches, practices and popularises Gandhian values. He has vivid memories of his association with leading lights of freedom movement in north Kerala and is determined to keep the torch of Gandhian values burning brightly. He sells Gandhiji’s books at a cheap price. He sells soap that he makes at home to prove that Swadeshi movement can be successful. He believes these are the two best ways to keep the Gandhi spirit alive.

Damodaran’s interest in Gandhian values dates back to his childhood when patriotic fervour that Gandhiji generated during the freedom struggle was running high.

The image of a procession of children that he led to Gandhi Asram in Kozhikode in 1947 when the nation won independence is still green in his mind. Vinoba Bhave’s visit to Kozhikode in 1957 to mobilise support for the Bhoodan Movement was a turning point in his life. It prompted him to work for the Kerala Sarvodaya Sangham and brought him close to leading social workers of the day like Kelappaji, I.K. Kumaran Master, K.P.T. Kartha, and A. Damodaran Nambiar. Damodaran remembers picketing a toddy workshop along with Kelappaji.

The patriotic spirit that Gandhiji lit still burns brightly. In 1998 he was with Iyyancherry Kunhikrishnan, and Thayat Balan to participate in a ‘salt sathyagraha’ at Payyannur that was staged to protest against the ban on common salt imposed by the government in Gujarat State. Their agitation was reminiscent of the historic Salt Sathyagraha that Gandhi organised against the British.

Damodaran now spends his time selling Gandhiji’s autobiography ‘My Experiments with Truth’ – a book that he believes every Indian should read. He sells it for a subsidised price of Rs.20.

The response has overwhelming, he says. Damodaran says he has sold over 10,000 copies of ‘My Experiments with Truth.’ He has sold books to inmates of Kozhikode sub-jail, head-load workers and government employees in Kozhikode civil station.

At West Hill, the cashier in a tea stall became so much interested, he offered him a cup of tea and bought ten copies. These he distributed to his employees. Damodaran and his wife now make and sell bathing soap which he himself makes. He launched the soap making venture after learning the technique at a training programme conducted at Gandhi Griham.

Made from Ayurvedic herbs and other natural products, his Gandhi Madom Aiswarya Soap has been well-received though it is not advertised . Priced at Rs.13, these are sold directly by him.

“My soap is to emphasise the relevance of the Swadeshi movement at a time when our soap market is dominated by products of multinational companies. It is a declaration of a second independence struggle which Gandhiji would have led had he been alive,” says Damodaran holding up a neatly packed mildly scented Swadeshi soap.

R. Madhavan Nair

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