By Mahadev Desai
Photo: Vinod Devlia
Leading community activists, distinguished professionals,
academicians and corporate executives from Georgia’s mainstream
and Asian American ethnic communities came out in full force to
lend their full support to Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin in her
spirited drive in securing the King papers, at a banquet on
Monday, June 11 at the Palace Restaurant in Norcross.
The host committee for this historic event comprised of the
Gandhi Foundation of USA and numerous community activists
Chintan K.Amin, Sushan Arora, Salim Jetha, Nadir Nanjee, Narsi L
S Narasimhan, J.J.Shah, MD, Mohsin Bharmal and Abdul Rehman
Ahmed, MD.
Gandhi Foundation which was instrumental in installing the
Mahatma Gandhi full size bronze statue at the M.L. King Historic
Site in 1998 played a lead role in organizing this unique and
successful Banquet. The Gandhi Statue, the first of its kind at
the National Park, provides a perfect twining of the legacies of
Gandhi and King.
During the social hour, Mayor Franklin shook hands and
personally thanked the community for their support. Mr. Viren
Mayani, from the Mayor’s office, welcomed the gathering and
invited Mr. Subash Razdan, Chairman of the Gandhi Foundation of
USA to launch the proceedings for the evening. Razdan extended a
very warm welcome to the Hon. Mayor Franklin and thanked her for
gracing the occasion with her presence. Razdan informed the
community was very proud of her leadership in securing the
pledges and funding to purchase the Martin Luther King, Jr.
Papers last summer. The Papers, which are currently housed at
the Woodruff Library on Atlanta University campus, clearly
reflect the strong influence of gandhi’s non-violent philosophy
on Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement. For example, the
collection includes a small piece of paper thought to be in Dr.
King’s wallet when he died that contains a quote from Gandhi.
The evening started with a melodious rendering of a favorite
Bhajan/prayer Song, ‘Raghupati Raghava’ by Rashmi Ahuja a
talented vocalist of Georgia. Director of Atlanta’s famed Kruti
Dance Academy, Dina Sheth, while introducing her student
performers, said she felt very proud to be part of the Mayor’s
noble cause. Her students, in classical and colorful costumes,
 |
|
|
Atlanta
Mayor Shirley Franklin addressing the Banquet |
|
performed scintillating Bharatnatyam dance and a fusion dance
that elicited wild applause. Introducing the famous singer Alam
Gir of Pakistan, Razdan said that it was serendipitous that Alam
Gir, (Also known as the Elvis Presley of pop music in Pakistan)
was present to regale the audience with the recital of one of
the poems of famed poet/philosopher Khalil Gibran. Alam Gir
transfixed the audience with his fervent recital of the poem
‘Giving’. He said that he had chosen ‘Giving’ as it was a
befitting poem for the occasion which hopefully would inspire
the listeners to donate generously. “The poem provided a
befitting setting to honor the King-Gandhi legacy which is all
about giving”, exclaimed Razdan.
Giriraj Rao, the Co-Founder and Executive Director, GFUSA,
recognized all the officers of the Gandhi Foundation. Razdan
followed up with recognizing all the host-committee members and
invited them to address the gathering. Dr.Narsi Narasimhan,
Founder of Indian Professional Network (IPN) and President-elect
Georgia Indo-American Chamber of Commerce complimented the Mayor
on her excellent performance as Mayor of Atlanta. He assured
Mayor Franklin of Indian community’s support. You have
undertaken a great cause. We would like the King papers to be in
Atlanta, not only because of the King-Gandhi connection but also
because Atlanta is a Convention center” he said.
Mohsin invited Janab Yusuf Zainuddin, President,Dawodi Bohra
Islamic Community of Metro Atlanta, who thanked the Mayor and
assured her of Dawoodi Bohra Islamic community’s full support in her commendable endeavor to secure King’s Papers
for Atlanta. Similar sentiments of support were also shared by
banquet co-hosts Chintan Amin, Sushan Arora, Manju Kothary,
Salim Jetha, Nadir Nanjee and Noor Ahmed, wife of Dr.Abdul
Rehman Ahmed of the Ismaili community.
Members of the host community, performing artists, all joined
hands with the Gandhi Foundation to the Gandhi Foundation
“Humanitarian Award” to Mayor Franklin.
Mayor Franklin was then requested to present books on Gandhi as
a token gift of appreciation to Ruth Woodling, Doug Shipman and
Alisha Phillips, President, The Community Foundation for their
direct support in securing King Papers for Atlanta.
Ruth Goodling an attorney who is part of the steering committee
for King Papers, introduced the Guest of honor, Mayor Shirley
Franklin. She said that the overwhelmingly popular Mayor
Franklin thinks that she will be remembered as the ‘Sewer Mayor’
who spent over 3 billion dollars repairing and replacing Atlanta
City’s sewers but lot of us think she will be remembered for
spearheading a consortium of Atlanta’s major Corporations,
prominent citizens and the King Family and working tirelessly to
raise $32 million at a very short notice to stop the public
auction of priceless King Papers by Sotheby’s in New York, and
thus bringing the Papers home to Atlanta.(applause) The King
Papers, many in Dr.King’s own handwriting are very moving,
revealing very powerfully Dr.King’s belief in and reliance upon
Gandhi’s principles of non-violence(applause). And I think we
are all aware that those principles are the bedrock of the Civil
Rights Movement in the U.S.
In her extempore, lively keynote address, punctuated by several
applauses, Mayor Franklin spoke about the unique Gandhi-King
bond. The audience sat at rapt attention, as she narrated how
the King Papers were finally purchased for Atlanta, and her
vision for preserving the Gandhi-King legacy for the future
generations. She thanked her former boss,
and mentor, Ambassador Andrew Young, for advising her to put
together an initiative to acquire the Papers. “ It was a tall
task but with the support of the City of Atlanta and broader
community, including you all, we became owners of one of the
most important private collection of any leader in American history.(applause). It is a phenomenal collection which gives us
a chance to understand the roots of the very deeply spiritual
man. This becomes clear when you see his writings, his thoughts,
his personal library of 1,000 books, over 100 books by and about
Gandhi, and you begin to understand that Gandhi and King were
able to connect us in many ways throughout their lives with
everyone who has come before and everybody who will come
after.(applause) When you read King’s writings, reflecting on
the tremendous gifts Gandhi left to him, you can experience the
unique spiritual bond between these two great souls. As an
African-American, 40 years ago, I would not be standing here. It
was virtually impossible for many of us to gather together in
this place Georgia-not that Georgia was not a wonderful place,
not that Georgia has a tremendous history as a colony but
because of harsh laws that kept us apart and that prevented us
from speaking about our heritage. But because Gandhi led the way
in India, he actually led the way for us in Georgia. (applause).
Most significant thing I can say about Dr.King and Gandhi is
that they loved me without even knowing me and they understood
my potential without ever meeting me. They knew that young
people needed spiritual awakening. They connected us rather than
divided us. There is much to be said of that heritage and
tradition in today’s world where in mass media, like TV, very
little spirituality comes through. Dr.King had a mate in Coretta
Scott King who not only continued his philosophy but in many
ways spurred him to leadership. She fully embraced non-violence
and was an exemplary leader as well. We have
| |
 |
| |
Greg
Pridegeon(Middle) with Subash Razdan and Viren
Mayani |
been chosen to
preserve the King Papers here. These are not here to talk about
but to be learned from. As wonderful as it is for 21 or over,
the real legacy is for young people. Those who never had a
chance to hear Dr.King when he was alive or those who could not
meet Gandhi in person can study these Papers and learn about
their lives and legacies. Initially these Papers will be housed
in Morehouse College, Dr.King’s alma mater. May these Papers,
which reveal the significance of the contributions of these two
great spiritual leaders, lead everyone to strive for a more
peaceful world, a fair world and a just world? Goodness is
timeless, endless and enduring. It is in that spirit that I
accept this Humanitarian Award (applause). By coming together we
are uplifting each other. I have enjoyed listening to one of my
favorite poet’s poem recited by Elvis, referring to Alam Gir,
(laughter). I appreciate your warmth, love, appreciation, and
hospitality-I love Indian food(laughter) and appreciate the
support of my colleague Subash Razdan, whom I know since many
years in the City Hall” as she concluded her speech to a
standing ovation.
During the Q& A session, Ash Thakker, a respected leader of the
community asked if the Mayor will support naming of the street
after Mahatma Gandhi. Another well known figure of the Georgia
community Raj Razdan requested if the Mayor would consider a
small room for Gandhi memoirs in the new facility. The Mayor was
very supportive of these suggestions.
Another guest, the Chief of Staff of the City of Atlanta and a
great friend of the Indian American community, Greg Pridgeon,
who also serves as the Vice Chair of the Gandhi Foundation,
lauded Mayor Shirley Franklin for the distinct honor of being
Atlanta’s first woman and first African-American woman to serve
as Mayor of Atlanta and also for her outstanding performance as
Mayor and for her vision. “I have the pleasure of working with
her for over 30 years and I have watched her develop not only as
a mother, a humanitarian but also as a Mayor. She was elected to
be among top ten in the world, among top five in the USA but for
us, she is number one in our hearts.(applause) I have the
pleasure of serving on GFUSA and also working closely with my
office colleagues Subash Razdan and Viren Mayani . Atlanta is a
crown jewel of the Southern U.S. and because of the intersection
of two great men who ever walked on this earth, we consider
Atlanta as epicenter of the universe (applause). Mayor Franklin
has taken on a tremendous task but I know the giving nature of
this community and I know you will dig deep in your pockets to
ensure success of this great endeavor of hers.(applause)
Razdan invited Viren Mayani to present a brief update about the
likely sister-city relationship between Atlanta and Ahmedabad in
Gujarat, India. Viren reiterated the Sister City endeavor
underscoring how deeply we accept the strong bond between
Dr.King and Gandhi.
Mr.Razdan recognized all the distinguished guests and thanked
the volunteers, including, media, Vinod Devlia for photography,
Mayoor Patel for help with the PA system, Manju and Arun
Kothary, the owners of the Palace Restaurant for their
hospitality and making this Banquet a memorable one.
As reported in the media, the King Papers Deal is a victory for
Ms.Franklin. “It is a classic Atlanta story-like winning the
1996 Olympics-of taking a near impossible challenge and
galvanizing the city to make it happen”. The Banquet underscored
the popularity of the Atlanta’s Mayor and the spirit of the
involvement and participation by the Atlanta community.
|
