Gandhi Ashram – Ahmedabad

I touched down in Ahmedabad at 3:10am yesterday, overcome by that wonderful anxiety of seeing India again after too long. That familiar, complex, deep and earthly smell hit me like a wall as I descended to the tarmac. Ahh, India…immediately, I knew I was here: the mad rush of people chaotically boarding the bus to the terminal, the complete lack of order, and ridiculous mob scene at the luggage terminal quickly dissolved the wonderous anxiety and transformed it into a growing sense of frustration. Calm down, this is just the beginning, i had to remind myself. I was finally out of the terminal, met by a huge sea of brown men all waiting anxiously for their relatives and friends to emerge. I could recognize no one, until my dear cousin brother Piyushbhai grabbed me from the throng, and soon we were in the Old City of Ahmedabad. Home…

Caught just a few hours of sleep from 5am to 9am, and was up again…energized to see the new community center in the Gandhi Ashram, built right inside one of the largest slums in Ahmedabad. This facility is completely constructed out of recycled materials, and beautifully rendered. Project Ahimsa helped fund the creation of a music pavilion within the center, where children can perform and take classes. An inauguration ceremony was underway, welcoming the start of a new physical education program at MS. I captured a beautiful dance program by the kids, and gave a copy of Global Lingo to one of the co-founders of Manav Sadhna, Jayeshbhai. Immediately, the image of Ganesh on the cover with golden headphones, and the map of the global programs Ahimsa ignited a huge flood of new ideas and progress updates from him. We setup a schedule for this week, and I will be at the Gandhi Ashram bright and early Monday morning with my tablas.