Micreascóp

cé atá in ann é a dhéanamh . . . féachaint isteach i gcroí duine eile	who can do it . . . who can look into the heart of another
ποιος μπορεί ... ποιος να δει μες στην καρδιά ενός άλλου Sarah Thilykou a dhein an leagan Greigise

Rún Gandhi

Grianghraf: Sehar Qazi

rún Gandhiji ní éireofar as an agóidíocht... go deo

Gandhiji's secret... the protest never ends

το μυστικό του Γκάντι... διαμαρτυρία που δεν τελειώνει Sarah Thilykou a dhein an leagan Gréigise

PRESIDENT HIGGINS ACCEPTS BOOK OF HAIKU AND ART INSPIRED BY MAHATMA GANDHI

The spirit of Mahatma Gandhi was invoked at Áras an Uachtaráin today when Uachtarán na hÉireann, Michael D. Higgins, was presented with a signed copy of Walk with Gandhi: Bóthar na Saoirse, a book of haiku in Irish and English and commentary by Irish poet, Gabriel Rosenstock, with full colour images by Kashmiri artist, Masood Hussain.

The book has been published by Gandhi 150 Ireland to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi, the 20th century master of civil disobedience, whose words and actions inspired such apostles of freedom as Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr, as well as Civil Rights marchers in Northern Ireland and other parts of our troubled world. The very name Gandhi still resonates thrillingly with everyone who thirsts for peace, justice and equality.

Gabriel Rosenstock commented that the Gandhi 150 Ireland committee were “very honoured indeed to present the book to President Higgins, a man who unashamedly and courageously expresses Gandhian core values, namely unwavering belief in peace, compassionate concern for the poor and the marginalised, alarm at the havoc caused by runaway capitalism, and urgent concern for a world in which bio-diversity and linguistic diversity are more threatened than ever”.

Since its launch at a gala concert in Liberty Hall, Dublin, by retired Judge Bryan MacMahon, last October, Walk with Gandhi: Bóthar na Saoirse has garnered glowing reviews internationally. It has also been presented at events in India, including the Goa Arts & Literature Festival, the University of Mumbai, and Mani Bhavan, Mumbai, a museum dedicated to M.K. Gandhi. Further events are planned this year for various venues in Ireland to showcase the poetry and imagery of the book with musical accompaniment.

Members of the Gandhi 150 Ireland delegation who visited Áras an Uachtaráin were: Gabriel Rosenstock, Eithne Ní Chléirigh, Des Geraghty, Rosheen Callender, Séamas Sheils, Sadanand Magee, Riannach Mitha Semple and Pintu Lohar.

-----------------

Ghlac Uachtarán na hÉireann, Mícheál D. Ó hUiginn, leis an leabhar haiku is tráchtaireachta Walk with Gandhi: Bóthar na Saoirse a shínigh an t-údar, Gabriel Rosenstock dó an tseachtain seo, leis na focail seo a leanas: 'D'Uachtarán na hÉireann, Mícheál D. Ó hUiginn, a sheas riamh le prionsabail an Mahatma, ag cothú an chirt is an chothromais, ag baile agus i gcéin, lena intleacht ghéar agus lena chroí mór Gaelach.'

Ba é an coiste Gandhi 150 Ireland a d'fhoilsigh an leabhar i mí Dheireadh Fómhair seo caite, chun ceiliúradh a dhéanamh ar bhreith Gandhi céad caoga bliain ó shin. Tá an leabhar maisithe go haoibhinn ag Masood Hussain, ealaíontóir as Caismír agus tá Walk with Gandhi molta chun na spéartha ag léirmheastóirí ag baile agus i gcéin.

Tá seó neamhghnách curtha le chéile ag an gcoiste - haiku dhátheangacha agus obair ealaíne ar scáileán. agus ceol beo ó cheoltóirí Indiacha: 

tig le hionaid ealaíne, féilte, agus grúpaí aonair fiosrúcháin a dhéanamh faoin seó le Rosheen Callender ag an uimhir thuas.

 

Briathra Gandhi

There are two days in the year that we can not do anything – yesterday and tomorrow
Bíonn dhá lá sa bhliain ann
nuair nach féidir faic a dhéanamh -
inné agus amárach


If you take care of your immediate surroundings, the universe will take care of itself
Má thugann tú aire
don timpeallacht thart ort,
tabharfaidh an chruinne
aire di féin

If by strength is meant moral power, then woman is immeasurably man’s superior

Más cumhacht mhorálta is brí le neart,
tá an bhean i bhfad Éireann
chun tosaigh ar an bhfear

The wise are unaffected either by death or life. These are but faces of the same coin

Ní chuireann an bás ná an bheatha
isteach ar an saoi.
Níl iontu ach an dá thaobh
den bhonn céanna.


Speak only if it improves upon the silence
Ná labhair
ach nuair is feabhas
ar an tost é

Civilization is the encouragement of differences

Is é is brí le sibhialtacht
ná éagsúlachtaí a chur chun cinn

The day the power of love overrules the love of power, the world will know peace

Nuair a bheidh cumhacht an ghrá ann
in áit grá don chumhacht,
beidh síocháin ar domhan

Walk with Gandhi: Come along to the launch, seriously!

This is an invitation to come along to the launch of Walk with Gandhi: Bóthar na Saoirse, especially if you’ve never been to a book launch before.

What happens at a book launch? Are there speeches and platitudes? Do people sip wine politely and then ask for a signed copy of the book? And then go home and not even read the book? That would be a waste of time.

This launch is going to be different because it celebrates someone who is still a glowing torch for mankind – and he found the light within, within himself, and without – in the incredible people and panorama of his own country, India. And the launch is rounded off with a ticketed event of classical Indian music and traditional Irish music. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday evening?

           Happy Anniversary?

It’s the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi and his wife Kasturba, both born in 1869. I mention Kasturba not only as the Mahatma’s fellow campaigner for human rights and political emancipation, often imprisoned for her beliefs, but also because Gandhi was greatly influenced by the Suffragette Movement – until the suffragettes departed from passive resistance. Smashing Mr Asquith’s windows was not part of the overall Gandhian vision!
It is sometimes suggested that Gandhi had a precursor in our own Daniel O’Connell (1775- 1847), the Liberator. Both addressed ‘monster meetings’ in as peaceful a manner as possible; both were lionised by the masses, had a background in law and familiarized themselves with London, the seat of Empire. But there the comparison ends. It is hard to imagine Gandhi fighting a duel, for instance, and the physical appetites of both (or their responses to them) were entirely different!

O’Connell turned his back on the world of his aunt, Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill, creator of the Lament, Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire which Peter Levi, former Professor of Poetry at Oxford, described thus: ‘I think it is the greatest poem written in these islands in the whole eighteenth century.’ One could go further than ‘these islands’ and call it a treasure of world literature.

                       Free of British Culture

     O’Connell said of Irish, ‘I am sufficiently utilitarian not to regret its gradual abandonment.’ Gandhi wouldn’t dream of such cultural treason. In fact, like our own Gaelic Leaguers, contemporaries of his, he argued for the de-anglicisation of India: ‘he had always said that real independence for India was not just to become free from British rule. It was also to become free of British culture.” (Vedic Ecology: Practical Wisdom for Surviving the 21st Century, by Ranchor Prime, Mandala 2002).

                       Gandhi’s Vision

Let’s return to Gandhi’s vision. He saw passive resistance as a tactic that stretched back to the trial of Socrates in ancient Athens. The thread of passive resistance weaves its wondrous way from ancient Greece, all the way up to Thoreau, Ruskin and Tolstoy and continues after Gandhi’s day, manifesting in the thoughts and deeds of Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, leaders of the Civil Rights Movement in Northern Ireland, Solidarnosc . . . Hong Kong dissidents seemed to be Gandhian in their attitudes before violence took over. Or are all these connections mere fanciful myth making?

                   Walk with Gandhi

Could an author or illustrator expect a better review than the one which appeared in The Wire (here)? I was relieved that the book was so well received in Gandhi’s homeland.
Is Gandhi relevant today? One word defined his life-long mission, satyagraha, which could be nicely translated into Irish as ‘fórsa na fírinne’, or truth-force, something which doesn’t seem to be the driving force behind the leaders on either side of our brine-washed (not yet fully brain-washed) island.
Gandhi is relevant today in his championing of peaceful, simple lifestyles, egalitarian economics, pluralism, tolerance, respect for animals, grassroots democracy, mindfulness, and civil disobedience, not just in his words – his writing come to 90 volumes – but in his extraordinary deeds, political theatre at its most imaginative, tactical level.
I originally wrote Walk with Gandhi: Bóthar na Saoirse for young adults and was tempted to use a martial arts analogy to explain Gandhi’s tactics, namely deflecting the force of the British Empire back on itself. But there’s no need for that. Gandhi was spiritually and culturally steeped in ahimsa, non-violence.

The scripture which most influenced his thinking – and feeling – was the Bhagavad Gita, which he called his “mother”, a scripture which has a battlefield as backdrop.
Kashmir is one of the most militarised zones on earth. It is home to Masood Hussain whose spectacular watercolours illustrate Walk with Gandhi: Bóthar na Saoirse, published by Gandhi 150 Ireland. He has been shut off from the outside world since the fifth of August. Kashmir is in lockdown. I’ll be thinking of him when we launch our book in Liberty Hall, 6.30 pm, this coming Sunday evening, an event which kicks off the annual IMRAM literary festival. Come along and enjoy some liberty. We can’t take it for granted.

Walk with Gandhi: Bóthar na Saoirse

Ar fáil le hordú ó Amazon

I bhfocail Gandhi

Má tá rud éigin idir lámha agat,
dein le grá é, nó ná bac leis

Is féidir croitheadh séimh
a bhaint as an domhan

Níl bacainn dá mhéad
nach mbrisfeadh an grá í

An tséimhe, an fhéiníobairt
agus an fhlaithiúlacht,
ní bhaineann siad le haon chine
ná le haon chreideamh ar leith

Conas a bhainfidís
ár bhféinmheas dínn mura
dtabharfaimid dóibh é

Sonas is ea an méid atá ar d'aigne,
an méid atá á rá agat
agus an méid atá á dhéanamh agat - 
ag teacht le chéile

Creid sa chine daonna i gcónaí.
Aigéan atá sa chine daonna;
má tá cúpla braon salach san aigéan,
ní shalóidh sé sin an t-aigéan

Cuir ceangal na gcúig gcaol orm,
céas mé,
déan an cholainn seo a chreachadh fiú,
ach ní chuirfear m'aigne
i gcarcair choíche

Pléisiúr a thabhairt do chroí amháin
le haon ghníomh amháin,
is fearr go mór é
ná míle ceann cromtha ag guí

Ba chóir do dhuine
dearmad a dhéanamh
ar a chuid feirge
sula dtéann sé a luí

Léiriú ar shochaí ar bith
is ea an tslí a gcaitear
leis na daoine
is mó atá i bpriacal

Tá níos mó sa saol seo
ná cur lena luas

   
   

Gandhi agus Géarchéim ár Linne

Gníomhaí míorúilteach ab ea Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869 - 1948) a bhfuil comóradh agus ceiliúradh á dhéanamh air i mbliana, 150 bliain ó rugadh é.

Dá mbeadh sé beo inniu, chuirfeadh an nualiobrálachas masmas air. Agus cad faoin teicneolaíocht? An mbeadh Gandhi i gcoinne na bhfón cliste agus an trealaimh eile go léir atá ag daoine a mhaireann sa domhan 'forbartha'?

Déarfainn go mbeadh sé sásta go maith le trealamh dua-sheachanta, trealamh ar bith a dhéanann obair na mban tí níos éasca (nó pé duine atá i mbun ghlanadh an tí!) - an folúsghlantóir, abair. Ach bheadh sé in aghaidh trealamh ar bith a chruthódh dífhostaíocht. Sa tslí sin, Luddach ab ea é.

Samhlaítear masla go minic leis an bhfocal Luddach ach cuimhnigh gur loit na Luddaigh innealra ar an gcúis go raibh jabanna á gcailliúint seachas á gcruthú de dheasca an innealra chéanna.

Ina leabhar Vedic Ecology: Practical Wisdom for Surviving the 21st Century (Novato, California: Mandala, 2002), deir Ranchor Prime linn gur thaitin saol na sráidbhailte go mór le Gandhi, comhar na gcomharsan ach go háirithe, an fhealsúnacht sin a bhí i réim in Éirinn, leis, sa ré réamhthionsclaíoch:

  “Mohandas Gandhi, called by his people Mahatma, which means ‘great soul’, loved India’s villages. He believed that they were the key to its happiness and prosperity. In the face of powerful political and economic forces, he tried courageously to  preserve their simple way of life . . ."

Bheadh alltacht ar Gandhi dá bhfaigheadh sé amach ní hamháin go bhfuil  meath ar chomhar na gcomharsan ach nach bhfuil aithne ag daoine ar a gcomharsana a thuilleadh, go háirithe sna mórchathracha. Bheadh alltacht air dá bhfeicfeadh sé na céadta mílte feirmeoirí san India agus lámh á cur acu ina mbás féin: in áit lotnaidicíd a spraeáil ar a gcuid barr, glacann siad fein an lotnaidicíd mar nach bhfuil ar a gcumas iasachtaí a aisíoc leis an mbanc, nó leis an gcomhlacht eachtrannach a dhíol síolta leo!

Tuigeadh do Gandhi go raibh dóthain acmhainní ann do gach duine - agus dóthain bia - agus gur thosaigh na fadhbanna móra nuair nach rabhamar sásta maireachtáil ar bhonn orgánach, neamhspleách a thuilleadh; ní bheadh aon bhochtaineacht ann dá dtógfadh gach duine againn an méid a bhí riachtanach agus gan dul thairis sin, dar leis.

Chreid Gandhi sa dílárú. Nach aisteach go dtugann an Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla ar líne an sampla seo den fhocal 'dírlárú' dúinn: decentralisation turned out to be a failure : tharla gur theip ar an dílárú.

Cén fáth nach 'decentralisation turned out to be a success' an sampla a tugadh? Lá de na laethanta seo, caithfear anailís a dhéanamh ar na habairtí samplacha go léir a thugann na foclóirí dúinn, ar eagla go mbeadh teachtaireacht rúnda laistiar díobh!

Ar aon chuma, dá dtabharfadh Gandhi cuairt ar Éirinn inniu, táim cinnte go gcuirfeadh bánú na tuaithe brón agus imní air. Ar nós Tolstoy agus Kropotkin a bhí léite go maith aige, chreid sé nach mbeadh againn in éagmais an díláraithe ach cumhacht níos mó a bheith ag an stát láraithe agus ní hé sin a bhí uaidh ach a mhalairt. Ainrialaí ab ea Gandhi sa mhéid sin.

Meath na Teanga

Chuirfeadh meath na teanga agus meath an chultúir in Éirinn alltacht agus uafás air. Theastaigh ó Gandhi  go mbeadh an India saor ó chuing na Breataine, mar fhórsa polaitíochta, eacnamaíochta agus cultúrtha. Deir Prime:

"He had always said that real independence for India was not just to become free from British rule. It was also to become free of British culture  . . ."

Tá fáil anois ar phóstaeir dhátheangacha a dhéanann ceiliúradh ar Gandhi, haiku le Gabriel Rosenstock maisithe ag an gCaismíreach Masood Hussain:

Haiku Posters by GandhiHaikuPosters

Foilseofar leabhar Rosenstock Walk with Gandhi: Bóthar na Saoirse i mí Dheireadh Fómhair.

Póstaeir Haiku mar Chomóradh ar Gandhi

Haiku Posters by GandhiHaikuPosters

Tá póstaeir dhátheangacha ar fáil anois chun ceiliúradh a dhéanamh ar aspal na heasumhlaíochta sibhialta, Mahatma Gandhi.
150 bliain ó shin a rugadh é.

No. 10

	No. 10 Downing Street... nought out of ten
	Uimhir a Deich Sráid Downing ... náid as a deich
	Νούμερο Δέκα στη Ντάουνινγκ Στρητ... μηδέν από το δέκα Leagan Gréigise: Sarah Thilykou

Uaireadóirí

	féach cén t-am é! am ag an Ind dúiseacht as a suan
	look at the time! time for India to awake from her slumber
	κοίτα την ώρα! ώρα για την Ινδία να αφυπνιστεί Leagan Gréigise: Sarah Thilykou

Tús Troscaidh

	tús troscaidh... níl oiread is grabhróg ann don éanlaith
	beginning of a fast... not even a crumb left for the birds
	ξεκίνημα νηστείας... ψίχουλα τέλος για τα πουλάκια Leagan Gréigise: Sarah Thilykou

Uaigneas

	domhan uaigneach monuar gan fírinne, ceart ná grá... Sráid Downing
	ah, lonely world! without truth, without justice, without love... Downing Street

aois na soineantachta

'bhfuilimid imithe rófhada . . .
Bapuji, an féidir teacht
ar aois na soineantachta?


have we gone too far
Bapuji, can it be found?
the age of innocence

Ar muir is ar tír

muir agus talamh faoina smacht... nach beag atá ar eolas acu	rulers of land and sea... how precious little they know
	κύριοι της γης και της θάλασσας... ελάχιστα γνωρίζουν Leagan Gréigise: Sarah Thilykou

Bapu-ji!

where is it now the world you saw… Bapu-ji!
an domhan ba léir duit tráth cá bhfuil sé anois… Bapu-ji!	πού είναι τώρα ο κόσμος που είδες… Μπάπου! Leagan Gréigise: Sarah Thilykou

Litir chuig Hitler

Wardha… géim bó i gcéin	Wardha… the distant lowing of a cow
	Γουάρντα… το μακρινό μούγκρισμα μιας αγελάδας Leagan Gréigise: Sarah Thilykou

An áit a rugadh Gandhi

An áit a rugadh Gandhi	did you cry when you were born… did you cry for India
	ar chaoin tú nuair a rugadh thú… ar chaoin tú ar son na hIndia
	έκλαψες όταν γεννιόσουν… έκλαψες για την Ινδία Leagan Gréigise: Sarah Thilykou

All our fathers

	Bapu-ji! ár n-aithreacha… an gcailltear in aon chor iad
	Bapu-ji! our fathers … do they ever die
	Μπάπου! οι πατέρες μας… πεθαίνουν ποτέ Leagan Gréigise: Sarah Thilykou

Grand National Hotel

Grand National Hotel
Grand National Hotel… cosc ar chaifir	Grand National Hotel… no kaffirs allowed
	Γκραντ Νέισιοναλ Χοτέλ… μαύροι καθόλου δεν μπαίνουν μέσα Leagan Gréigise: Sarah Thilykou