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Unveiling of Gandhi Mural
Houston: City of Houston's landscape grew richer by a few notches with the 'Unveiling of Gandhi Mural' in Dupree Park, located at 3200 Dowling, Houston, TX 77004, near downtown. The mural was unveiled by Chief Guest Ms. Ada Edwards, City Council member, City of Houston, District 4 on Saturday, November 13, 2004 as part of Mahatma Gandhi Week - 2004. Special Guest Consul General of India, Shree Skand Ranjan Tayal and his lovely wife Kusum also graced the occasion. Houston Community College Board Trustee Jay Aiyre also graced the occasion. Julie Eberly, Director of Community Outreach and Development for Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston was the Master of Ceremonies.
The mural is on a 30 feet by 15 feet wall in Dupree Park of Project Row Houses, a community development corporation. The mural depicts Mahatma Gandhi and his famous Charkha (Spinning Wheel), churning out yarns and yarns of Truth, Non-Violence, Love and Service. The mural also depicts other Non-Violent warriors of the past century joining Mahatma Gandhi in spreading the message of Truth, Non-Violence, Love and Service. The other Non-Violent warriors depicted on the Mural are Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - USA (Nobel Peace Prize Winner - 1964), Lech Walesa - Poland (Nobel Peace Prize Winner - 1983), Desmond Tutu - South Africa (Nobel Peace Prize Winner - 1984), Dalai Lama - Tibet (Nobel Peace Prize Winner - 1989), Aung San Suu Kye - Maynamr (Burma) (Nobel Peace Prize Winner - 1991), Rigoberta Menchu Tum - Guatemala ( Nobel Peace Prize Winner - 1992) and Nelson Mandela - South Africa (Nobel Peace Prize Winner - 1993).
The mural was created by students of Houston Community College under the able guidance of their art teacher Beth Secor. Thirteen Students, namely, Yasmeen Amjad, Rosheila Carandang, Nabil El Fadili, Kerrick Fields, Francisco Hernandez, Jose J Hernandez, Corey Kopen, Marcelina Martinez, Chatna K Mistry, Dante Rodriguez, Devlyn Tan, Tiffany Toups and Robin Smith, worked each Saturday for 8 hours for 12 weeks. The total man hours which went into create the mural are estimated at a minimum of 1, 250 hours.
Click on the picture below to view larger image.
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| "Photograph – Meenu Bhardwaj of Houston Chronicle" |
The project was the outcome of meeting between Mahatma Gandhi Library and Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston in July 2004. On behalf Indo-American Community we thank John Griffin Realtor Company for donating the wall for the mural and Project Row Houses to help make the mural a reality.
The program started with welcome by Dr. Sulekh Jain followed by Vaishnava Janatho dance by children of Houston Kannada Vrinda. The audience then got a glimpse of Mahatma Gandhi Week - 2004 when Mukund Sundaram, winner of Speech Contest, delivered his winning speech. Jay Aiyre, Trustee, Houston Community College, thanked Mahatma Gandhi Week -2004 organizers for including Houston Community College in their program through this mural. Shree Skand Ranjan Tayal, Consul General of India, reminded everyone of the great contributions India has made to the world through her sons such as Mahatma Gandhi. Atul Kothari of Mahatma Gandhi Library introduced the Chief Guest Ms. Ada Edwards as someone who has done a lot to keep legacy of Gandhi alive by practicing in her life the principles and ideals for which Mahatma Gandhi lived and gave his life. Ms. Ada Edwards, City Council Member, City of Houston, District 4, inspired the crowd by saying the big difference between Great Souls like Mahatma Gandhi and others is that the Great Souls practice what they believe rather than preach.
When Ms. Ada Edwards declared that the mural be unveiled for all Houstonians to see, students of Houston Community College brought down the tarp covering the mural in one swift swoop. Everyone was in awe at the sheer magnitude and size of the mural and its beauty. All present then paid respect to the Non-Violent warriors by offering rose petals.
Indo-American community has one more reason to be proud of their heritage through unveiling of the mural. The unveiling took place on the auspicious day of Hindu New Year and end of Ramadan for Muslims - Id. The mural is now available for public viewing everyday. There is no fee for viewing it. For more information write to akothari@gandhilibrary.org. You can also call 713-785-3900 for more information.
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