Masterji’s ‘Go Green’ Indian Yatra
Masterji with Atul Bhai Pandya at the Mahatma Gandhi Ashram
By Jawahar Malhotra
HOUSTON: Last December, surrounded by a small group of admirers, Masterji Indravadan Trivedi, the celebrated classical Indian dancer, dramatist, painter and Hindu priest, had shared his plans for his planned trip to India on a to multi-city trek to spread knowledge about his “Go Green” initiative.
It was an ambitious plan to “raise self-awareness of one’s place in the world and impart practical spiritual education,” explained Masterji, “distilled from years of my own experiences and knowledge.”
Realizing that people grasp ideas better through demonstrations, Masterji intended to use puppets to teach young children and pantomime, a craft he knows well from years as a dancer, when addressing university gatherings.
Masterji with devotees in Gujarat with his “Go Green” car
The Houston Team left on January 3 and has completed its mission in several cities in Gujarat as the portly, 75 year-old Masterji, sometimes in a wheelchair during the long distance treks, Pankaj Trivedi and Jay Prakash made their rounds. In Ahmedabad, they met with Mayor Kirit Kumar and in Baroda with Mayor Keyur Narayandas Rokadia and gave them messages of goodwill from Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.
On January 26, India’s Republic Day, the Team visited the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s Statue of Unity near the Narmada River Dam and raised the Indian Tricolor.
The trek will proceed from Gujarat to Delhi and end in Lucknow, UP. The volunteer team is staying in Government bungalows and gives seminars in local schools and universities in events co-organized by the Lions Club of India.