Coinciding with Mahatma Gandhi’s 70th death anniversary in January 2018, having completed over 1,001 shows across 300 cities worldwide in just one year, the award-winning play ‘Yugpurush – Mahatma’s Mahatma’ in English premiered in London’s Mermaid Theatre on Friday 19th January, attracting an impressive galaxy of distinguished guests.
The High Commissioner of India, His Excellency Mr Y K Sinha was thrilled to observe the full theatre and in his welcome speech expressed that the High Commission of India was delighted to support ‘Yugpurush – Mahatma’s Mahatma’ and that it would be the concluding event of the highly successful UK-India Year of Culture, launched at Buckingham Palace by Her Majesty the Queen in February 2017.
Mahatma Gandhi inspired world leaders such as Dr Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela, and his values of non-violence and love had a global impact on millions of people shaping the history of entire nations. But who most inspired Mahatma Gandhi? The hugely successful, award-winning play ‘Yugpurush – Mahatma’s Mahatma’ reveals a fascinating dimension of Mahatma Gandhi’s life depicting an untold story of the special relationship with his spiritual guide, the Jain philosopher and poet Shrimad Rajchandra. It narrates a soul-stirring portrayal of how the young barrister Mohandas Gandhi transformed into the great Mahatma Gandhi. The play’s message of non-violence, compassion and truth is relevant now perhaps more than ever.
Over one hundred distinguished dignitaries included Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC, Commonwealth Secretary General, Lord Ahmad, Minister of State for the Commonwealth and the UN at FCO, Lord Jitesh Gadhia, Patron of UK-India Year of Culture and Mr Gopichand Hinduja, Co-Chairman of Hinduja Group. Guests were drawn from wonderfully diverse fields including politics, faith leaders, media, corporates, academia and theatre-lovers, as well as representatives of several country embassies indicating the universally high regard for Gandhi.
Lord Jitesh Gadhia was delighted with the production saying that, “We all know that Mahatma Gandhi inspired the lives of millions around the world, but to see the inspiration behind the inspiration was really enlightening, and you could see that the audience was completely engaged and captivated by the performance.”
Further performances over the opening weekend staged by organisers Shrimad Rajchandra Mission Dharampur UK have attracted over 2000 people. The UK tour of Yugpurush runs until 4th February 2018 with performances in London, Oxford, Birmingham, Manchester and Leicester with net proceeds going towards the construction of a 250-bed charity hospital in one of the poorest regions of South Gujarat in India. Further details and tickets available at www.yugpurush.org/uk
The circular structure inspired by jali screens in India
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, at the garden
The couple display their medals
