Babasaheb reigns at Dadar

Brisk sale of memorabilia at Shivaji Park as followers gather to pay tribute

MUMBAI: On his 51st death anniversary, Babasaheb is manifest in various forms at Dadar’s Shivaji Park– from conventional posters, portraits and busts to clocks, lanterns and even imitation currency notes. He’s the reigning deity.

Raghunandan Gaikwad traveled for almost two hours from Thane to Dadar so he could purchase an idol of his hero. “I had his poster, which is now in tatters,” he says. “An idol will survive for a long time.” He paid Rs150 for the bronze plaster-of-paris bust, which has traveled for hours from Jaipur, where lakhs of similar ones are made.

“I have about 250 idols with me right now. More will arrive tonight,” reveals Palak Jaipuria, the vendor who sold Gaikwad the idol. “I’m pretty certain that all of them will be sold out by tomorrow,” he adds. Though the perimeter of Shivaji Park has hundreds of such vendors, everyone is optimistic of making a killing.

Nineteen-year-old Ishwar Masoorkar from Nagpur came to Mumbai two days ago to visit the Chaityabhoomi and take in the cityscape.

He took a chance and brought along a stash of 300 posters of Dr Ambedkar. “I have already sold 35 since morning. I’m sure all of them will be sold out by noon tomorrow,” he says, anticipating a fat purse.

But what explains this passionate following?

“The man fought for the rights of the Dalit community in face of the most bitter opposition. He gave them a sense of identity, for which they feel genuinely indebted to him,” explains filmmaker Jabbar Patel, who directed Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. “To term such expression of gratitude as deification is, in fact, an insult to their feelings,” he argues.

Dhante Bodhi, a saffron-clad bald Buddhist monk, explains the difference: “Hinduism expects you to venerate and worship the idol. That’s not the case here. We don’t offer flowers or prasad to the idol, nor do we bathe it in milk.It’s meant to remind us of his struggle and his principles.”

Prakash Ambedkar, Dalit leader and grandson of Dr Ambedkar, reasons that the gesture is only symbolic. “When you worship a god, it’s blind faith. In this case, people are only acknowledging a person as their leader and liberator,” he says. “They are acknowledging his contribution in their lives, which they have witnessed for themselves.”

Even chief priest of Siddhivinayak temple, Gajanan Modak, doesn’t think it’s unusual. “People are free to worship who or what they believe in,” he says, citing the example of the several temples fans have built for film stars in southern India. “Even in Hinduism, we worship our gurus, who are mortals in flesh and blood. So what’s wrong if people worship Babasaheb,” he asks.

“Not everyone can emulate Babasaheb and do exactly what he asked us to do,” admits Thane-resident Raghunandan Gaikwad. “We try to express our gratitude in whatever manner we can and putting up idols is just one of the ways,” he explains. It’s this expression of gratitude that will feed the sale of Ambedkar memorabilia all day today, giving hundreds of vendors and their families a slightly better chance to live a decent life.