Man carves Gita on wood for PM

Sandeep Soni , a newspaper vendor and a carpenter in Kanpur, is busy packing his labour of love — Bhagwad Gita engraved on wooden panels.

Soni, a young man in his early thirties, spent four years carvings the shlokas of Bhagwad Gita on wooden panel and has completed 706 shlokas in 18 chapters on 32 panels. He began the carving in 2009 and completed his project in 2013.

When he began his carvings, Mr Narendra Modi was chief minister of Gujarat and Sandeep wanted to present his work to him.

Mr Modi is now Prime Minister and for the past 20 months he has bene trying to seek an appointment with Mr Modi to present his work.

Sandeep, who lives in Barra area in Kanpur with his widowed mother, wife and two children, said that he sent several letters to the PM’s Office but got no response.

“I even filed a RTI to know the status of my letter and even made several phone calls to the PMO. Five days ago — when I had almost given up hope — I received a call from the PM’s office asking me to bring my carvings to Delhi,” he said.

Sandeep lost his father to cancer a few years ago and the responsibility of running the household fell on his shoulders. He worked as a newspaper vendor and did part time jobs in shops. Alongside, he also did a course in carpentry from ITI.

“People ridiculed me for becoming a carpenter and it was then that I decided to do something that would make them respect me,” he said.