ROLLING WITH GANDHI’S MESSAGE OF PEACE
Seeking truth, young man sets out on bike for journey around the world
Even though it’s the most epic adventure, Nitin Sonawane never made any concrete plans for his journey, which has taken him from India to Houston.
He did not draw out a path on a map nor plot the places where he would stay along the way.
Instead, Sonawane wakes up each day with a plan to bike 40 to 50 miles, headed in a certain direction. Each night, he hopes to find someone kind who will let him pitch his tent in their yard.
So far, he has not been disappointed.
“I just select a village and go,” Sonawane said. “I ask people in churches and temples where I can stay. Everyday, I meet wonderful people — and they give me the energy to ride the next day.”
The 26-year-old man from Pune, India is circling the globe on a bicycle to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birthday.
The sesquicentennial falls on Oct. 2, 2019. By then, Sonawane will return home, after having touched every continent and met countless individuals. He’ll come back with endless stories to tell — and having fulfilled his mission of spreading Gandhi’s message to everyone he encounters.
Sonawane said that his fascination with Gandhi is relatively new. A couple of years ago, he was working in telecommunications. He said day after day of repetitive tasks left him feeling like a robot.
He felt called to do something more meaningful, to seek out happiness and find freedom. His mind went immediately to Gandhi, who strived throughout his life for independence and peace.
“I wanted to spread Gandhi’s message of peace around the world,” Sonawane said. “All of his life, Gandhi was seeking the truth. I was seeking the truth too.”
Sonawane wanted to share Gandhi’s vision firsthand. While he did not have sponsors or savings, he did have a bicycle that a friend gave him as a gift.
“Now I’m riding that bicycle across the world,” Sonawane said. “The bicycle is my medium to connect to the people.”
He did not train for a long ride; he just hopped on and headed east last year.
Along the way, he spoke to children at schools and informed them about his mission and Gandhi’s life. He told them about the importance of making small changes, taking even little steps, toward meeting important goals.
“All of Gandhi’s life, he took action,” Sonawane said. “And through his action, he made huge change.”
With no money in his pocket, Sonawane asked the people he met if he could camp in their yards.
“After five or six people say no, I get one person who says yes,” Sonawane said. “Then, I get to explain my story to them.”
He headed to Thailand and rode alongside a peace activist.
“She helped me translate Thai to English,” Sonawane said.
He then headed to Cambodia, where he stayed in Buddhist temples, and after that, he went to Vietnam. In China one night, police officers invited him to pitch his tent in their station.
Sonawane left his bicycle behind when he flew to Japan. He walked from Tokyo to Hiroshima in two months, preaching nonviolence and peace.
“Everyday, different people walked with me,” he said.
He became a vegetarian while in Japan, and joined with locals protesting against nuclear power plants, as well as the installment of an American air base in Okinawa.
Sonawane had covered about 10,000 miles by the time he hopped on a plane and headed to San Francisco. He took a bus from the West Coast to New York and then rode his bike down to Houston.
He has spent the past few days speaking at schools and other organizations, and then he plans to head to Mexico and South America, before flying to Africa and working his way through the Middle East.
Sonawane said the trip has taught him much and changed him for the better. He hopes to help others become aware that arguing and fighting can only lead to suffering.
“Nonviolence is not just about your actions, it’s about your mind,” he said. “You should not have any hatred in your mind. Through love, we can make change. With the power of love, we can change society.”
Atul B. Kothari, a trustee of the Mahatma Gandhi Library in Houston, met Sonawane after he spoke at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, a local Hindu temple. He was touched by Sonawane’s story.
“He’s a follower of Mahatma Gandhi, and he’s showing his beliefs the best way he can,” Kothari said. “By riding the bike, he draws attention to his cause. It’s a major, major commitment — taking three years to travel the world and keep the flame alive. It’s no small thing.”
Kothari has been working with the Mahatma Gandhi Library since 2002, increasing awareness of Gandhi’s teachings and promoting the values of peace, truth, love and nonviolence.
Every year, the organization celebrates Mahatma Gandhi Week, hosting field trips, events and special activities for children around Gandhi’s birthday.
The library collection is housed temporarily at Kothari’s office at 3300 S. Gessner, while its board of trustees moves forward on construction of the Eternal Gandhi Multimedia Museum. The anticipated grand opening of the facility will be during the yearlong sesquicentennial celebration in Houston in 2019.
Kothari hopes that by hearing about Sonawane’s journey, Houstonians will be inspired to also adopt Gandhi’s values.
They don’t have to trade in their belongings for a trip around the world on a bicycle, he said with a smile.
“Just start in some small way to implement this in your life, in whatever small way you can,” he said. “If all the people of the world did one small thing, think of what could happen.”
Sonawane is not sure where his adventure will take him when his bike ride ends. He hopes to continue to work for social justice and to reach out to the activists he has met around the world to see what’s next.
“I’m here for peace,” he said. “Everyone wants peace. I’ve met so many people on this trip. No one says, ‘I don’t want peace.’ ”
For information about the Mahatma Gandhi Library, visit gandhi150. us.