Like every other year, leaders delivered sermons on the life and times of Mahatma Gandhi on October 2. Many among the aam aadmi would have bowed their heads before statues of the Mahatma that can be found across India. Some of these busts — inspiring, stunning or mediocre — merit a closer look.

Sculpted by Devi Prasad Roy Chowdhury, the gigantic Gyarah Murti statue in the national capital is perhaps the best. What makes it outstanding are the small touches — curves, expressions, texture — that have been personalised. The Gyarah Murti symbolises the confluence of emotion and motion. Along with Gandhiji, it also depicts great revolutionaries like Matangini Hazra, Sarojini Naidu, and Abbas Tyabji during the Dandi march. This statue depicts three historical events in and one central aspect of Gandhi’s life: the Dandi march, the Quit India movement, the Champaran satyagraha and the spinning wheel.

Another statue of Gandhiji in the capital is the one in Parliament House. Here, he is in a meditative state. Leaders from different parties are often found protesting in front of it given its symbolic value. This statue, at 17 feet, was made by the sculptor, Ram Sutar, now 99.

All of India holds Gandhiji in great respect. But Bihar and Gandhi have a different connection. The satyagraha led by Gandhi in Champaran earned him recognition all over India and, one might add, the world. A very beautiful and lively statue of Gandhiji with two children in a loving posture is installed at the historic Gandhi Maidan in the heart of Patna. It was sculpted by Anil Sutar, the son of Ram Sutar. At 72 feet, it is believed to be the tallest bronze statue of Gandhi in India. Incidentally, Gandhi Maidan also has a different kind of relationship with Gandhiji. After India gained Independence, he had organised an interfaith prayer meeting to stop the riots that had erupted in Bihar. A similar statue can be found at Gandhi Smriti (formerly Birla House) in Delhi.

One can also see a small statue of Gandhi in bustling Juhu beach in Mumbai. Placed on a two-feet-tall platform, the statue is only three feet in height. It depicts Gandhi in a contemplative state. Many Gandhians from Mumbai gather here on Gandhi Jayanti. Gandhiji’s favourite hymns have been sung here and a pledge to adhere to Gandhi’s path taken since January 30, 1949, the day of the statue’s installation. It is said that this is the first statue of Gandhiji to have been erected in any part of the country. However, there is no conclusive evidence supporting this claim.

You will find life-size statues of Gandhiji in South Africa too. Perhaps the most unique bust among these is the one found at the Pietermaritzburg railway station. In this, he is shown in two avatars — there is the young Gandhi who comes to South Africa from India to work as a lawyer; and there is the face of an old Gandhi calling upon the world to walk on the path of truth and non-violence. This is the same railway station where Gandhi was thrown off a train because he was a non-European. That incident turned Gandhiji into a soldier of satyagraha.

The sculptor, Birad R. Yagnik, and his colleagues can take pride in the way they have brought out the wrinkles on the face of the elderly Gandhiji. It must have taken a lot of effort and study to make this bronze statue that was unveiled by Desmond Tutu, who had fought against the apartheid policy throughout his life.