US Movie Star a Gandhi Fan

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Label Gandhi: Their tees, his experiments

 

PRIYA RAMANI

Posted online: Friday, September 30, 2005 at 0000 hours IST

MUMBAI, SEPTEMBER 29: Jennifer Aniston may have discovered Mahatma

Gandhi only after her break-up with Brad Pitt, but the Father of the

Nation has always been a favourite with the global T-shirt lobby.

 

On Wednesday, the UK-based Daily Mirror said a friend had given

Aniston a book containing some of Gandhi's teachings soon after the

couple split, inspiring the actress to change her lifestyle. The

tabloid added that Aniston had been spotted wearing a T-shirt

bearing Gandhi's words: ``Defeat cannot dishearten me. It can only

chasten me. I know that God will guide me. Truth is superior to

man's wisdom.''

 

 

 

Apparently Aniston owns a pair of track pants with another famous

quotation: ``I have nothing new to teach the world, truth and non-

violence are as old as the hills.''

 

Irrespective of whether you're recovering from a break-up or not,

Gandhi has always been someone to everyone.

 

``Bapu is like a chameleon. His philosophy can be applied to various

things today. Abroad, by and large, it's very positively used,''

says grandson Tushar Gandhi, who retails his line of nine Gandhi T-

Shirts on the website mahatma.org.in.

 

He's a favourite on the women's empowerment websites too, thanks

mostly to his ``Be the change you wish to see.'' This same Gandhi

quote is also available on a T-Shirt sold on a website which says

its mission is to ``rail against the corporate controlled government

of the United States''.

 

The quote, among the most popular, says Tushar, was summarised from

correspondence between Gandhi and a couple who were working in

Indian villages. ``Bapu told them that the only way they could

convince people to adopt the right way was if they adopted those

ways themselves.''

 

But not everyone uses Gandhi in a complimentary context. On

libertyoutlet.com, a site where they believe in ``exercising their

freedom of expression'', Gandhi is part of their ``Famous Gun Nut''

series thanks to this quote: ``Among the many misdeeds of the

British rule in India, history will look upon the act of depriving a

whole nation of arms, as the blackest.''

 

Ever wondered why it's so much easier to find a Gandhi T-Shirt on

the Internet than in your neighbourhood store? ``Here, Gandhi as a

fashion icon is infradig. The youth are not so connected to his

teachings. People abroad appreciate him more,'' says Ranjiv

Ramchandani, director of the firm that makes the popular Tantra

tees.

 

Tantra has only two Gandhi tees and will launch a third shortly.

Ramchandani says with Gandhi, one has to tread carefully. ``So far

we've not been sued by any relative including his grandson.''

 

Tushar Gandhi agrees that the tees are more popular with

foreigners. ``At the World Social Forum held in Mumbai (in 2003) I

sold all my 600-700 pieces in three days,'' he says.

 

Now that Aniston's bought the tee, maybe Gandhi will be cool here

too.

http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?

content_id=79097&headline=Hollywood~actress~is~the~latest~convert~to~

the~Gandhi~line~of~tees