It was during the years 2005-2006. I was in an Ao village called Chuchuyimlang which is situated around 28 KMs from Mokokchung town. The National Highway 61 passes through this village and connects Nagaland with Assam. I was in this village on a teaching assignment. I had a standing govt. order in my briefcase. But I was least bothered about the salary. In other words, I was not in this village just to pocket the govt. teacher’s salary which many envy. Rather I was there to explore new places and new people and to widen my horizon.
To carry out my teaching assignment, I rented two rooms in a house which was just situated by the side of the highway. So I had the sights and sounds of the passing vehicles as my daily companions.
One morning in the early part of 2005, as I was brushing my teeth in my verandah looking outside into the highway, I saw a lone solitary figure nonchalantly walking in the highway with his walking stick. He was a non-Naga and seemed to be in his 70s. He was tall and lanky with an impressive facial structure and an overall magnificent and grand appearance.
In the following months, I would often see this man casually walking around with his walking stick in the mornings and evenings. At times, I also saw him interacting with the villagers outside the shops, in the streets or in the porches of the village houses. I also saw him at some village gatherings and was quite intrigued by his overall demeanor because he had a very unique and impressive aura about him – something almost undeniably majestic and reverential.
Through enquiries, I came to learn that his name was Natwar Thakkar and that he was the founder of the first and only Gandhi Ashram in Nagaland. He was born in 1932 and came to Nagaland in the mid 1950s and established the Gandhi Ashram at Chuchuyimlang which is still in existence today. He even married a local Ao girl and had children out of that wedlock. Having spent decades at his ashram in Chuchuyimlang, he was well versed and fluent in the Ao dialect. I am told that after his death in 2018 at Guwahati, his mortal remains were brought to Chuchuyimlang and cremated in the vicinity of the village. Chuchuyimlang had indeed become his dwelling.
Even though he spent many decades in a predominantly Christian society, Natwar Thakkar never abandoned his Hindu faith. In other words he remained a Hindu till his death. So some people may have their own reservations about him being labeled as a Christ-like figure in this write-up. But I consider him so because to me he appeared more like Christ in his demeanor and dealing with the people around him than most Naga Christians I know.
In his youth, Natwar was probably much influenced by the life and ideology of Mahatma Gandhi that he did not mind coming and settling in a faraway place like Nagaland when he could have lived in comparative comfort and luxury anywhere in mainland India. I guess people who are really motivated and inspired by a cause can go to any extreme to make a difference with their lives and in the lives of others. And the story of this Gandhian is a classic example of this phenomenon.
As cited above my rented house was in the highway (NH 61) itself and the Ashram was also in the highway. In fact there were only around 4 houses and a police outpost between the Ashram and my house. I saw the man many times but never even thought about interacting with him or visiting his Ashram. And this is something which I regret today. I was young and I thought a person like him who had a long history of social service behind him would be least interested in someone like me. Otherwise, if I could somehow come to the resolution to go visit him in his ashram, I guess it would have been like Nicodemus visiting Jesus in the night with questions. Yes, I certainly would not have been short of questions to ask him if only I could muster the courage and resolution to go and meet him.
Throughout his long life of rendering social service to people whom he did not even know properly, Natwar was showered with many awards, recognitions and honors not only by the government but also by non-governmental organizations. I have even heard that whenever he was honoured with cash awards, he would never accept it for himself but would rather donate it to his ashram or charities.
Though Natwar was not a Christian, he appeared more like Christ than many Nagas. I feel like Naga Christianity has become very hollow. For Nagas, it’s all about materialism like taller and bigger houses, better and more cars, the most remunerative jobs and careers etc. So even though many Nagas go to church in their finest clothes and fancy cars with their Bibles and songbooks clutched underneath their arms, they miserably fail to strike a chord with most bystanders. Maybe this is because we have confined our Christianity only to Sundays and churches. But I feel that knowing the real Christ should be deeper than that. There is a wide open world outside of our churches and Sundays where we should become more like Christ figure to believers and non-believers alike.
One of the fundamental principles of Gandhian philosophy is “simple living high thinking”. This would mean living a life in the simplest possible manner with the simplest and most basic tools and still finding fulfillment and divine connection. I would say Natwar Thakkar was someone who truly lived by this principle. The idea and practice of minimalism and frugality are inseparable tenets of Gandhian ideology and philosophy. And I am of the firm conviction that Naga society can see some real change if we can embrace this principles of minimalism and frugality rather than running after or pursuing mere materialistic prosperity.
Another tenet of Gandhian philosophy would be the principle of “think globally act locally”. We can see this principle being splendidly reflected in the life of the great Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi was someone who always spent his time doing the simplest things. For example he weaved his own loin cloth and wore it wherever he went. Gandhi gave the idea to his people to boycott foreign goods and shifted the focus back to the locally manufactured items. But even though Gandhi acted locally, he never lost sight of what was going on globally. He kept himself abreast with all that was going on in the world and with all the philosophies that had shaped human history and thus he was able to have such a groundbreaking impact on the world even though most of the time he acted only locally.
Of all the teachings (western or eastern), Gandhi was most influenced and inspired by the Sermon on the Mount of Jesus Christ. In fact, Gandhi’s philosophy of Ahimsa, Satyagraha, Non- Cooperation, fasting and the likes can all be traced back to this historic sermon delivered by our savior. Then why did people like Mahatma Gandhi or even Natwar Thakkar never converted to Christianity if they were so touched and impressed by the life and teachings of Christ. The reason may be because they saw a contradiction between the Biblical Christ and the many Christians whom they encountered.
I believe that people like Gandhi and Natwar Thakkar could make an impact with their lives because there were no contradictions between their words and their actions. In other words, they practiced what they preached. They lived by the very principles which they preached to others. On the contrary, whereas many Nagas know the Bible and the teachings of Christ inside-out, our lives have become very superficial and hollow. We fail to touch hearts and souls because there is a huge gap between our words and actions and thereby between our Christianity and Christ.
In a sense, ultimately life is all about making an impression with our lives which can make people remember and cherish us for the right reasons even after we are gone. And here we are not talking about becoming a world renowned Christ-like figure like Gandhi, Martin Luther or Nelson Mandela. But we can all strive to become like a Christ-like figure to someone in our homes, neighborhoods or communities.
So, even though the old man I saw in that Ao village about 20 years ago was a non-Naga, a Hindu and a non-believer, he left an indelible mark in my psyche and reminds me more of Christ in many ways even today when I reflect on those days. To have seen someone like Natwar Thakkar in flesh and blood with my own eyes is in many ways akin to encountering a life changing experience.
