It was sometime in July 2006 when I received an email from Garvin Brown of Queensland, Australia. Seventy-eight years old Garvin introduced himself, mostly talking about the influence of Mahatma Gandhi on his life. He mentioned that he would be undertaking a walk from Coast of Queensland to Sydney covering a distance of around 950 kms to raise awareness about the teachings of Gandhi. Garvin also mentioned about his desire for a charity walk in Assam. I was pleasantly surprised but at the same time I was apprehensive and not sure. Garvin replied with a quotation of Gandhi, “IF YOUR MOTIVES ARE PURE THERE IS NO DOUBT ABOUT THE END RESULT; IT WILL HAPPEN”.
As time progressed, I began to see the outpouring of support from all over the globe to the selfless work of some of the followers of Gandhi, namely Uttam Teron of Parijat Academy, Late Jugal Bhuyan of Prajnalaya, Biju Barborbaruah of Asha Darshan among others. In my last trip to Assam, I also observed the tremendous goodwill of people of Assam toward these efforts.
It was a remarkable day, the 9th of March 2008, when Garvin Brown came all the way from Australia and undertook the Charity walk. Please find the photos of the walk compiled by Wahid Saleh: http://picasaweb.google.com/Parijat.Academy
Wahid Saleh da of the Netherlands, always an inspiring figure, has also put the route of the walk through Google map. There is also an article on the walk at Assam Tribune online:
http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=mar1108\State6.
It is worthwhile to mention that Mr. Jayanta Barman of Friends of Assam and Seven Sisters (FASS) took all the care for the successful management of this walk where a number of eminent persons of Guwahati participated.
Sincerity, credibility and dedication are the keys for success in any endeavor. If someone has these qualities, he or she is going to achieve his goal no matter the obstacles that come on his way. Garvin Brown’s Charity walk is a symbol of goodness of human beings.
Ankur Bora
Austin, Texas
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