After its recent acquisition of Crimea, among a hovering threat of intrusion from Russia, the Baltic country of Lithuania will unveil a statue of Indian freedom fighter Mahatma Gandhi, a mere few metres away from the Russian border. In a statement of peace, Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius and Gandhi's grandson Gopal Krishna Gandhi will unveil a statue of friendship between Gandhi and Jewish architect Hermann Kallenbach on October 2.
The local municipality have chosen a prime spot right next to a river and a historic Jewish synagogue for the monument. The statue is expected to become a major tourist draw besides highlighting Gandhi's doctrine of non-violence. Mayor of Silute, Vytautas Laurinaitis, said “Gandhi and his philosophy are taught to our students and his life story is included in their text books. However, Kallenbach was the major discovery for us that of Gandhi. We had extensive debate over the location. We want to show it as Kallenbach returning to his home. We will now beautify the entire route along the river to the monument. The spot is very well visible and nothing blocks the view. Not only will the monument be seen by Lithuanians but also by Russians on the other side. The municipality has contributed 10,000 euros which will be used for landscaping the area and creating a pedestrian walk.”
Lithuanian sculptor Romas Kvintas who is creating a life size bronze statue of the two at the village of Kallenbach's birth, said, “I have been researching extensively and collecting visual images on Gandhi for my statue. I have watched the movie Gandhi by Ben Kingsley several times and it has left a major mark on me. The statue is almost 1.9 metres tall. My monument of Gandhi will be one of the finest made on the great Indian philosopher.”
The money for the statue was raised by Lithuania's ambassador to India Laimonas Talat Kelpsa. Kallenbach met with a young Gandhi while they were both working in South Africa and, after a series of discussions they were known to have developed an intimate and long lasting friendship.
Gandhi said they became "soulmates" and even shared Kallenbach's home for some time. He accompanied Gandhi in his first penitential fast at Phoenix in 1913 and also acted as a manager during Gandhi's epic march. Kallenbach also accompanied Gandhi and his wife on their final voyage from South Africa to London in 1914. Both of them used to call each other 'Upper House' and 'Lower House'. They held long discussions on religious and other issues and Kallenbach was highly influenced by Gandhi's ideas of Satyagraha and equality among human beings and gladly became a dedicated devotee. In 1910 Kallenbach, then a rich man, donated a thousand acre farm belonging to him near Johannesburg which was used to run Gandhi's famous 'Tolstoy Farm' to house the families of satyagrahis.
With the start of World War I he was interned as an enemy alien at detention camps and was shifted to the Isle of Man as a prisoner of war from 1915 to 1917, however, after the war he returned to South Africa, where he resumed his work as an architect and continued to correspond with Gandhi.
