KMB 2025: Upholding the legacy of Mahatma Whose Life was His message

Kochi / January 6, 2026

Kochi, Jan 06: “Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth.” This is how Albert Einstein expressed his awe at Mahatma Gandhi’s extraordinary impact and non-violent leadership. 

Together with this famous quote, photographs, videos, posters, poetry, talks, conversations, and installations, at an event running parallel to the ongoing Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB) 2025, speak much of the last two years of Mahatma Gandhi. It is both thought- provoking and moving.

The art work, ‘You I Could not Save, Walk with Me’, is a collaborative effort of artist Murali Cheeroth, currently Kerala Lalithakala Akademi Chairman, photographer Sudheesh Yezhuvath, poet P N Gopikrishnan, and human geographer and urbanist Jayaraj Sundaresan, Organised as part of Edam, it is on display at Cube Art Spaces, Bazaar Road, Mattancherry. It is a walk down memory lane of a great soul whose thoughts and practices hold relevance today when war, genocide, communal clashes, vengeance, hatred, divisions in the name of religion and caste, not to mention exploitation of land and resources, plague the world.

A range of photographs, art works, and writings convey Mahatma Gandhi’s simplicity and depth of the great man. Large screens feature the trial of those complicit in his assassination while guns of varying sizes lie around.

According to Murali Cheeroth, "Developed through a year of research and travel across sites marked by riots—places Gandhi once walked in moments of deep communal crisis—the exhibition remembers a stark truth: we allowed him only 169 days of life in the land of our independence. This exhibition stands as a culmination of his resistance.”

The exhibition is into its third year. The first edition was shown in Durbar Hall Art Gallery, Ernakulam, from 30 January 2025 to 18 February and in Kerala LalithakalaAkademi, Thrissur, from 9 August to 18, 2025.

Yezhuvath said, “We noticed that messages of Gandhi were being misrepresented, misappropriated, even by the Hindu right wing, whom he opposed tooth and nail. Today, misinformation on Gandhi is being passed around in social media. We believe that history must be recorded as it’s slowly being erased. For instance, when we visited Gandhi Smriti in Birla House, we just saw the words, ‘Gandhiji was assassinated’ in many places and saw the words ‘assassinated by Nathuram Vinayak Godse’ only in one corner. Moreover, the names of other accused, including Narayan Apte who was executed along with Godse, are not mentioned. Our exhibition is an effort against these moves.”

When the trial began on May 27, 1948, the accused included Godse, Apte, Vishnu R Karkare, Digambar R Badge, Madanlal K Pahwa, Shankar Kistayyana, Gopal V Godse, Vinayak D Sarvakar and Dattatraya S Parchure. The justification of Godse for the heinous crime is depicted too.

Visuals and writings dot the rooms on the dedication and love for motherland, compassion for its people, struggles, tolerance, truth, courage, non-violence, sustainable living, fasting, sacrifice and spiritual strength of diverse people and leaders led by Mahatma Gandhi, scripting history when India attained freedom on August 15, 1947.

A year earlier, on August 16, the Muslim League led by Jinnah called for ‘Direct Action Day’ to reinforce their demand for a separate nation, Pakistan, which led to communal clashes and bloodshed in Calcutta. Gandhi rushed there and talked peace. But in October communal

violence erupted in Noakhali and later in Bihar and other areas. Gandhi stayed in Noakhali, which witnessed a ‘miracle’ of peace in four months, proving that peace can be attained through humane ways.

“We traced the path of the last two years of Gandhi, spoke to people who had seen and been with him, recorded their thoughts, feeling empathy and hope in humanity as we realised that Gandhi’s faith in goodness spurred him on. The experience showed us the power of Ahimsa and truth, the qualities that help understand complexities of a situation and empathise with different views,” Gopikrishnan said.

ENDS
 

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