Lucknow: Man carves Gita on wood for Narendra Modi
Sandeep Soni spent four years carving 706 shlokas of Bhagwad Gita on wooden panel.
Lucknow: Sandeep Soni , a newspaper vendor and a carpenter in Kanpur, is busy packing his labour of love — Bhagwad Gita eng-raved on wooden panels.
Soni, a young man in his early thirties, spent four years carvings the shlokas of Bhagwad Gita on wooden panel and has completed 706 shlokas in 18 chapters on 32 panels. He began the carving in 2009 and completed his project in 2013.
When he began his carvings, Mr Narendra Modi was chief minister of Gujarat and Sandeep wanted to present his work to him. Mr Modi is now Prime Minister and for the past 20 months he has been trying to seek an appointment with Mr Modi to present his work.
Sandeep, who lives in Barra area in Kanpur with his widowed mother, wife and two children, said that he sent several letters to the PM’s Office but got no response.
“I even filed a RTI to know the status of my letter and even made several phone calls to the PMO. Five days ago — when I had almost given up hope — I received a call from the PM’s office asking me to bring my carvings to Delhi,” he said.
Sandeep lost his father to cancer a few years ago and the responsibility of running the household fell on his shoulders. He worked as a newspaper vendor and did part time jobs in shops. Alongside, he also did a course in carpentry from ITI.
“People ridiculed me for becoming a carpenter and it was then that I decided to do something that would make them respect me,” he said.
While reading the Gita one day, Sandeep decided to engrave the scripture on wooden panels. His mother, wife and sisters encouraged him and even helped him in the task. It took him more than four years to complete the panels and it would take five to six days to engrave one shloka.
He would work through the night on the carvings and earn his livelihood during the day. “I was always a fan of Mr Narendra Modi and I even tried to meet him when he launched his election campaign in Kanpur in 2014. I am so excited that I will finally get to meet him and gift him this Gita”, he said.