Kumbh’s Gandhi & Ganga devotee is swachh mascot

ALLAHABAD: Lallan Singh, a 60-year-old devotee of the Ganga, has only one complaint — no one calls him by his name anymore. Dressed in a khadi kurta and white dhoti, the farmer from Bihar has played Mahatma Gandhi effortlessly for so many times till now that the name has stuck to him.
“Everyone calls me Gandhiji. No one remembers my real name. But I like it,” he smiles.

Part of a local voluntary organization that works for Swachhta awareness, he has become the face of all campaigns, be it in his village or on the national stage.

On Thursday, when President Ram Nath Kovind visits Kumbh, ‘Gandhiji’ will lead a rally to pledge protection of the Ganga.

A father of four and grandfather of six, Lallan also doubles up as the team’s driver.

“I drive the tractor on my fields and truck on the highway. And I do it better than these young lads,” he says proudly. And the young lads in the group agree. The first time Lallan played Gandhi was at a local Saraswati Puja in his village Bharsara in Jagdishpur block, Bhojpur district. “It was in 2017 at a college in my village. The theme was Swachhta. Someone said ‘Let’s make Lallan chacha play Gandhi ji’. That’s where it started and now I have played the same role in about 10 events,” he says as a warm smile covers his face.

Ask him what makes him perfect for the role and he says it’s just God’s grace that he is the chosen one. His team members, though, say it’s his calm demeanor, smiling face and the shape of his moustache.

Passionate about protecting the Ganga, Lallan loves his celebrity status at this age.

He has one unfilled wish though. He couldn’t be on stage with his wife. “She could have played Kasturba with me. She passed away last year due to illness,” he says. Lallan and his team, Pragati Gramin Vikas Samiti, are not paid any money for these events. They say it is in the service of the environment and mother Ganga.

Samiti members are mostly farmers, drivers and students engaged in awareness around sanitation and cleanliness. They spread the message through puppet shows, plays, art, dance and songs. The Kumbh programme before the President is their first big event. The rehearsals are on in full swing but Savita, the manager of the team, has one concern. “We need to buy the round spectacles that were Gandhi’s signature. I am looking for them in Allahabad,” she says.

Till then, Lallan chacha’s original spectacles are doing the job.