A March of Puns, Friendship, and Salted Wit
First of many salty tales from the road to Dandi — straight from the WhatsApp banter zone.
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It all started with my simple message to family and friends
🌿 "Today, on Gandhi Jayanti, I want to share something personal. Ninety three days from now, I will begin a walk from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi, retracing Gandhiji’s Salt March. It will be 15 days, 400 km, and a journey of endurance, simplicity, and self-discovery. I don’t see this as just a walk, but as a way to remind myself to “Walk Light, Live Light.” I seek your blessings, encouragement, and good wishes as I prepare for this step in my life."
I had been thinking about a purpose for doing this walk. Is it just a test of endurance or is there something deeper? I had no reason to use the March or Salt as a symbol of resistance as Gandhiji did 95 years back. However, the short personal message catapulted me within my classmates to a “Marching Legend” status and then started the ‘Leg’ pulling with no ’End’. And with friends, we all know, there is no limit, no bar. I was not so accidentally chosen as the new “Namak ka Saudagar”.
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The Teasing Began
The first one started with why March in January? It took me some time to register the pun but the fun had started. All thoughts of historic austerity in my head changed to an uncontrolled school banter. “Srini you are a Dandy Marcher” said one “but don’t forget to carry a Dandi (stick) while going to Dandi.” Soon others chimed in. From Dandi it shifted to Salt. “Let’s call him Salty Srini” piped in another. Soon one of the poetic ones shifted it to a parody ad “Namak ho Srini ka…. Srini namak!” Then one took a dig at my writing and said “Ye Namak Mirchi, laga ke batayega (He will give us a spicy version).
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Spoof Explosion
And like water cascading over rocks others joined in. Each pun telescoping into another. “Srini is the new Dandy Brown writing the Da Namki Code.” said the fiction reader. How could the filmy classmate be far behind. Bollywood dialogues of Sholay, Deewar and so many others got rewritten. “Ek mutthi namak ki keemat tum kya jaano, Srini babu!” “Yeh dandi mujhe de de Thakur!” “Mere paas Daulat, shauhrat, ghar sab kuch hai… tere paas kya hai - Mere pass ….namak hai!” I kept giggling away as the messages poured in my WhatsApp inbox.
Then they started calling me names "The Salt Srin-kler" “Namak Halal” and even “March-mallow” – soft on the outside, firm marcher inside. My wife obviously must be wanting to call me “Namak Haram” for leaving her for 15 days and enjoying with my friends. Soon it shifted to advertisements. “Asli march ka namak — Srini namak.” from MDH and “Lagao Srini namak, aur chalo chipak kar.” came the Fevicol ad spoof.
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Wordplay Carnival
I could not keep myself away from this crazy escalation. So started my own writings - my own Dandi-notes. I imagined myself with a Danda in one hand and a Dandi-lion in the other. I knew the march was going to be long and very soon I was going to be on ‘Low Slo-dium’, my official medical condition in the Dandi March as the lagging member of the team. In the same breath I was reminded of a wonderfully earthy old Hindi saying “Ek danda sau beemaar, chalne wala sadaa tayyaar!”
I also considered, if Amul was to make a cartoon on me they will have a tagline “Marching on, full of salty taste!” And if Thums Up features me they will probably ask me to say “Taste the thunder, Srini ke andar!” Looks like I have to have a Dandi-lore – all the stories that will be written about me - by me. And share it with other Dandi-dates who are going be in the salty march with me.
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Reflections
This is a crazy write-up - part satire, part wordplay, part nostalgia. I am sure Dandi-monium is going to break out when people read this blog. “From Dandy to Dandi from nautanki to namak” — my march already appears to be complete.
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