Verdun, a tale of war and peace

LATE last year, out of the blue, I received a call from a Catholic Institute in the town of Verdun, a name I had only seen in history books. They planned to organise an India week in January with exhibitions and talks to introduce the country especially to young school going children and the local public. Rarely, if ever, had India been spoken about in this part of Eastern France. In this predominantly centralised country, where Paris is at the heart of culture, education, and almost everything else, Verdun, a small provincial town seemed rather far away. Distances are measured by the ease of transportation and there is no TGV, the super fast, 300-km-an-hour, train to the East. European parliamentarians, obliged to go regularly to Strasbourg, a better known and bigger neighbouring city, never cease to complain about the poor transport facilities. Verdun is a good three hours away from Paris by slow train with one change, but appears even more remote.

Perhaps the name of no other French city apart from Paris has the same resonance as that of Verdun. It evokes the atrocities of war, bloodshed and battle, but also staunch French resistance. Centuries of strife have made it into a border citadel. Situated near the Franco-German border, Verdun, a town of some 20 000 inhabitants, occupies a strategic geographical location. Caught in the wars between French and Germany for almost 130 years, if not more, the region has changed nationality many times. But just about everything in Verdun is linked to the First World War.

Almost 85 years have passed, but the Battle of Verdun still lives on. Lasting from February to December 1916, 300 days and nights of continuous fighting in atrocious conditions, this famous battle witnessed the loss of over 3,00, 000 lives of French and German soldiers, and left an even larger number wounded. The strong German offensive to penetrate France was met with stiff resistance and almost three fourths of the French Army fought on this front. The main link to the battlefield was termed the Sacred Path. A total of 3400 trucks plied in both directions every day, one truck every 25 seconds, carrying supplies and ammunition, evacuating the wounded and the dead. Today, this is the only national highway in France that does not have a number, but is simply called the highway of the Sacred Path. From the very beginning, the Battle of Verdun became a national symbol of French resistance. The German army failed to penetrate but created the biggest blood bath of the Great War. Finally all that can be said is: what a colossal loss of human life for extremely feeble territorial gains!

Later, during the Second World War, French and German forces clashed once more and Verdun came under German occupation for four years, till Gen. Patton freed it. It is here that Helmut Kohl and Francois Mitterrand decided to meet in 1984 as a sign of Franco-German reconciliation. But despite well meaning words and declarations, in the popular mind, Verdun will always represent Franco-German rivalry rather than reconciliation.

It is, unfortunately, the destiny of Verdun to be forever associated with the horrors of war. War memorials, battle trenches, craters, never ending cemeteries and villages razed to the ground crisscross the entire area. In the thick forests surrounding Verdun, picnicking or wandering around is not allowed. Stray incidents, very rare though, of old mines or bombs going off are reported even now.

In the surrounding area, nine villages were completely destroyed in the war. But by a law passed soon after, the French Government decided to keep the memory of these lost villages alive. All of them have an administrative existence and a municipal council whose president functions as the mayor. In the 1980s, another administrative unit was created to ensure that the villages do not die a second time. This is the only instance of "ghost" villages in Europe or elsewhere for that matter.

Every year in summer, busloads of German and French tourists arrive to search amongst the thousand and thousands of tombstones and identify one of their own family members.

The French Government, the regional council and the city have taken pains to develop this town as a town of peace and create awareness with one message for one and all : Never again. The old Episcopal palace has been turned into the World Peace Centre and it is here that all major events and activities take place.

It was therefore in the fitness of things that the Catholic Institute decided to pay homage to the country of non-violence and Gandhi. India will remain a part of their programme for the coming three years during which, amongst other things, Caritas France, an international Catholic body, will also support a women's developmental project in India.

Caritas India flew in a social worker from Chetnalaya in Delhi to come and speak to the public in Verdun and in the neighbouring towns about their different projects and activities in India and raise funds for the same.

The India week attracted a lot of visitors. Responsive and keenly interested, young and old visitors asked questions, participated in debates and made the whole operation worthwhile for the motivated group of voluntary school teachers who had got together with little means, but a lot of enthusiasm to create an Indian atmosphere. They put up exhibition panels and posters and cooked Indian food from recipes taken off the Internet. This small dedicated band pooled money, drove to Paris, located Indian grocery shops, talked with the shopkeepers, took notes and rushed home to prepare an unknown, untested spicy new cuisine. Especially pleasing was the interest shown by young school children, full of questions about Gandhi's lathi, bindis or mehndi and delighted to taste the carefully prepared chutneys and small pieces of burfi.

This is how I too discovered two new "Indian" products that I had never tasted before. Gajar Kachumbar, a cold dish of grated carrots with orange juice, raisins and soft white cheese and a thick pink drink, made of rose syrup, coconut juice and white wine !

RAJESH SHARMA

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