In The Name Of Gandhi.(Arts; MUSIC)(Philip Glass)(Interview)

Byline: Vibhuti Patel

Philip Glass finds his newly revived 1979 opera 'Satyagraha' more relevant today than ever.

The American composer Philip Glass acquired cult status after his first opera, the surreal "Einstein on the Beach"--a collaboration with the artist Robert Wilson-- appeared internationally. His music is minimalist, repetitive--and not always admired. Now his 1979 opera "Satyagraha," about Mahatma Gandhi's politically formative years in South Africa, is being revived at New York's grand Metropolitan Opera. Glass, a Buddhist and longtime devotee of Gandhi, spoke to NEWSWEEK's Vibhuti Patel. Excerpts:

PATEL: What does satyagraha mean? Why did you choose that word for your title?

GLASS: It's a Sanskrit word, coined by Mahatma Gandhi, meaning truth force, or the power of truth. Gandhi turned an idea into a word. He understood the power of communication: he started a newspaper in South Africa that he mailed to India, so everyone knew who he was when he returned. All modern political movements have borrowed from Gandhi. In America, his legacy reappears in the work of Martin Luther King. It transformed our country.

What inspired you to write this opera?

Having worked with Ravi Shankar, I visited India in 1967 to learn more about its culture. There, in a small-town cinema, I saw a clip of Gandhi's Salt March, when he led a march to the sea to protest the British-imposed tax on salt that was hurting the poor. His charisma came through so clearly that I read his autobiography, and returned to India in 1969 to do extensive research by traveling, collecting material, meeting people who had known Gandhi. I had no idea then about doing an opera. Then, in 1976, when our opera "Einstein on the Beach" made Robert Wilson and me famous, the Netherlands Opera commissioned a new work. I decided it would be about Gandhi.