"It is still not late for the Nobel Peace Prize committee to consider Mohandas Gandhi, to (award) him posthumously, maestro Zubin Mehta noted in his acceptance address at the function hosted by the Center for Religion and Spirituality and the Music Department of Loyola Marymount University at Los Angeles on February 3, 2007 when he was conferred the Bridge Builder 2007 Award.
Mehta recounted how former Israeli prime ministers Ben Gurion, Golda Meir and Abba Eban had told him on different occasions how the man they admired most came from a country that did not politically recognize Israel.
Founded by Navin and Pratima Doshi, the Bridge Builder Award honors "the achievements of people whose work connects seemingly opposing disciplines, systems of knowledge or methodologies,” as notes an article by Michel W.Potts in India-West of February 9. Mehta was recognized as a man who has built bridges by the facility of his music not only between India and America but between India and Israel when he brought the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) to India (in 1994). "His affection for the orchestra, so close to his heart, combined with the love of his motherland, made this tour one of the most memorable events of his life,” Navin Doshi is quoted in India Journal (February 9, 2007).
Admitting that the pressure of professional schedules meant that he did not try enough to be a bridge builder, Mehta noted, "Whenever I do… the effects are much more penetrating and positive than I ever imagine on that particular occasion.” A case he cited was when the IPO played in the city of Nazareth where the audience included 1,000 Arabs."They were so happy and so elated, they cannot wait for us to come back,” said Mehta.
"A fervent believer that Palestinians should have a homeland, Mehta noted that he has invited a Palestinian pianist to joint the IPO on its tour to Brussels, Amsterdam and Copenhagen,” writes Potts.
Gandhi’s grandson Rajmohan Gandhi, present on the occasion, described Mehta as a "sublime genius, a person with courage and concern for humanity, an exceptional combination.” Nevertheless Parsiana reader Soli Gandhi of Los Angeles, who forwarded the press clippings to us, notes in his covering letter that Gandhi’s recent work Mohandas, demystifing the Mahatma, had left Mehta a "little sad and upset.”
Mehta referred to an effort mounted some years ago regarding a posthumous Nobel Peace Prize that seemed to have been forgotten. "I hope we can build up a new movement to do this great man, visionary and prophet of the 20th century this little honor we can pay him,” Potts quotes Mehta.