The memorable pilgrimage of the Gandhi from Toulouse | M6 | 66 minutes

I love to travel, to discover others and their cultures. I’ve already visited more than forty countries… But last year, in India, the incredible happened.” The words are those of Jeannot Marcignak, a man like no other, who is considered to be a demi-god and whose life changed irrevocably in the spring of 2013. A former garbage collector and park supervisor with the Toulouse city hall, the sixty-year-old with the angelic smile is now recognized in India as the spitting image of Mahatma Gandhi. He is preparing for a fresh pilgrimage imbued with mysticism in January next year, from New Delhi to Mumbai by way of Rajasthan. One day, in Pondicherry, this indefatigable traveler is buttonholed by a teenager with a camera. The lad shows him a 10-rupee note, jabbing his finger at the portrait of Gandhi featured on the bill and then pointing to Marcignak’s face. The latter realizes that, with his legendary round glasses, his tiny mustache and his balding pate, the resemblance is striking. A few hours later, Indian reporters are flocking around him and a gigantic throng quickly forms. “Jeannot”, as his friends affectionately call him, hits the headlines in the local press, is invited onto several talk shows and becomes the “Gandhi from Toulouse”. With his staff, the son of the pink city starts to crisscross India and at each village thousands of faithful greet him with deference and offer him food. His journey is planned for January 2015 through the hills of Rajasthan. In New Delhi, he will visit the museum dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi and, in Accra, he will test his popularity at the famous Taj Mahal and in the throbbing market streets.”