Saga Of Freedom & Gandhiji–
(Bhavan’s Journal)
Book Review–Vengrai Parthasarathy
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My eyes settled on a random page of “Gandhi-Essential Writings” in a friend’s house, and there was this letter by Gandhiji to Rajaji, which he had signed off with the Tamil words Romba anbudan (which translates to ‘With Much Love’).
Tamil is a language Gandhiji learned to read and write when in jail. There used to be a joke that to write to Gandhiji one should address it c/o The Yerawada jail. It was a sort of second home to him, having been imprisoned times without count for his role in the Civil Disobedience movement.
This readable and authentic anthology: Gandhi- -Essential Writings, a volume of 863 pages (Oxford India series), is an exquisite delight to read and reflect on. Well-researched and carefully organised,it is a blend of excerpts and quotes from Gandhijis writings, many from the voluminous Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi.
It is a partial and cogent collection of Gandhiji’s views on men and matters in the form of letters, excerpts from speeches, conversations and anecdotes.
The beauty of brevity, biblical in style, can be found in a separate section of letters and sayings,by one who lived by what he preached. Each page can be read by itself without reference to its neighbors. There is, however, a thread which seems to connect them all together. One can, as I did, refer to the Index and select items of special interest, as a sort of appetizer.
Many leaders and celebrities pass before the mind’s eyes. The blurb says it is Gandhi’s story as he himself might have narrated to his grandchild. What can be more authentic and natural than an Introduction by none less than Gandhijis grandson, Gopalakrishna Gandhi diplomat, and presently Governor of West Bengal? He has compiled, edited and introduced the subject and cherry-picked facets of the subject’s life, paving the way for the reader to grasp the essential Gandhiness of Gandhiji
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The book is filled with a mine of information having a direct bearing on pivotal events in India of the last country and her struggle for Independence. It brings out the amplitude of Gandhiji’s personality in considerable detail.
The plan followed is a division into chapters, pertaining to a chronological group of years from 1869 to 1948, each with an illuminating introduction. Gopal Gandhi says that the real focus of the book is to redeem the living Gandhi as a kind of posthumous autobiography. It reads like a postscript to Gandhiji’s My Experiments with Truth. Gandhiji’s life had three phases, his life in South Africa as a regional leader, his life in India as a national leader who fought tirelessly for the country’s Independence and lastly, as a world leader with a his spiritual message of non-violence.
Here are a few nuggets that I found riveting.
* About Madras, Gandhiji, who learned Tamil while in Jail as noted earlier, had a couple of things to say. *On religious orthodoxy, he feels that the inner spirit seems to have vanished. And, he does not hesitate to say, No other region makes such abundant use of sacred ash, sandalwood paste and vermillion powder as Madras.
* Lauding Nehru for calling Khadi the Livery of Freedom ,he says it is an enchanting phrase which enunciates a great Truth. Of him Gandhiji says Jawaharlal is a great jewel among men. Happy is the land that owns him.
* In a letter to Rabindranath Tagore, whom he regarded as a true friend and a candid friend he says, humanity needs you.
* Regarding the comment of Churchill who is reported to have expressed a desire to crush the simple naked fakir, Gandhiji says in his letter to him that he regarded it as a compliment and asks him to trust and use me –a disarming thrust which must have crushed the British Prime Minister.
There is a section in the book of his sayings and aphorisms by which he lived.We have many other interesting tidbits, to wit:
-The train incident in which he was thrown out of the carriage in South Africa,
-The Kathiawari turban which Gandhiji refused to take off at the behest of an English magistrate,
-The incident in the Kashi Viswanath temple where the panda priest threw away Gandhiji’s dakshina of a pice, (64 pice made a Rupee in the British days)
-About his noble decision in 1921 to renounce the full covering dress and opting for the loin cloth and chaddar to identify himself with the common man,
-His conversation with comedian Charlie Chaplin and his views about boycotting all goods made from machines,
-His contemptuous put-down of a scathingly vituperative book on India by Katherine Mayo as Drain Inspector’s report looking only for the open Drain ,
-About his three-fold promise to his mother before sailing for Britain.
There are many more such. This book is chockfull of goodness. And greatness of a good and great human, one whom Sarojini Naidu called the Spinner of India’s Destiny.