02/10/2021
“I never met my great-grandfather, Mahatma Gandhi; I was born 12 years after he passed. As a child, dad and granny told me stories about Bapu while they put me to bed. There was a lesson in each one of them.
One such story dates back to 1946; Bapu was looking after Sardar Patel’s health. Once, while Bapu was getting medicines for him, a man came looking for Bapu. He had a basket and requested dad, ‘This is a small gift for Bapu. Promise you’ll give it to him.’ Dad agreed and gave it to Bapu when he returned. When he opened it, there were torn sandals and tattered clothes. Dad was insulted, but Bapu just said, ‘what a valuable gift!’ Bapu asked dad to sell the items to the scrapyard and deposit the money into the Harijan fund. Later that day, Bapu called upon the man and thanked him for the gift. The man thought he’d receive an angry reaction–he wanted to break Bapu’s non-violent streak, but went back feeling ashamed.
2 years later, after Bapu’s assasination, my grandmother noticed a photo of the assassin in the newspaper. She asked dad, ‘Isn’t this the same man who gave Bapu that gift?’ That’s when they both recognised that the man was Nathuram Godse. In those two years, Godse had grown angrier, while Bapu focused on doing good. This story has stayed with me and has shaped me as a person.
Bapu has also taught me to relish the legacy I’ve been born into. I enjoy spinning khadi, fasting and attending ashram prayers. In school, I was always happy to tell anecdotes about Bapu during History class.
But I also feel the weight of the ‘Gandhi’ surname. Once, when I was in school, I was chosen to give a speech about India’s freedom struggle. I accidentally said, ‘When India achieved independence in 1948.’ I was dragged off stage and my principal asked me, ‘Don’t you know what your great-grandfather went through for us to achieve freedom? How can you not remember the year?’ I realized that every time I didn’t live up to his expectations, the criticism was far greater for me than a normal person. Since that day, I’ve tried to honor my great-grandfather’s reputation.
Over the years, whenever I’ve given speeches or visited Bapu’s ashrams, I’ve met so many people who’ve been touched by him. One such man is Laxman Gole. He was a criminal on trial. In jail, he read Bapu’s autobiography and was so moved that he did the unthinkable. He pleaded ‘guilty’ and confessed to other crimes he committed. He said, ‘I’m now going to live an honest life!’ And now that he’s completed his prison term, he teaches Gandhian values to prisoners. When I met him he told me, ‘Bapu saved my life and now I’ll save others.’
The movie ‘Munnabhai’ has been inspired by his story!
Like Laxman, I believe all of us can find ‘Gandhi’ within us. My life’s objective has always been to erase the idea of the ‘Mahatma’ and make people aware of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the person. To understand how an ordinary person worked to become extraordinary. Because when we look within ourselves and find Gandhi within us, I know we can be the change we wish to see in the world.”
