On his passport he was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. The poet Rabindranath Tagore gave him the title ‘Mahatma’- the great soul- but he was rather uncomfortable with that. Nelson Mandela calls him a ‘sacred warrior’; others describe him as the ‘the saint of the spinning wheel’ and we now declare him as our ‘Father of the Nation’.
A courageous freedom fighter; a shrewd politician; a passionate social reformer and a staunch nationalist; Mahatma Gandhi was all this and much more. He was the most unusual leader this country has seen; and one of the most influential personalities whose name is synonymous with India’s independence. He was the one who touched the lives of millions; whose ideals of satyagraha and ahimsa inspired great leaders of the world; and who could make the entire country come to a halt by going on a fast.
Through a vivid narrative; author Subhadra Sen Gupta recreates the life and legacy of this phenomenal leader to portray the man beneath the simple handspun clothes; who ate saltless vegetables and bitter neem chutney; who greeted kings and paupers alike; who walked 240 miles at the age of sixty to break the Salt Law; and whose entire life was dedicated to truth and to peace. Even today as we read inspirational accounts of Gandhiji’s life and talk of gandhigiri; we know that his ideals are alive and relevant to today’s generation.
