Mahatma Gandhi wasted no time even on trains       

My work was observed by an aged friend of my father, a government official and a great pal of Devadas Gandhi (the fourth and last son of Mahatma Gandhi) who was the Managing Editor of Hindustan Times, New Delhi. He happened to mention to him that I was keen on constructive work. On hearing about my interest in social work, Devadas Gandhi suggested that I join an ashram. I was 22 years old at the time. With an introductory letter from Devadas Gandhi, I proceeded to Wardha by Grand Trunk Express. Sevagram Ashram was nearly ten miles from the Wardha junction. Nobody came to receive me. I reported to the Manager of the ashram and handed to him the letter of introduction. After perusing it, the Manager asked me if I knew Hindi, what my native place was and how I came to know Devadas Gandhi. Later he asked one of his assistants to escort me to another hut, a few yards away. I did not dare to ask for something to eat though I was very hungry. I could not spot any eatery anywhere and I was wondering what these people were doing in the ashram, what their occupation was, how they earned their livelihood and managed to get their food and from where. I went to the mud hut where I was supposed to stay.

Leaving my slippers at the doorstep as I entered the hut, my eyes fell on a centipede creeping on the floor. I immediately picked up my slippers and swapped the insect. It got pulverised. Surprised at my conduct, the escort protested in Hindi, “Yeh aap ne kya kiya?” I explained that it was a dangerous insect, to which he replied that they were quite common in the campus. He stated that one could encounter not only centipedes but also scorpions and snakes. It was in the course of the conversation that I learnt that the ashram was founded by Gandhi and the importance he gave to non-violence, prayer, cleanliness, orderliness, self-help, truth, practising economy, etc. My daily routine work in the agricultural field was from 6 AM to 10 AM. In the afternoons, I would sit in office, opening mail received for Gandhi from all over the world — nearly 30 letters arrived daily — and sorting them language-wise to be seen and answered by Gandhi. Simple letters were replied to by the manager of the ashram. Envelopes were slit open and converted into slip pads of different sizes for writing purposes. Gandhiji’s day started at 4 AM with prayer and ended with prayer; prayers from all faiths — Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Parsi since Gandhi believed in the unity of all religions. After the prayers, he would have a marble tumbler full of hot water with lemon and two tablespoonfuls of honey as his early morning beverage. Then he would dictate letters to me in English for about an hour.

His speech, when he did not put on his dentures, was inaudible and not clear. On Mondays, he observed silence from dawn to dusk. On these days, he would write and pass on the material to me for typing. His handwriting was even worse. His senior secretaries always carried a magnifying glass to decipher his writing since he would also use abbreviations. He was never idle. He would always be writing letters or articles in Hindi, Gujarati or English. For writing purposes, he would use the blank back side of unwanted letters and the envelopes being recycled. He was ambidextrous. He was a master of the English language. I never saw him read any book. He would have his morning constitutional in the lawn or inside the room if it was cold or raining. Next he would have a massage with mustard oil and lemon for half an hour which induced him to sleep. This was followed by a hot water bath. After his bath, he would have his meal at 9 AM. The frugal meal both in the morning and in the evening consisted of two khakras, goat’s milk and boiled vegetables without salt. While he was eating, I would read out to him important news items from the morning newspapers. He would then meet visitors by appointment in the afternoon and have a glass of orange juice. Then he would lie down and have a wet mudpack on his stomach for half an hour every day as he believed that this would clean all impurities from the stomach. Then he would ply the charkha to spin for half an hour and have his mid-day siesta for a few minutes and have the soles of his feet massaged with ghee. He would have his evening meal at 4.30 PM followed by public prayer and post-prayer speech when gold jewellery offered to Gandhi by his admirers would be put to auction. He would retire to bed at 9 PM.

Almost everyone including Gandhiji maintained a daily diary. They were supposed to record in their diary their various acts of omission and commission. On a journey en route to Calcutta, it was a day of silence for Gandhiji. He drafted a short letter to the Viceroy and handed it to me for typing. It was intended to be delivered to one Mridula Sarabhai at Patna Junction. I thought I would keep the draft and type it on reaching Calcutta. However, when minutes later Gandhiji broke his silence, he asked for the typed letter for his signature. When I replied that I did not have a typewriter, Gandhiji shot back: “When I send for a barber, I expect him to bring his tools along”. Normally people travelling on trains spent their time playing cards, reading story books or gossiping or dozing. This was the first time I came across someone who did serious work on the train. It was suggested to me that I should borrow the typewriter of a journalist travelling with us in the adjoining compartment and type the letter. A villager known to Gandhi visited him in the compartment and told him about some trouble in the villages. After hearing him carefully, Gandhi suggested a remedy. The man said the village was far away and he did not have the bus fare which would be three rupees. Gandhi never handled money. He inquired whether I had money to give to the villager. I replied in the affirmative. Gandhi then asked me to give the villager Rs 35 to meet his travel expenditure. I did so and totally forgot about it. I did not expect Gandhi to return the money to me. But on reaching Patna, Gandhi issued me a cheque for Rs 35 on the Central Bank of India dated 20/1/1948. I had a bank account only in Delhi. When I reached Delhi, I sent the cheque through a friend to be deposited in the Palai Central Bank at Connaught place in Delhi on January 29, and did not attach any importance to the cheque. Normally the cheque would go through the clearing house and the money would be deposited in my account the next day. On January 30, Gandhi was assassinated at 5.15 PM. I remembered sending the cheque to my bank the previous day. On the morning of January 31, I telephoned to the bank to withhold the cheque and return it to me since I did not want to encash it. (As told to his daughter Malini Kalyanam, who has been touring 37 districts of Tamil Nadu to hold 150 exhibitions and workshops on Gandhi by January, 2020)