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Stories of Mahatma Gandhi (A Father of Nation INDIA)
Stories of Mahatma Gandhi (A Father of Nation INDIA)
Stories of Mahatma Gandhi (A Father of Nation INDIA)
The night was very dark and Mohan was frightened. He had
always been afraid of ghosts. Whenever he was alone in the
dark, he was afraid that a ghost lurking in some dark corner
would suddenly spring on him. And tonight it was so dark that
one could barely see one's own hand. Mohan had to go from
one room to another. As he stepped out of the room, his feet
seemed to turn to lead and his heart began to beat like a
drum. Rambha, their old maidservant was standing by the door. "What's the
matter, son?" she asked with a laugh.
Mohan was very shy. As soon as the school bell rang, he collected his books and
hurried home. Other boys chatted and stopped on the way; some to play, others
to eat, but Mohan always went straight home. He was afraid that the boys might
stop him and make fun of him. One day, the Inspector of Schools, Mr Giles, came
to Mohan's school. He read out five English words to the class and asked the boys
to write them down. Mohan wrote four words correctly, but he could not spell the
fifth word `Kettle'. Seeing Mohan's hesitation, the teacher made a sign behind the
Inspector's back that he should copy the word from his neighbour's slate. But
Mohan ignored his signs. The other boys wrote all the five words correctly; Mohan
wrote only four. After the Inspector left, the teacher scolded him. "I told you to
copy from your neighbour," he said angrily. "Couldn't you even do that correctly?"
Every one laughed. As he went home that evening, Mohan was not unhappy. He
knew he had done the right thing. What made him sad was that his teacher
should have asked him to cheat.
III
IV
Soon after Gandhiji's return from South Africa, a meeting of the Congress was
held in Bombay. Kaka Saheb Kalelkar went there to help. One day Kaka Saheb
found Gandhiji anxiously searching around his desk. "What's the matter? What
are you looking for?" Kaka Saheb asked. "I've lost my pencil," Gandhiji answered.
"It was only so big."
Kaka Saheb was upset to see Gandhiji wasting time and worrying about a little
pencil. He took out his pencil and offered it to him. "No, no, I want my own little
pencil," Gandhiji insisted like a stubborn child.
"Well, use it for the time being," said Kaka Saheb. "I'll find your pencil later. Don't
waste time looking for it now."
"You don't understand. That little pencil is very precious to me," Gandhiji insisted.
"Natesan's little son gave it to me in Madras. He gave it with so much love and
affection. I cannot bear to lose it." Kaka Saheb didn't argue any more. He joined
Gandhiji in the search. At last they found it-a tiny piece, barely two inches long.
But Gandhiji was delighted to get it back. To him it was no ordinary pencil. It was
the token of a child's love and to Gandhiji a child's love was very precious.
VI
Children loved visiting Gandhiji. A little boy who was there one day, was greatly
distressed to see the way Gandhiji was dressed. Such a great man yet he doesn't
even wear a shirt, he wondered. "Why don't you wear a kurta, Gandhiji?" the little
boy couldn't help asking finally. "Where's the money, son?" Gandhiji asked gently.
"I am very poor. I can't afford a kurta." The boy's heart was filled with pity. "My
mother sews well", he said. "She makes all my clothes. I'll ask her to sew a Kurta
for you." "How many Kurtas can your mother make?" Gandhiji asked.
"How many do you need?" asked the boy. "One, two, three.... she'll make as
many as you want." Gandhiji thought for a moment. Then he said, "But I am not
alone, son. It wouldn't be right for me to be the only one to wear a kurta." "How
many Kurtas do you need?" the boy persisted. "I'll ask my mother to make as
many as you want. Just tell me how many you need." "I have a very large family,
son. I have forty crore brothers and sisters," Gandhiji explained. "Till every one of
them has a kurta, how can I wear one? Tell me, can your mother make kurtas for
all of them? At this question the boy became very thoughtful. Forty crore brothers
and sisters! Gandhiji was right. Till every one of them had a kurta to wear how
could he wear one himself? After all the whole nation was Gandhiji's family, and
he was the head of that family. He was their friend, their companion. What use
would one kurta be to him?
VII
This incident occurred in Noakhali. After the Hindu-Muslim riots Gandhiji toured
the area on foot to reassure and comfort the people. He would set off from a
village soon after dawn and arrive at the next village after sunset. On arrival he
would first attend to his work then he would take a bath. Gandhiji used a rough
stone to clean his feet. Miraben had given this stone to him many years ago and
Gandhiji had kept it carefully ever since. He took it with him everywhere. One
evening after they had arrived at a village and Manu was getting Gandhiji's bath
ready, she noticed that the stone was missing. She looked everywhere but could
not find it. She told Gandhiji that the stone was lost and added, "It must have
been left behind at the weaver's where we stayed yesterday. What should I do
now?" Gandhiji thought for a moment. Then he said, "Go and fetch the stone. If
you suffer once, you'll not forget another time." "Can I take someone with me?"
Manu asked. "Why?" questioned Gandhiji. Manu was silent. She did not want to
admit that she was frightened to go alone. The road to the village lay through
forests of betelnut and coconut and it was easy to lose one's way. Besides, Manu
was barely sixteen years old and she had never gone anywhere alone. But she
could not think of an answer. So Manu took the path they had taken earlier in the
day. Carefully following the old footprints she managed to reach the village and
find the weaver's house. The old woman who lived there recognised her and
welcomed her warmly. Tired and rather irritated Manu told her why she had
come. But how was the old woman to have known that that bit of stone was so
valuable? She had thrown it away with the rubbish. They both began to search for
it. At last much to Manu's joy they found it. Many had left the house at 7.30 in the
morning. By the time she returned it was past one in the afternoon. She had
walked nearly fifteen miles. Worn out, hungry and irritated she went straight to
Gandhiji and put the stone in the lap. Then she burst into tears. "This stone was a
real test for you," Gandhiji told her gently. "Do you know that this stone has been
with me for the last twenty-five years. It has gone with me everywhere, from jails
to mansions. I can easily get another stone like it, but I wanted you to learn that
it is bad to be careless." "I've never prayed as hard as I did today," said Manu. "I
want to make women brave and fearless", Gandhiji said. "Today not only you but
I too learnt a lesson." Manu did not say anything but she must have thought
Gandhiji's methods were very unusual.