BOOK REVIEW.
(Review by Sammy Frank)
TITLE: An Autobiography or The Story Of My Experiments With The Truth.
AUTHOR:M.K. Gandhi.
PUBLISHER: Navajivan Publishing House, Ahmedabad.
NO.OF PAGES: 464.
Two ships docked at the port of Durban on or about 18th or 19th December 1896 amidst raging storms. Besides the bad weather, a storm of racial prejudice raged about the vessels. Onboard were Indian labourers and traders migrating to South Africa in search of fortunes. Mohandas Karamchad Gandhi was in one of the ships .He was a legal adviser to the company that owned the ships.
While in India, he had organized highly successful meetings to sensitise his countrymen about the plight of compatriots in South Africa. These meetings were given wide publicity by the international press.
On arrival at the port of Durban, he found the natal whites riled by the negative publicity they had received from his activities in India.
In a short moment, Gandhi is lynched by youngsters in a heart rending drama. Police make good of his escape and calm is restored after a few days.
Such are the tribulations of the Mahatma as succinctly narrated in his autobiography.
But there is more to the life of Gandhi than the tribulations. He takes the reader to the day when he enters into a childhood marriage. He doesn’t conceal his shortcomings and may even be said to have been too strict to self. He at many instances reminds the reader of his struggles with the carnal desire.
Two subjects will be found to have occupied the largest portion of the book; experiments with dietetics and religion. You don’t have to agree with the theories but you won’t fail to notice the great effort that Gandhi applies in his search for the truth.
His thoughts on home schooling may be considered to have been revolutionary. The idea of home schooling has gathered weight after a century since he expressed his views. “The education that children naturally imbibe in a well ordered household is impossible to obtain in hostels,” he says. He refers to schools and colleges as “citadels of slavery” He however admits to having failed to provide sufficient formal education to his own children.
In several chapters, Gandhi describes his law practice in South Africa as well as in India. He labors to drive home the point that practitioners of law don’t have to result to dishonesty to be successful.
He narrates the story of the birth and growth of the non-violence movement. The reader will be moved by his courage and clarity of thought amidst challenges.
There is however a feeling that Gandhi’s work may have been left incomplete. First, he chooses not to write about the events of his latter life considering his life to have been so public that there is hardly anything about it that people do not know. The seeker of knowledge may hence need to read this book alongside others written by and about Gandhi. Events of his life from 1921 are scantly narrated. He explains that many of the characters of his narrative were still alive and serving in the government. He couldn’t describe more episodes of his life without mentioning such people. These circumstances have rendered the account to be rather shallow especially in the closing chapters.
The writer has an excellent grasp of grammar. His sincerity pervades to the reader and leaves the reader not just informed but also refreshed.
An index at the end of the book would make it easier to make reference of specific thoughts within the pages. A glossary of Indian terms could also enrich the book.
When all is said and done, the autobiography is a concise description of the making of one of the most influential men in the 20th Century.
©Sammy Frank is the pen name for Samuel Mwangi. He is a Chemistry teacher in Kenya. He is currently (March 2011) a student for Msc. Chemistry at The University of Mysore, India. All rights reserved.
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