MY FAVOURITE
INDIAN AUTHOR AND BOOK
Book: ‘Bahuroope
Gandhi’
Author: Anu Bandyopadhyaya
A month ago, I started to read a book on Gandhiji titled ‘Bahuroope Gandhi’ by Anu
Bandyopadhyaya. The Book contains 16 chapters and a foreword by Shri Jawaharlal
Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India. One of the extracts from the book is
also in my Hindi text book, so I generated a greater interest in the book.
After a few days of reading, this book and its author became my favourite.
Since early childhood, I have been listening and reading
the stories and anecdotes of Mahatma Gandhi. The way Mahatma Gandhi was able to
mobilise people from all sections of the society is really inspiring. He was a
simple man with high thinking.
As I am reading this book, I am witnessing a
multi-faceted personality of Mahatma Gandhi. The way the author has described
Mahatma Gandhi in a simple language with short incidents is really credible. I
have read many books and chapters on Gandhi ji, but I feel that how Anu Bandyopadhyaya
ji has classified his personality through different professions is something
outstanding.
Mahatma Gandhi was not just a human being, he was an
epitome of purity, simplicity and empathy. There is so much to learn from
Mahatma Gandhi and his approach of self-sufficiency and non-violence. His idea
on cleanliness and practically doing all the things by himself which is covered
in the chapter ‘Scavenger’ is really praiseworthy. I do think that we can
succeed in making India clean if we all support the mission of ‘Swachh Bharat’
and hence we can fulfil Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of a Clean India.
As I am turning the pages of this book, I am learning
something new and valuable every day. In this book, the personality of Mahatma
Gandhi has been described in many shades including of a Toiler, Barrister,
Tailor, Washerman, Barber, Scavenger, Cobbler, Servant, Cook, Doctor, Nurse,
Teacher, Weaver and many more...
As we all know, Mahatma Gandhi was lovingly called ‘Bapu’
but, after reading this book, I realised that why was he called so… The answer
I got was that he was someone who was caring for everyone, he could become a
tailor, washerman or even a servant to help somebody, and the title ‘Bapu’ here
refers to someone who is caring as he is your father.
When I was reading one of the chapters, I felt that in
spite of coming from an Elite family and a successful Barrister himself, he led
a simple life, working for the nation because he felt the pain of the nation
under the British colonial rule. This was the chapter which gave me a valuable
lesson on simplicity and nationalism.
Well, in the end, I would like to say that I feel
‘Bahuroope Gandhi’ is one of the best books for students. It will give you a
number of lessons and it will be a great and enjoyable journey in exploring the
personality of Shri Mohandas Karamchand
Gandhi also lovingly called ‘Bapu’…
Blog Written by: Om Kumar