BIRTH AND PARENTAGE

The Gandhis belong to the Bania caste and seem to have been originally

grocers. But for three generations, from my grandfather, they have been Prime

Ministers in several Kathiawad States. Uttamchand Gandhi, alias Ota Gandhi,

my grandfather, must have been a man of principle. State intrigues compelled

him to leave Porbandar, where he was Diwan, and to seek refuge in Junagadh.

There he saluted the Nawab with the left hand. Someone, noticing the

apparent discourtesy, asked for an explanation, which was given thus: 'The

right hand is already pledged to Porbandar.'

Ota Gandhi married a second time, having lost his first wife. He had four sons

by his first wife and two by his second wife. I do not think that in my childhood

I ever felt or knew that these sons of Ota Gandhi were not all of the same

mother. The fifth of these six brothers was Karamchand Gandhi, alias Kaba

Gandhi, and the sixth was Tulsidas Gandhi. Both these brothers were Prime

Ministers in Porbandar, one after the other. Kaba Gandhi was my father. He

was a member of the Rajasthanik Court. It is now extinct, but in those days it

was a very influential body for settling disputes between the chiefs and their

fellow clansmen. He was for some time Prime Minister in Rajkot and then in

Vankaner. He was a pensioner of the Rajkot State when he died.

Kaba Gandhi married four times in succession, having lost his wife each time by

death. He had two daughters by his first and second marriages. His last wife,

Putlibai, bore him a daughter and three sons, I being the youngest.

My father was a lover of his clan, truthful, brave and generous, but short-

tempered. To a certain extent he might have been even given to carnal

pleasures. For he married for the fourth time when he was over forty. But he

was incorruptible and had earned a name for strict impartiality in his family as

well as outside. His loyalty to the State was well known. An Assistant Political

Agent spoke insultingly of the Rajkot Thakore Saheb, his chief, and he stood up

to the insult. The Agent was angry and asked Kaba Gandhi to apologize. This herefused to do and was therefore kept under detention for a few hours. But

when the Agent saw that Kaba Gandhi was adamant, he ordered him to be

released.

My father never had any ambition to accumulate riches and left us very little

property.

He had no education, save that of experience. At best, he might be said to

have read up to the fifth Gujarati standard. Of history and geography he was

innocent. But his rich experience of practical affairs stood him in good stead in

the solution of the most intricate questions and in managing hundreds of men.

Of religious training he had very little, but he had that kind of religious culture

which frequent visits to temples and listening to religious discourses make

available to many Hindus. In his last days he began reading the Gita at the

instance of a learned Brahman friend of the family, and he used to repeat

aloud some verses every day at the time of worship.

The outstanding impression my mother has left on my memory is that of

saintliness. She was deeply religious. She would not think of taking her meals

without her daily prayers. Going to Haveli-the Vaishnava temple-was one of her

daily duties. As far as my memory can go back, I do not remember her having

ever missed the Chaturmas1

. She would take the hardest vows and keep them

without flinching. Illness was no excuse for relaxing them. I can recall her once

falling ill when she was observing the Chandrayana2 vow, but the illness was

not allowed to interrupt the observance. To keep two or three consecutive

fasts was nothing to her. Living on one meal a day during Chaturmas was a

habit with her. Not content with that, she fasted every alternate day during

one Chaturmas. During another Chaturmas she vowed not to have food without

seeing the sun. We children on those days would stand, staring at the sky,

waiting to announce the appearance of the sun to our mother. Everyone knows

that at the height of the rainy season the sun often does not condescend to

show his face. And I remember days when, at his sudden appearance, we would

rush and announce it to her. She would run out to see with her own eyes, but

by that time the fugitive sun would be gone, thus depriving her of her meal."That does not matter;" she would say cheerfully, "God did not want me to eat

today." And then she would return to her round of duties.

My mother had strong common sense. She was well informed about all matters

of State, and ladies of the court thought highly of her intelligence. Often I

would accompany her, exercising the privilege of childhood, and I still

remember many lively discussions she had with the widowed mother of the

Thakore Saheb.

Of these parents I was born at Porbandar, otherwise known as Sudamapuri, on

the 2nd October, 1869. I passed my childhood in Porbandar. I recollect having

been put to school. It was with some difficulty that I got through the

multiplication tables. The fact that I recollect nothing more of those days than

having learnt, in company with other boys, to call our teacher all kinds of

names, would strongly suggest that my intellect must have been sluggish, and

my memory raw.