A day in the life of the Mahatma

A day in the life of the Mahatma

                                                                                                                                                                    

Gandhiji always got up at 3.30 A.M.  After his ablutions, he held prayers from all communities in his room where he expected all inmates of the ashram to assemble and participate. Similarly, before going to bed at 9 P.M., he always prayed.  So he described prayer as “The key of the morning and bolt of the evening”.

Immediately after his prayers he would have his morning beverage. The beverage was not tea or coffee or milk.  It was hot water with a table spoon of honey and half a lemon squeezed into it.  He never used any cup or glass tumbler or stainless steel tumbler.  He would take his morning beverage in a white marble tumbler. It would be so hot that he will use a small napkin to hold the marble tumbler with both his hands and sip the drink slowly.  By that time it would be about 5 A.M. 

From morning 5 A.M. to 6 A.M. every day, he would dictate to my father Shri V. Kalyanam who was his Personal Secretary, the replies to letters received by him from various people.  Kalyanam was expected to type those letters and submit to Gandhiji during the course of the day.

On Mondays Gandhiji observed silence from 6 A.M. to 6 P.M. and therefore on Mondays he won’t dictate anything. Instead, he would write the replies to letters in his own hand and hand it over to Kalyanam for typing.    Immediately after that he would have his morning constitutional. On rainy days he would walk to and fro in his room which was 20 ft by 15 ft at Birla House and on other days he would walk on the big lawn outside for nearly half an hour.  Immediately after that he would have his morning massage over his body. He would lie down and anyone of the inmates would give him a mustard oil massage. During the massage he would fall asleep and get up only after the massage is over, after half an hour.

Gandhiji would then have his morning bath in hot water. He would hardly use any soap or soap nut powder. He would rub his body with his towel and come out afresh after the bath.  Since he never used any garment over his body, he would not perspire and therefore he was always afresh. By that time it would be 9 A.M. and he would be ready to have his morning meal.  The morning meal consisted of one or two pieces of Khakra (dried chapattis made of wheat) and a small quantity of salt less pumpkin or bottle gourd and a cup of goat’s milk.

Even while having his food he would be ready to receive people and grant them interviews.  Since he used to get up very early in the morning, he would feel like having a siesta for a few minutes.  Immediately after his siesta he would have a glass of orange fruit juice.  Again there would be interviews with people who wanted to meet him.  If there were none, he would start writing articles for his Harijan weekly or reply to some of the correspondence by hand and give it to Kalyanam for typing. 

Gandhiji would never rest or keep quiet. He would be toiling all the time. At about 3 P.M. he would spin on the Charka (spinning wheel) for half an hour.  Later he would lie down and any one of the inmates would place a mud pack on his stomach for nearly half an hour since he believed that clay would remove all impurities from the stomach.  After that, his stomach would be wiped clean with a  towel and he would be afresh again. By that time, it would be 4.30 P.M. He would then have his evening meal which would be the same as in the morning.  After his meal he would hold his public prayer meeting  in the grass lawn of Birla House followed by his talk to the gathering which would last for nearly one and a half  hours.

Normally his speech would comprise of his discussions and interaction with the British representatives on subjects relating to grant of Independence to India.   After the evening prayers before going to bed, he may interview some people and have a walk in his room. By 9 or 9.30 P.M. he would retire to bed.  When in Sevagram he would sleep on a cot outside his hut.  When he went out of Sevagram, he stayed in houses of friends where accommodation was provided to him and his entourage in a big hall , so they all slept together there.

                            

MALINI KALYANAM alias USHA

P.S.: the above was dictated to me many years ago by my father.  He joined the Sevagram ashram in Oct 1943 when he was a lad of 22 years. At that time Mahatma Gandhi was jailed in the Aga Khan Palace. After Gandhiji's release from the Aga Khan Palace , he served as his Personal Secretary till his assassination.  My father's  memory of his former boss lingers vividly as he recollects the itinerary for all now even at the age of 96.  In flesh and blood he is the only one alive who was associated with the Father of the Nation.

Gandhiji was assassinated by Nathuram Godse at about 5.15 pm on that fateful Friday Jan 30, 1948 at the age of 79.