Hind Swaraj and other writings, a Cambridge Press publication, is an excellent read not just for Gandhiji's pithy dissertation on non-violence, but also for the 60 page editorial introduction that prefaces it. If Hind Swaraj is the sumptuous main course, Anthony Parel’s editorial makes an excellent appetizer and some mellow desserts follow in the form of letters, speeches of Gandhi that relate to this work.
The editorial plays an important role in the book. Gandhi's insights are classic and powerful- but the grime of age can cake the original gilt of the grandest golden towers. It was up to Parel to lovingly polish this masterpiece and frame it in the original context in which it was written. And just as an aficionado revels in finding new nuances in his favorite work, Parel doesn’t tire from discovering new insights in this tour de force.
One such facet he examines is the literary influences that helped form Gandhi's strong opinions on Swaraj. He puts forth in great detail how profound an effect some books had on the Mahatma’s thinking. The preface of the HS mentions that Gandhi had ‘read much’ and ‘pondered much’. As per his own autobiography, Gandhi showed ‘unflagging interest’ in his legal studies, which gave a jurisprudential touch to his activism. Plato’s Apology had ‘the qualities of an elixir’ and formed his thought about morality in society. The Kingdom of God is within you ‘overwhelmed him’ with its missive of non-violence. Unto This Last put ‘a magic spell’ over him with its message of dignity of labor and produced an almost instantaneous change in his behavior. The Bible, the Quran, the Buddha and the Gita all left their indelible mark on him. And so on.
Do books really influence who we are? Are our thoughts, values and actions an amalgamation of our reading or are they merely atavistic responses in a Darwinian world?
In the case of Gandhi, reading evidently had a profound influence. A student of history will also recognize the power of the written word on the mass. Humble Parisians shouted Liberte’, Egalite', Fraternite' as they pulled down the gates of the Bastille. Governments collapsed as Marx & Engels rewrote a new world order with their pens. The question then is about the influence of literature on the ordinary individual, when he is away from the surge of the mass. What subtle drifts in the stream of consciousness are wrought by the gentle pressure of words?
For this worthy topic of enquiry, I found myself a suitable subject for two reasons: I am an average Joe, and I have read a bit. Having decided the topic and the subject, all that was left was to determine the research methodology. The difficulty was in determining the right books- how to sift through the detritus of a 30 year old memory and identify those few that left their mark.
Despite the entertainment they provided, I had to eliminate the Asimovs, the Archers, the Forsyths and the like- the books that form the common minimum of any lending library or street side vendors anywhere. More reluctantly, classical heavyweights had also to be rested. Hence, no Mr. Micawber, no Dr. Jekyll (or Mr. Hyde) and no Long John were to adorn this list. There was to be no Poirot (doubtless complaining about my lack of the leetle grey cells), and about Mrs. O'Hara- well, I didn't really give a damn! This was to be no top 10 list, as is evident from the final selection.
As we launch into the list, a disclaimer: any virtue I may seem to be granting myself is strictly a compliment to that book and not a self-congratulatory pat on my back.
Comics: Indrajal, Disney, Dalton and Amar Chitra Kathas fired the imagination and rapidly expanded my knowledge of the world. Xanadu, Denkali, Duckburg are important landmarks on my mental atlas till today. Thanks to them, the world became a lively and interesting place for me.
Chandamamas: If comics was the telescope to look at distant worlds, Chandamamas allowed me to turn the lens inwards towards rural India. The simplicity and beauty of the India painted in those pages is a world inaccessible to the children of today.
Enid Blytons: A couple of seasons ago, I clocked 800 KMs on my bicycle between home and office. I attribute this and other eccentricities such as gliding to a staple diet of Enid Blytons. They gave me a juvenile enthusiasm for adventure and the outdoors that I still retain.
Sherlock Holmes: Here's finally a classical heavyweight! The Hound of Baskerville was probably the first real thriller I read. Besides the sheer enjoyment he provided, Sherlock taught the value of perfection- and how a certain astringency and asceticism adds piquancy to such perfection.
Books by Y Perelman (and other Russian books written for children): Like the Chandamamas, the valuable literature of the Russians is no longer accessible to children today. What a loss that is! Y Perelman demystified science and math and made them magical.
Giants of Science: if Perelman educated me on basic science, this book introduced me to Davy, Faraday, Curie, Priestly and numerous other scientific geniuses. Between these two books, I have learnt more about science than the rest of the books I read- and they were very absorbing books too. This too, is an extinct species.
Les Miserable’s, A Christmas Carol, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, To Kill a mocking bird: More classics! These books moved me profoundly and taught me the importance of mercy and altruism and how rate these qualities are. Les Miserable’s, with its powerful chapter on the Priest and the Candlesticks made a lasting impression.
Wodehouse: His books singlehandedly improved my vocabulary a hundred-fold and gifted me a sense of humor. More importantly, they taught me the value of farce, concepts such as Nobles’ Oblige, chivalry, and about the ultimate sin of the Wodehouse-ian world: to take oneself too seriously. I owe Wodehouse my first guffaw- a hard, stomach pain inducing, rolling on the bed, tears in the eyes laugh. For that and several such, I am grateful to him.
Plato’s Apology: A work common to Gandhi’s own hit list! But this wonderful work gives a simple message: the only wise are those who at least recognize their foolishness. I can’t help but wonder if Wodehouse himself was not a fan of this work- how else would one explain that the worst sin in his world was to be an insufferable know-it-all?
Books by Srila Prabhupada: These powerful books are treasure houses of information about the Hindu religion and helped reaffirm my faith. For the first time, I understood the highly logical structure of the Hindu world view and am relatively more devout.
The Hindu, Amartya Sen: Besides the enjoyment this newspaper’s high quality prose gives me, it gradually awakened my social conscience. Now, as I lounge passively on my bed, perhaps I sometimes shift uncomfortably as I feel the pinpricks of my civic dereliction. Day on day, brick by brick, it laid the foundation of my aspirations of being a social, environment-conscious, patriotic Indian. The Argumentative Indian cemented this foundation and made me stridently anti-communal and pro-secular.
All books about (and by) Gandhi, Nehru, Rajagopalachari and others: It was like reading comics again: the superhuman exploits of that generation left me awed. Being intellectual giants, their sacrifices were given in cold blood and full objectivity, which requires that extra measure of courage compared to a hot-blooded rush. These people are utterly unique in human history and it is sad that they are not lionized more. They gave me renewed pride and hope in our country and leave me obligated to think of doing something for society as well.
What then is the conclusion of this overlong thesis? Books seem to have definitely touched me- and a millpond with the mud astir is surely better than a stagnant swamp. Perhaps this is the case with most people- I invite you to reflect on your own list to prove it to yourself.
It seems appropriate to end this dissertation with a quote from the man who started me on this path:
You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them. – M Gandhi.
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