Gandhi has been deified by the Indians in a manner
that his human attributes have lost in the cloying deification. Gandhi himself
never hid his mortal side and was quite candid about his sexuality and
sensuality that pestered him till he breathed his last. This book by Girja
Kumar is an authentic treatise on a very great man and his sexual
idiosyncrasies. Like all great luminaries, Gandhi was also a sexually tormented
soul.
While other greats yielded to bodily pleasures giving two hoots to the
world, Gandhi resisted tooth and nail to tide over his overwhelming sexuality.
Weaned on the rather preposterous idea of celibacy of Hinduism (Gandhi was a
Hindu to the core, despite his much publicised secularism) and his higher
education in England, he remained torn between the moral and immoral sides to
sex and struggled to suppress the pleasure-seeking aspect of
it (sex). All his (revolting) experiments with women, young enough to
be his granddaughters, were failed attempts to understand his own sexuality.
Gandhi had a very muddled approach to sex and
he was never sure whether it was a purely procreational activity or a
recreational act or could be both. Girja Kumar has pared the apostle of peace
down to the level of a common man to delve into his sexual self, which
hasn't yet been discussed openly because of Gandhi's stature. Though
there're certain references and passages in this book that may disturb the
sensibilities of even dispassionate readers, it's important that we must
also be alive to this facet of the great man.
Some may call
it mental voyeurism to read the sexcapades of such a great man but then how
long can we remain in the dark about Gandhi's this dimension as well? A public
figure like Gandhi is indeed an open book and his life must be scrutinized
comprehensively. This is not mud-slinging. This is reality sans any varnish.
The writer has unpeeled this veneer to bring about Gandhi's true persona. His
efforts and erudition must be lauded. At the same time, it's expected of us to
be more open when it comes to the honest descriptions of our icons'
hither-to hushed up lives. We need to change our perceptions about those who we
eulogise.
Extol we can still, but the darker side must also be
presented to know the truth holistically. Gandhi himself never took umbrage
at criticisms and admitted that he learnt from them. I'm sure, those who
worship Gandhi, may be a bit offended by this book but if they read it
without any prejudice, they'll like it. Mind you, this book doesn't do a
disservice to Gandhi, one of the greatest men ever to have walked on earth.
Rather, one draws a deep sense of cathartic satisfaction that the
great man also had a few chinks in his armour.
----Sumit Paul
