THE first worthwhile book on Gandhi was written in 1924 by a European admirer, the French writer, art historian and mystic Romain Roland, who won the Noble Prize in literature in 1915 and knew his fellow Nobelist Tagore well. Roland, who lived the better part of his adult life in an enchanting village near Geneva, was attracted to satyagraha.
Gandhi liked Rolland’s biography Mahatma Gandhi. It made Gandhi better known in Europe, and was translated into several languages The two did not meet till December 1931 when Gandhi broke journey in Switzerland on his way back to India after the Second Round Table conference. Rolland kept a diary of their conversations that spread over a week at his home in Villeneuve. Each day the two met for several hours discussing the situation in Europe, philosophy, the Gospel of non-violence, Gandhi’s autobiography and Hindu scriptures. They remained in touch till Rolland’s death in 1944.
Gandhi did not write books but his discourses on the Bhagavad Gita could well become a classic compilation. He did write, however, and copiously. He was an outstanding journalist. He added various journals over five decades of public service in South Africa and India, including such seminal publications as Harijan and Young India, both weeklies filling almost 80 per cent of each issue. He had an excellent equation with journalists.
Four American correspondents in particular – William L. Shirer, Louis Fischer, Vincent Sheean, And John Gunther – each a master of his craft, came under Gandhi’s spell and spread his message to their large reading public. Their books were bestsellers.
William Shirer Is better known today for The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, one of the finest accounts of Hitler Germany. He was twentyseven when he interviewed Gandhi after the pact with Lord Irwin was signed on 5 March 1931. In Gandhi: A Memoir, Shirer delves at great length on the implications of the agreement, the non-cooperation crusade and much more. He also reported the follow-up sailing with Gandhi on the SS Rajputana from Mumbai to Europe in 1931 and then taking the same train to London.
I met John Gunther in New York In 1963 courtesy of the writer Santha Rama Rau, whose father, Sir Benegal Rama Rau, Was Indians ambassador to the US soon after Independence. Santha was educated in England and America.
She made New York her home. R.K. Narayan introduced me to her. On a sultry day in September 1961, Santha took me and R.K. Narayan to a cocktail party (we were both teetotallers) hosted by the Gunters.
The invitees were a list of the famous, and the powerful: beautiful women, artists, authors, the rich, the go-getters, the magnanimous and the lionised. I remember being introduced to a middle-aged lady.
I asked Santha who she was. ‘Greta Garbo, you dope’, she replied. I had grown up hearing the name of this exotic actress, as famous for her candour as for her thespian skills. She remains one of the outstanding film personalities of all time.
