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Gandhi

Today, Norm Goldman Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com

 welcomes as our  guest, Arun Gandhi grandson of Mahatma and Kastur

Gandhi. Together with his late wife, Sunanda authored of The Forgotten

Woman: The Untold Story of Kastur Gandhi.

 Norm:

 Please tell our readers what motivated you to write about your grandmother,

 Kastur Gandhi? What did you hope to accomplish with the writing of this

 book?

 Arun:

 Ever since I was a little boy I was curious about my grandmother.  The

 last time I saw her was when I was six years old and had recollections of

 her being a very loving, kind but firm grandmother.  Then she died in prison

 in 1944 while I was with my parents in South Africa. 

In 1969 to celebrate the birth centenaries of both my grandparents a reunion was

arranged at Sewagram Ashram in Central India where they lived during the last

years of their lives.  Although it was the centenary of both all I heard were praises

 of my grandfather and seldom, if at all, any mention of my grandmother. My

 wife and I got curious and we started researching only to find that no one

 had written anything difinitive about grandmother. 

The only sources available to us were the references that grandfather made in

his writings and the oral interviews with scores and scores of people who had lived

and worked with her.  Both, my wife and I, were convinced that she played a

 significant role in shaping grandfather into what he ultimately became and

 her story needs to be known. 

I think this story is also very important today when relationships around the world

are breaking up, when family ties are valued less and less and when it has become

very urgent for us to reevaluate all that should be precious to us -- realtionships,

love, respect  and compassion.

Norm:

What was the most difficult part of writing your book? Did you learn

 anything from writing your book and what was it?

Arun: 

 I think the most difficult part of writing this book was the lack of

 material.  We had to go out and interview people whose memories were fading

 because of their own age and because we were asking them to remember someone

 they lived and worked with more than 20 years before.

 I learned about the importance of relationships; the importance of merging

 the self into the larger picture.  I think in modern society we have become

 very selfish.  It is all about I, me, mine.  We are a part of the world and

 the world is a part of us and everything we do must be in consonance with

 this larger picture.

 Norm: 

 I understand that researching your grandmother’s life was not easy. How did

 you piece together the information you divulge in your book and how long

 did  it take you to write the book? 

 Arun:

 As I said it was not easy.  We had to spend several years finding and

 talking to people.  My father had written a little about his mother and that

 was very helpful.  My mother was still alive and she knew grandmother well

 but in all the interviews that we did people would slide into talking about

 grandfather's life instead of grandmother.  We had to persevere to bring

 them back to the subject. 

You mention at the end of your excellent review of the book that you felt

I wrote more about grandfather than grandmother. I can understand this

but I realized that their lives were so inter-twined that it was difficult to speak

about grandmother without speaking about grandfather and putting everything

in the right perspective. The writing did not take half as much as researching

the book and then finding a publisher.  The whole expercise took more than 30

years.

 Norm: 

 In fiction as well as in non-fiction, writers very often take liberties with

 their material to tell a good story or make a point. But how much is too

 much and do you believe you have taken too many liberties with your

  book? 

 Arun:

 I have tried not to take any liberties and if I have it has to be

 unconscious.  Her story was so powerful that I did not have to consciously

 take liberties to embellish the story.

 Norm:

 What members of your family are still living and which ones have carried on

 the work and teachings of your grandparents? 

 Arun: 

 My father had three brothers and their families.  The four of them

 together had 14 children.  We are 9 surviving grandchildren.  I think in

 some way, and to some extent, all of us are involved in promoting

 grandfather's work but, we too are over the hill.  The youngest among us is

 in the late sixties.

 Norm:

 What do you see as the influences on your writing? As a follow up, who are

 you favorite authors and why?

 Arun:

 I think this effort has given me a new, and very personal, perspective

 of grandfather's philosophy of nonviolence.  We have always looked at this

 philosophy as a means of conflict resolution.  I learned that it more about

 personal relationshiups about learning to manage anger about replacing the

 negativity that dominates our lives with positive attitudes and emotions.

  Instead of hate, prejudice, greed, selfishness and so on we should display

 love, respect, compassion, understanding, acceptance and appreciation.  I

 now understand why grandfather said : WE MUST BECOME THE CHANGE WE

WISH TO  SEE IN THE WORLD.  If we do not change we cannot hope to change

 the world.

 My favorite authors:  In fiction I would say it is David Baldachi and John

 Grisham because their stories are all about human intrigues.

 In non-fiction:  I would choose Joan Bondurant whose deep knowledge of

 Japanese language got her the important job of translating for the Defence

 forces and played an important role in defeating Japan in WWII.  But after

 that experience she turned completely from War to Gandhi and in the second

 half of her life she researched and wrote extremely readable and extremely

 deep books on nonviolence.  She died recently in Arizona. 

 Norm:

 How long have you been living in the USA and was there a specific reason

 why  you moved to the USA? Do you have any intentions of moving back to

 India?

 Arun:

There is a strange parallel in the life of my grandfather and my own

 life.  Grandfather, as a young adult, went to South Africa for one year and

 circumstances conspired to keep him there for 22 years. 

My wife and I came to this country in 1987 on a one year fellowship at

the University of Mississippi to study prejudices in India, South Africa and the

United  States. A few months into my study Newsweek and People magazine did

features  on me and that opened the floodgates of invitations to speak about

Gandhi  and his philosophy.  So, we decided to stay here and in 1995 we became

citizens. 

When my wife was alive we would always talk about retiring in

 India.  But she passed away on February 21, 2007, while on a visit to India

 and I don't know what is in store for me.  I am still blessed with good

 health and so I will continue to plant seeds of peace and nonviolence in

 young minds.  Then who knows....?

 Norm:

 Do you worry about the human race?  As a follow up, what steps would you

 take to put an end to the genocide that is going on in Darfur today?

Arun:

Sure, when you read about all the inhuman things that we human being

 have been doing to each other even as we proclaim to be civilized it is a

 cause for concern, to put it mildly.  But, grandfather always said that no

 one enjoys the luxury of becoming hopeless.  We have to continue with

 renewed effort to spread the seed of peace and nonviolence.  Peace makers

 must view themselves as farmers who never become hopeless.  They always go

 into the field and plant seeds and wait for a good crop.  Peace makers must

 do the same.

The answer to the question of Darfur is long and not easy.  Darfur, and other such

 atrocities, happen in the world because we have created an exploitative

 society as part of the culture of violence.  We are going to see more of

 these kinds of things hapopening in the world and if we continue to use

 military force to combat such acts of violence ultimately civilization as we

 know it will perish.  So, there are several things that we need to do.  We

 need to make a conscious effort to move away from a culture of violence to a

 culture of nonviolence.  Barack Obama has expressed it differently, but

 means the same.  We have got to learn to treat all peoples and all countries

 with respect and negotiate our differences and not be quick to use military

 power.  We cannot divide the world between "axis of evil" and allies, and

 even the allies are less than us.  I would have a peace corp of thousands

 who would descend on Darfur not only to protect peace-makers but to work

 with the people to find a settlement.  Because of our preoccupation with our

 own affairs the nations of the world have become crisis managers.  We do not

 take note of a situation until it becomes a crisis and blows in our face and

 then we want a quick solution so that we can go back to our selfish ways.

 If we had greater compassion for others we would have seen Darfur happening

 much before it became a crisis and would have taken steps then to avoid the

 situation from getting out of hand.

 Norm: 

 How can readers find out more about you and your endeavors?

Arun:

All the hundreds of lectures I have given in the past 20+ years have

 been put on the internet by the Universities.  If  anyone interested puts my

 name into any search engine they will get access to all of them.

Last year I would have told you to get in touch with the M. K. Gandhi Institute for

 Nonviolence which my wife and I started in 1991.  But in January this year I

 was forced to resign from the Institute (and sever all connections)because

 of what I wrote on the Washington Post blog on Faith.  But then that is

 another story.

 (*Note from Norm: To read more about the controversy CLICK HERE to

read the controversial blog,  HERE and HERE to read the rebuttals)

 Norm:

 Is there anything else you wish to add that we have not covered and what is

 next for Arun Gandhi?

 Arun:

The extra free time I have is being used to write my memoirs.  I don't

 know if anyone will be interested in it but I am writing it just for the

 heck of it. I continue to lecture where ever I am invited.  The field of my

 dreams is growing.  From the US now I am called upon to speak in many other

 countries.  I have just come back from South Africa and will go to Scotland

 next week, to Italy next month and then to Bogota, Colombia on October 10.

 Every morning I get up and am deeply thankful to Almighty for another day of

 planting seeds of peace.

 Thanks once again and good luck with all of your future endeavors.

To read Norm's Review of:  The Forgotten  Woman: The Untold Story of

 Kastur Gandhi CLICK HERE

 Click Here To Purchase The Forgotten Woman: The Untold Story of Kastur

Gandhi