Manu Gandhi’s Diaries: When Bapu Held a Dying Kasturba in His Lap

Through her diaries, we see another Manu Gandhi. Not just Gandhi’s grand-niece, but a witty chronicler of history.

(This story was first published on 02 October 2019 and is being reposted from The Quint’s archives on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary)

'But if one is fated to be motherless, how is one to get a mother?' When Manu Gandhi lost Kasturba — her dear Ba — she was shattered. When she'd entered the Sevagram ashram in Wardha in 1942, she'd just lost her mother. Now again, she was alone. But there was a difference. She was no longer a girl, she was a woman — with opinions and rebellions of her own.

Listen in to this three-part podcast series by The Quint, first published on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary on 2nd October. The podcast is based on Manu Gandhi's diaries, written from 1943 to 1944, which have now been released by Oxford University Press in the form of a book called "The Diary of Manu Gandhi.” They have been translated from its original in Gujarati to English by Tridip Suhrud. You can listen to the first two episodes in the series here and here.

A Sari with Red Border: Dealing with Kasturba Gandhi’s Death

By the beginning of 1944, Kasturba Gandhi was seriously ill. Writing in her diary on 22 February 1944, Manu writes of how Gandhi's family and closest friends were up all night, trying to accept the inevitable – Ba was on her way to meet her Rama. As Kasturba dies in Bapu's lap, there's a scramble to get permission from the government for Kanu Gandhi and other members of the family to reach Aga Khan Palace. Amidst all this, Manu takes a saree with red border and wraps Ba's body in it – the same saree she was given by Ba when she first entered the Ashram.

Six months after Kasturba Gandhi's death, we see a different Manu in her diary. No more rambling entries; Manu's words radiate a quiet confidence. Of her place in the Ashram and by Gandhi's side. In this entry from 22 October 1944, Manu writes of a meeting Bapu called in the Ashram. For the first time, we see a mention of Bapu's infamous experiments, where Manu would be a consenting adult partner.

As 1944 closes, India's freedom struggle reaches its peak. Independence is on the horizon, though when it will come, the country will be partitioned into two. Mahatma Gandhi is preparing for a fast, and as this diary entry from 4 December 1944 shows, Manu is no longer treated as a wide-eyed child. She's the stick on which Gandhi leans – literally and politically.

When we leave Manu, India is on the cusp of freedom. Manu, too, has found her feet. History will remember her most strongly through a photograph. Wearing glasses, her hair in a bun, assisting Gandhi as he walked into a prayer meeting on 30 January 1948, Gandhi's last shield before Nathuram Godse shot him. But through her words we see another Manu – a witty, insightful chronicler of history.