Mahatma tome sold out before release

AHMEDABAD: The first ever biography of Mahatma Gandhi in Gujarati is slated for release on October 2. But even before its release, the first 1,000 prints have been sold out.
The popularity of the biography stems from the fact that it will highlight some lesser-known aspects of history and clear misconceptions about the Partition and Gandhiji’s outlook on revolutionaries.
Those who want to read the four-volume biography, ‘Maru Jivan Ej Mari Vani’, written by noted Gandhian Narayan Desai, will have to wait a month till the second print is available. This is the first time that the Navjivan Trust has priced any of its publications as high as Rs 1,500.
“Notwithstanding the price, the first print is out of stock even before release,� says Navjivan Trust sales manager Kapil Rawal. “Before its release, slated for October 2 in Mumbai and October 4 in Gujarat at the Sabarmati Ashram, we have received more than 1,200 orders and each day, new orders are coming in,� he says.
The biography comes from an authentic source as it is written by the son of Mahadev Desai, Gandhiji’s secretary. Narayan Desai spent 22 years living with Gandhiji in the Ashram and now runs a Gandhian centre in Vedchi in South Gujarat.
The biography is spread across 2,000 pages with 175 rare photographs. It has lively anecdotes that bring out some interesting facets of Gandhiji’s personality. The first volume is titled ‘Sadhana’ and contains those aspects of Gandhiji’s life that formed his personality.
It covers his stay in England and South Africa and traces his evolution from ‘Monia’ to the ‘Karmaveer’. The second volume, ‘Satyagrah’, starts with the establishment of the farm in South Africa, the subsequent experiments in Satyagrah by the Champaran and factory mill workers and the Dandi March.
The third volume, Satyapath, deals with the World Wars, the intensifying freedom struggle and the innumerable fasts of Gandhiji. It also speaks of Ambedkar and the issue of Dalits. The final volume, Swaarpan, traces Gandhiji’s interactions and arguments with Subhash Bose, Jinnah, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, among others.
It contains detailed accounts of the communal riots and the conditions that led to Partition and its aftermath. The final part looks at the conspiracy to kill Gandhiji, his subsequent killing and its effect. A civic worker cleans Gandhi’s statue in Ahmedabad.