Mahatma Gandhi’s Surti son Mahadev Desai

SURAT: A successful man is often said to be ‘as successful as his secretary’s efficiency is’. Going by the legend of Mahatma Gandhi, one can only but imagine what a vital role his chief secretary,

Mahadev Desai

played in his life.


Born in Surat’s Olpad area in a village called Saras on January 1, 1892, this son of a school teacher who stood first at Surat high school, went on to study at the Elphinstone College in Mumbai and later pursued an LLB during which he also took up a part time job at The Oriental Translator’s office. His translation of John Morley’s ‘On Compromise’ into Gujarati won him the first prize for best translation by the

Gujarat

Forbes Society. Little did he know then, that he would one day, go on to translate Gandhiji's autobiography, 'The Story Of My Experiments With The Truth.’

Desai was amongst Bapu’s earliest follower along with Narhari Parikh. He joined the Ashram in 1917 and often walked up to 22 miles in a single day to be in Bapu’s company. He could have become a great lawyer, journalist and littérateur but he reduced himself to zero to serve Bapu. As Kishorelal Mashruwala described him: ‘Inspite of being a learned philosopher, poet, writer, singer, he would turn into a sweeper, cook, washerman, secretary, clerk, teacher, an ambassador who could accomplish delicate errands with skills, an arbitrator who would remove every misunderstanding his master had about you, a man of highest balance.”

He always found the time to read, write and spin despite a never ending schedule. He vastly contributed articles to Navjivan, Young India, Harijan bandhu,Amrit Bazaar Patrika, The Independant, The Hindu. Translated works of Tagore and also Jawaharlal’s autobiography to Gujarati and many books, including ‘A righteous struggle-The story of Bardoli.’He created a sensation by bringing out a handwritten cyclostyled newspaper after the British confiscated the printing press.

Called the bridge between man and Mahatma, it was Mahadev’s diary ‘Day to day with Gandhi’ that chronicled the most important years of the freedom struggle through which the world came to know Gandhi better and for the man he was.

Anthropologist Verrier Elwin, who wrote an essay on Mahadev called him Plato to Gandhi’s Socrates and stated: ‘He was a home and foreign secretary combined who made all arrangements in the office, guest house and kitchen .He looked after many guests and must have saved 10 years of Gandhiji life by diverting him from unwanted visitors. Mahadev’s task was to make Gandhi real to millions. He made him, perhaps the best known man in the world, certainly the most loved, through his words describing the life of Mahatma.”

Fondly called Hanuman to Gandhiji Ram, he died of heart attack at a young age of 50 on August 15, 1942 at the Aga Khan palace. He breathed his last in Bapu’s lap, where they were imprisoned during the Quit India movement.