Gandhi Before India by Guha Ramachandra

Author:Guha, Ramachandra [Guha, Ramachandra]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9789351183228
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2013-10-02T05:00:00+00:00

The letter was posted from Natal, where Gandhi had come again to spend time with his wife. Dr Nanji had diagnosed her as suffering from pernicious anaemia, for which the textbook treatment included a healthy dose of beef extract. When Gandhi discovered what Kasturba had been given, he decided to take her back to Phoenix and treat her by his own, naturopathic methods. The doctor remonstrated; he was a man of science, as well as a Parsi, for whom there were no taboos as regards beef. He argued that Kasturba was too sick to be moved. Besides, it was raining heavily. Gandhi was unmoved; he sent a message to Phoenix to make preparations for their arrival. Albert West met them at the station with hot milk, umbrellas, and six men to carry Kasturba home in a hammock.55

‘Dr and Mrs Nanji were much grieved’ by his removing Kasturba from their care, wrote Gandhi to Kallenbach. ‘They do not believe in water treatment. They consider me to be a brutal husband and Dr Nanji certainly considers me to be either mad or over conceited. I have risked friendships for the sake of a principle.’

At Phoenix, Gandhi gave Kasturba a series of cold baths. He also put her on a diet of fruit. ‘She appears to be none the worse for it,’ he reported to Kallenbach:

She is probably better. But she has lost heart. She cannot bear the idea of my leaving her bedside for a single minute. Like a baby she clings to me and hugs me. I fear that my departure next week will send her to her grave. It is a great conflict of duty for me. Yet there is no doubt in my mind that I must leave her next week and accept the King’s hospitality.

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