Gandhi last meal goat's milk, cooked vegetables, oranges, Gandhi is a kind of odd icon in our modern world. His image is well-known and people throw his quotes around day after day whilst doing very un-Gandhi like activities. I only recently started to learn properly about this amazing man and to find out that his last meal was so simple only adds to his amazing legacy.
Gandhi lived like the people of India as much as he could. He wore the common clothing and even made most of it himself. He prayed daily and engaged in spiritual activities preferring to fight the problems of the world with peace, prayers and knowledge.
By living like the people, he could understand the people and although he had many helpers and compared to many did have access to such luxuries he didn’t seem like a man who cared much for them.
His life is and always will be fascinating. Without Gandhi the power of peaceful protest probably would not be so much in this day and age and if we all lived like him I am sure the world would be far less famished and there would be far less problems. Of course I understand that the modern world just doesn’t work like that!
Gandhi was recovering from a fast to being about peace and unity and in free but troubled India and was in Delhi on the day of his assassination at the age of 78.
He woke early (but his normal time) at 3.30am on Friday, January 30, 1948. After prayers he started work for the day and eventually at 9:30am he settled down for the last meal he would ever eat.
An excellent read on the last day of Gandhi, published on mkgandhi-sarvodaya.org, recounts that last meal:
By now it was 9.30, and time for Gandhi’s morning meal. The meal included cooked vegetables, 12 ounces of goat’s milk, four tomatoes, four oranges, carrot juice and a decoction of ginger, sour limes and aloes. While eating Gandhi talked with Pyarelal about the draft Congress Constitution, to which Pyarelal had made some alterations. Pyarelal also reported on the outcome of a meeting the previous day with the leader of the extremist Hindu Mahasabha, Dr Shyama Prasad Mookerjee. Gandhi had sent Pyarelal to inform Dr Mookerjee of speeches of a particular Hindu Mahasabha worker inciting the assassination of some Congress leaders. Could not Dr Mookerjee stop these inflammatory speeches? Dr Mookerjee’s reply was halting and unsatisfactory, reported Pyarelal to the Mahatma. Pyarelal observed Gandhi’s brow darken as he repeated Dr Mookerjee’s reply. Gandhi and Pyarelal then talked at length about the volatile situation at Noakhali. He told Pyarelal also of his plan to go to Pakistan. He asked Pyarelal to go back to Noakhali, but to wait until he had returned to Sevagram. Pyarelal was surprised at this request, for it was unusual for Gandhi to delay anyone returning to their post. Mid-morning also, an old associate from Gandhi’s South African days, Rustom Sorabji, called in with his family.
A very sad day for a truly great man who could have achieved so much more with every extra day he could have lived.
If you have not been able to learn more about the man I seriously suggest you start with the epic movie by Richard Attenborough with Ben Kingsley playing Gandhi.
