Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Everybody in India knows of this great man. It is mainly thanks to him that India achieved Independence, and he is rightly regarded as the Father of the Nation. But despite the worldwide fame and adulation, there are several things about him which are not well known. On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, we present 13 things your probably didn’t know about the man we fondly call Mahatma Gandhi:
1. His nickname in school was Moniya.
2. He was Time magazine’s Man of the Year in 1930.
3. He was only 13 years old when he married Kasturba who was 14 at the time.
4. While studying in England, he learnt to dance and play the violin.
But he later gave it up for a simple lifestyle.
5. He spoke English with an Irish accent.
Because one of his first teachers was an Irishman.
6. During his time in South Africa, he earned as much as USD 15,000 a year.
Which in today’s valuation is Rs 9.25 lakhs per annum.
7. He wrote his autobiography in Gujarati.
It was later translated to English by his assistant.
8. He was born on a Friday and died on a Friday.
India also received Independence on a Friday.
9. Gandhiji had very bad handwriting.
And it bothered him a lot!
10. His birthday – October 2 – is recognized as the International Day of Non-Violence by the United Nations.
11. He was nominated 5 times for the Nobel Peace Prize.
It is widely believed that he was going to receive it in 1948. But he was assassinated that January, and the Nobel Committee does not award posthumous prizes.
12. He was in regular correspondence with Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy.
13. He carried a set of false teeth in his loin cloth. He would only take them out during meal times.
