New Delhi: What can be more shocking than the grandson of the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi living in an old age home along with his wife?
Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson Kanubhai Gandhi lives with his wife in an old age home in Delhi.
“There are a lot of memories. I used to sit in Bapu’s lap & pull his hair, but he’d still smile at me and wrap me in his arms”, Kanubhai recalled.
“Mere dimaag mein Bapu ki bhakti saara waqt chalti hai, mujhe pata hai mai unki daya par jee rha hun, shayad ye unhe itna pasand na ho,” said Kanubhai. (Throughout the time , I keep remembering Mahatma Gandhi, I know I’m alive on his benevolence, maybe he don’t like it much.)
“Bapu always wanted me to serve people, he wanted me to take all the pain of people and spread happiness”, Kanubhai said and added Gandhiji had such a great and pure personality that it’s obvious that people will use his name for politics.
However, after he attracted media attention, Union Minister Mahesh Sharma met Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson Kanubhai Gandhi at the old age home on the direction of PM Narendra Modi.
“PM directed me to come here and to submit a report on the expectations & requirements of Kanubhai”, said Sharma.
Modi also had a word with Kanubhai over the phone.
“PM spoke to Kanubhaiji in Gujarati & both had a cheerful conversation where they refreshed some memories from the past”, Sharma added.
“I was happy then, I’m happy now as well. He(Mahesh Sharma) came here to meet me, we had a good talk”, said Kanubhai Gandhi after meeting the Union Minister.
Kanubhai left India at the age of 17 and studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology after which he worked at NASA’s Langley Research Centre. His wife, a doctorate in biochemistry, too held a job in the US.
Having returned from the US in 2014, Kanubhai has since been living in ashrams and old-age homes. He, and his wife, Shiva Lakshmi, are currently at the Guru Vishram Vridh Ashram in Gautampuri in South Delhi.
