Mahatma Gandhi 30 - The Seed Of Self Reliance Poem by Geeta Radhakrishna Menon

Whatever happened- happened for the best!
Gandhiji settled down in Durban with
His wife - Kasturba and children.
He renewed his life with relish,
A new resilience,
A strong will power!

Gandhiji began to do many daily chores
By himself,
Giving labour a new dignity!
The decision to lead a simple life was
Taken with determination,
Though it involved greater effort!

To do domestic chores oneself
May not be the choice for many,
Specially those used to being served,
But Gandhiji was mentally prepared
And willingly adopted it
As his life style!

To start with he bought a book
On the art of washing,
Studied the method of washing clothes,
And began washing his own clothes
Taught it to his wife as well,
Adding washing in her list of daily routine too!

The laundry bill was significantly reduced
More importantly, the dependence on
The washerman was terminated.
Gandhiji and Kasturba became self reliant.
Similarly, Gandhiji shoved away
The dependence on the barber as well!

Once, Gandhiji went to an English hair cutter in Pretoria.
The English barber showed contempt,
Refused to cut his hair!
Gandhiji felt hurt,
On his way back he purchased a pair of scissors,
Cropped his own hair before the mirror.

When his colleagues saw his hair, they teased him.
‘Have rats bitten it? ' They quipped.
Gandhiji was ever ready with an answer.
"No! The white barber would not condescend
To touch my black hair, so, i preferred
To cut it myself, no matter how badly! "

Though the matter was laughed off as a joke,
Yet, it was not a matter to be forgotten or taken lightly.
Just as a strong sense of self dependence accrued,
For Gandhiji, it also pointed
To a clear discrimination,
Between the black and white!

Gandhiji's life moved forward
With radical changes,
Along with a simple life of independent spirit,
A wave of service to fellowmen got deeply embedded.
From chamber work of conveyance and arbitration,
A life of humanitarian work took shape!

The participation in Boer War,
A corps of over one hundred thousand men,
Walking twenty or twenty five miles every day,
Carrying wounded soldiers on stretchers,
A task for which Gandhiji willingly volunteered,
Attired in uniform of a leader of the Indian Ambulance Corps!