Today being the day of Gandhi Jayanthi, 2 October, people in India remember the birth and life time contribution of Mohandas K Gandhi to earn political independence for India on August 15, 1947.
My memory goes back to 1976, when Anna and I worked at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Sevagram for about two years. Among other things, one reason we chose to work in that institute was because, its founder Dr Sushila Nayyar, who was the personal physician of Mahatma Gandhi during his stay at the Sevagram Ashram, was still in the faculty. At that time, she was the director. The institution was into its tenth year when we went to work there.
We lived in the college campus where the accommodation was comfortable and was close to the Men's and Women's hostels. We had an active association with the student community. I worked in the community Medicine department, headed by Dr Sushila Nayyar. Anna was a research associate in the Pathology department.
Dr Nayyar was the health minister in the ministry of the first prime minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. She was a devout Gandhian in spirit and practice. She had a small cottage in the campus, where she met with the faculty, students and visitors. She sat on the floor and transacted her work each day. Going to meet her was a special experience when one sat on the floor and felt surprised by her hospitality and courteousy. I remember some faculty went to meet her to receive her hospitality and have conversation about her association with mahatma Gandhi for about 25 years. One returned after meeting with her admiring her wisdom, enthusiasm, interest to listen and interact. She conveyed a youthful spirit even when she was in her early seventies.
Let me recall three significant memories I have of her during my conversations with her.
First is about what she mentioned about the first Prime Minister of India. He was a keen listener to his ministerial colleagues and was an encourager to each person, even for a small initiative that a minister person took in any direction. He was a consensus builder and consulted people widely including leaders from other political parties. He listened to his critics earnestly in order to discern political truth that was deeper than his sense of perception. It was he who assigned the responsibility to Sir Joseph Bhore, to plan for health planning policy. The Bhore Committee repost formed the foundation for starting primary health care in India with a vertical alignment to secondary and tertiary care. The creation of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences at New Delhi was a strategic step to set high standards in medical education.
The second was about some of the habits of Mahatma Gandhi. His long prayer times in the morning and evening formed his inner sense of purpose. He would invite all others around him to join in prayer. There were times he would go into solitude for two or three days, often while fasting, when some major decisions were before him. He articulated and practiced love, non-violence and tolerance. On one occasion when there was a quarrel in the village he went on a fast which made the opposing parties came to negotiate with him. He sought for peace at any cost.
The third was about the influences others had on the life and formation of Mahatma Gandhi. Rev C.F.Andre was one such person with whom Mahatma had regular conversation on spirituality in politics. The conversations between them would often start by reading passages from Scriptures. One favourite passage that Mahatma often read jointly with Rev Andrews was the sermon on the Mount of Jesus of Nazareth. Dr Nayyar recalled that during the public prayer meetings Mahatma referred to the Beatitudes to advocate for mercy, peace and purity of heart. The prayer he recited to close conversations with her and few others was the Lord's Prayer, Jesus of Nazareth taught His disciples.
It was during one such conversations, Dr Nayyar encouraged me to train in community paediatrics as I was already into community health. I remember several conversations with Dr Nayyar, who according to her Gandhian values, chose to live an austere and self giving life to promote the prospects of developing the Medical College to train doctors to go to work in rural areas. At that time MGIMS was the only medical college in India located in a rural area.
The village of Sevagram was a large village with a population of about 20,000 people, nearest town being Wardha, eight kilometres away. Anna and I were regular visitors to the Sevagram ashram, which was founded by Mahatma Gandhi, in 1937. He arrived in the village on April 30, 1936 and wanted to have a place for him and others to live, from where he was going to take the freedom movement forward. One of his associates, Ms Meera Ben was already living in the village at that time. Mahatma Gandhi was 67 years when he arrived at Sevagram.
The hut below where he lived, which we noticed at that time, was full of personal belongings of Mahatma Gandhi, including the religious books he read. The chakra he used to weave cotton thread, as part of his daily routine, was another article of significance in his personal collection. He promoted self reliance as a philosophy by popularising to use hand spun clothing.
Later more buildings and open spaces were created for prayer meetings and for people to stay during the freedom movement. It was from this place Mahatma Gandhi initiated the sataygraha movements.The photo below of the hut is a later one showing how the ashram developed with other facilities for more people to stay and gather for prayer meetings.
Anna and I remember a few things about the Sevagram ashram. It was Mahatma Gandhi who took the initiative to create access roads within the village through 'shramdan'. People contributed time voluntarily to do manual work. It was one village where good sanitation facilities and potable water supply existed at that time.
With the faculty and students encouraged to wear hand spun clothes and eat vegetarian food, the good traditions during the pre-independent time were remembered.
The sense of belonging to a community was palpable in the college life and in the residential campus. There were several activities among students and faculty to promote mindfulness towards others.
As students came from different strata of society, mostly from rural areas, half of the students from the state of Maharashtra and the other half from the rest of the country, the emphasis on following a simple life style befitting the real life in a rural area was a healthy emphasis. Although a minority resisted it, the ambience in the college and hospital promoted service as a vocation.
A class mate of mine at Nagpur, Dr Ullhas Jajoo was a consultant in Medicine and Anna and I had lot of contact with him and his family.
It was from Sevagram I moved to Medical College, Nagpur for my further training in Child Health in early 1978.
Anna and I carry memories of friendships, experiences and family life during our time at Sevagram. It was while we were there Arpit was born. His addition to our family brought us to the experience of getting familiar with the vocation of parenting. The student friends who came to meet us during that time were thoughtful in many ways and we had occasions to have formal conversations about the vocation of medicine, as a calling to serve and care.
On this Gandhi Jayanthi day, Anna and I remember that experience of being in Sevagram to gain a glimpse of living a simple life and stay aware of the needs of others.
We remember Mahatma Gandhi and hope that the values of service, mindfulness, austere living and participatory governance would stay on as the features of our democracy in India.
Mahatma Gandhi was a large tree, offering plenty of space and provision for other trees to grow!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
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