There are many episodes in Gandhi's life that have entered history and contributed to changing its course. Some of these episodes have also changed the lives of six young people who have intertwined their path with that of the Mahatma , "the Great Soul" as this great protagonist of the twentieth century was called.
Young people like Khoi who feels treated for the first time with respect and kindness; Laxmi receiving his first pair of sandals from Gandhi and a dream for the future; Seth and Kedar involved in the first major protest against a discriminatory law; the little Srinivasa who during the historic salt march learns to recognize the value of a man; Victory who finally understands the meaning of the word freedom and finally Sushila who discovers the meaning of a sacrifice made for love.
Through these events Chiara Lossani with her Gandhi (San Paolo Edizioni, 2022, Euro 16, 00, pp. 192. Ebook too) composes a multi-voice novel that puts the boys in contact with Gandhi and his struggle for emancipation of India, looking at it from the point of view of other young people who experience the consequences of the injustices against which the Mahatma was fighting.
How was this book dedicated to Gandhi born?
“After a trip to India in the 1980s, I began to take an interest in Gandhi. Then, when a publisher asked me for a story about him a few years ago, I also looked into his writings and looked at some precious historical films. For me it was a revelation, a living encounter, which stirred reflections and actions. I decided that I would continue to tell it, but beyond any rhetoric about his figure, often manipulated and misunderstood ”.
How then did you decide to tell Gandhi?
“In my novel Gandhi is a man among men: he was not a hero, he had a deep sense of self-criticism and suffered some personal contradictions that marked him painfully. The relationship with his son, for example, who publicly took a stand against him, and abandoned him by dying an alcoholic. Gandhi was aware of his flaws and was always searching for the truth within himself. They called him Mahatma, but he was embittered: 'I'm not a Great Soul, I'm a simple Indian farmer' ”.
What are the characteristics of the stories you tell in the book?
"They are stories of awareness and testimony that have as protagonists girls and boys who tell of their meeting with Gandhi in crucial moments of his practice against all violence. The reader, in turn, meets him through their gaze, and remains astonished at his not reacting violently to violence. He smiles at his jokes and admires his courage in confronting soldiers with his bare hands. He is amazed at his capacity for compassion even for murderers. latrines instead of untouchables, or spinning Indian cotton at the spinning wheel for two hours every day. my job".
Why is he a character worth knowing despite more than 70 years have passed since his death?
“'Be the change you want to see in the world,' Gandhi said, arguing that before fighting the prejudices of the British, the Indians had to fight those inside them. A truly revolutionary practice, which he was the first to experiment. This overturning with respect to common thought, to our common mental structure, I believe is absolutely necessary in the moment of difficulty we are experiencing. Only by overturning the mental habits, conveniences and system inertia within us, will we be able to find new ways to affirm peace and improve life on Earth. Gandhi can help us understand and understand ourselves. His method can offer us new perspectives: we are prisoners of ourselves and we must learn to look beyond, to seek new thoughts and actions. Gandhi can show us the way ”.
Why did you choose to write a book designed especially for young people?
"I wanted to tell about growing consciences, which does not mean that the novel cannot be read by adults: it is the attitude that sets up a reader ... For young people it is a great opportunity to get to know Gandhi, to meet him in experiences in which they can be identified. Gandhi knows how to open passages of very precious conscience, he moves deep parts in those who approach him, and not only in those who have really met him - there are so many testimonies in this sense - but also in us who are lucky enough to read his events and study him . I believe that Gandhi can turn on that 'little gentle light' in young people that guided his existence. What he said was within limits and defects. And this leaves children fascinated, not accustomed to the deep contact with themselves, which they adhered to as children but which they then forgot. Gandhi brings them back there, to his own Truth. In one of the stories, an English girl has to write an essay about what freedom is, but she can't, she doesn't know what it is ... until she meets Gandhi ”.
What can Gandhi teach the new generations?
“His every action was against prejudices: sexual, belonging to caste, social status, different religions. But the key to its greatness lies in its behavior. He fought the first battle with himself, which earned him the love and respect of the world, not just the Indians. And this is what conquers the young protagonists of the novel and, I hope, will conquer readers and female readers ".
How can Gandhi help us in the present time?
“I think its relevance is well summed up by a phrase that a head teacher said to me: 'Tell the girls and boys, that true strength, courage, is not throwing punches.' Gandhi is universal, beyond any era, because with his theory and practice he addresses the theme of individual and collective violence, conflicts between people, prejudice, the importance of conscious choices, of self-responsibility. To those who ask the question: 'How do I resolve conflicts?', Gandhi replies: 'With love!'. A message that he conveyed with coherence and lightness, but also with extreme firmness: Gandhi was not compliant! He believed that cowardice was worse than violence, and he looked for a word that represented the courage and energy of his struggle but that was not 'passive resistance', an expression with which he did not identify. Satyagraha: the strength of Truth and Love, here is the word he found, anything but passive. 'Future generations are likely to find it hard to believe that such a man ever existed on earth in flesh and blood,' said Albert Einstein. But Gandhi really existed and we have the task and the joy of remembering him ”.