GANDHI MAHATMA: (1869-1948) Indian political and spiritual leader during the Indian independence movement. A fine A.L.S., Bapu, three pages, 8vo, Travancore, 17th January 1937, to Shanta S. Patel. Gandhi commences the letter to his protégée stating ‘I always think of you & want to write to you but never get the time’ and continues ‘I have got some time tonight, by accident we are on a little launch which is taking hours instead of half an hour to reach our destination. Not knowing this I took no hand made paper with me. Hence this note on machine made paper’ and further offers his advice to Shanta, ‘Bharatan must have told you all about our conversation. You should forget him: He is already engaged & is about to be married. I am sorry, but you will, I have no doubt, appreciate the situation. If you can work on at Maganwardi with complete self-possession it is well. But if you find it difficult we must think out the possibilities’ Gandhi also enquires about Shanta’s well-being, ‘I hope you are thoroughly restored. I had sent a wire enquiring about your health….I see from the papers that you are there having very cold weather. Here we are melting. There is no winter in the south of India’. A letter of fine content written during Gandhi’s important visit to the Kingdom of Travancore. Some light age wear and a few minor, neat splits to the edges of folds, about VG

Gandhi displayed paternal instincts to Shanta Patel especially after the death of her father, Shankarbhai, and the family were close associates of Gandhi. The correspondence between Bapu and Shanta, which commenced around 1930, demonstrates Mahatma’s teachings and life advice, covering all aspects of the young girl’s life, from morality to diet, and is also evident in the present letter as Shanta is urged to give up a man who is already in a relationship and about to marry. Gandhi invites his protégée to stay and work at Maganwardi, his ‘headquarters’ in Wardha where Gandhi settled in 1936 after a final spell in prison, and where he would remain for twelve years until his assassination in 1948.

Shanta is referred to in a letter Gandhi wrote a few months later, on 4th August 1937, when he wrote ‘Did I tell you that Shanta did not go to England, her mother having practically stopped her? She is very happy with Mahadev and very useful to him’, presumably referring to a placement found for her with Gandhi’s personal secretary. Mahadev Desai (1892-1942).

Gandhi’s important visit to the Kingdom of Travancore in January 1937 remains highly symbolic of his actions in India. Some years earlier, in 1925, Gandhi had been denied access to the sanctuary of the Travancore temple, instead only being allowed to walk around the perimeter. In an article in his journal Navjivan Gandhi observed that ‘I was not allowed to go to the inner sanctum because I had been to England’ (see ‘Darshan of Kanyakumari’, 29th March 1925). Indeed, going abroad was considered taboo by Hindus of the time and those who violated this belief were refused entry to temples, and were only allowed to enter after performing purification rituals.

The progressive last ruling King of Travancore, Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, made his famous Temple Entry Proclamation on 12th November 1936, which opened the Hindu temples (Kshetrams) in Travancore to all Hindus. This act won the King praise from across India, most notably from Mahatma Gandhi, who was invited by the King in January 1937 to attend an historic ceremony as a special guest when the temples of Travancore finally opened their doors to welcome all Hindus, including those of the lower classes.