Sample Gandhi’s ambidexterity

Navjivan reproduces Gandhi’s scribbles with his right and left hands in the reproduction of ‘Hind Swaraj’ to mark the book’s centenary year

By Dilip Patel

Posted On Wednesday, December 31, 2008 at 03:51:57 AM

Two pages from tri-lingual “Hind Swaraj” that is being released on January 30. On top is Gandhi’s writing with his right hand whereas on bottom is the scribble that he made with left hand

Gandhi often cribbed about his bad handwriting. This was perhaps because he did not take his handwriting with left hand seriously.

Sample it for yourself. Photographs of his scribbles, both with right and left hands, are printed alongside. You may decide it for yourself which one is better.

Navjivan Press, while coming out with Gandhi’s celebrated book “Hind Swaraj” or “Indian Home Rule” in three languages to mark the centenary of the book’s publication, would make Gandhi’s ambidexterity public.

The book is being released on January 30, Gandhi’s 61st death anniversary, at Navjivan Press off Ashram Road. Incidentally, Navjivan’s copyright monopoly on Gandhi’s works ends on Wednesday.

“Gandhi often said he was disappointed with his own handwriting and exhorted students to strive for good handwriting. But surprisingly the notes he scribbled with his left hand look better than those written with the right hand,” says Navjivan trustee and Gujarat Vidyapith former vice-chancellor Jitendra Desai.

The publishing house has reproduced the photocopies of Gandhi’s scribbled notes in the book as the original manuscripts are not traceable. The English and Hindi translations of the passage scribbled in Gujarati are put on the same page. The hand-written text, too, has been reproduced in printed typeface.

Navjivan has used handmade paper, also known as “khadi paper”, for the book.

Hind Swaraj is the second most popular work of Gandhi, his autobiography “My Experiments with Truth” being the numero uno. The sales figure of Hind Swaraj is not available, but the autobiography has sold more than 37 lakh copies in 13 Indian languages. It has been translated into 25 foreign languages and sold tens of thousands of copies.

On the significance of Hind Swaraj, Desai said that the book is hailed as key to understand the phenomenon called Gandhi. Gandhi put his thoughts on politics, economics and Indian culture in this small book that he wrote over 10 days, between November 13 and 22, 1909, while sailing from London to South Africa in the ship christened Kildonan Castle.

The entire book was written on the ship’s stationery. So furiously did Gandhi write that when his right hand got tired, he wrote with the left! He went on to write 40 of the 275 pages of the manuscript with the left hand, Desai pointed out.

The book was banned when it was first published by Navjivan. The British government raided the publishing house, then located in Kalupur, and seized all copies.

Gandhi often said he was disappointed with his own handwriting and exhorted students to strive for good handwriting. But surprisingly the notes he scribbled with his left hand look better than those written with the right hand
— Jitendra Desai, Navjivan trustee and former vice chancellor of Gujarat Vidyapith