Khadi sari from Usha didi

Recently, I met Usha H. Gokani, one of the granddaughters of Mahatma Gandhi in Mumbai. In Sevagram as a child, I was very fond of her parents Ramdas Bhai and Nirmala Ba. They used to live in the Ashram and my brother and I used to pass their house every day on our way to basic education school in the nearby Shegaon village. 

We always used to stop by their house and Nirmala Ba would always give us something to eat. We would be excited and go home eating the goodies. 

I remember Usha didi and her sister Sumitra didi who used to visit their parents often in 

With Usha didi at her home 

Sevagram. After almost 50 years, I got a chance to meet Usha didi in Mumbai on June 18, 2013. She looked like her father Ramdas Gandhi to me and lovingly fed me 'Handavo', a Gujarati specialty.  Currently she is the chairperson of the Gandhi Smarak Nidhi, Mumbai and Mani Bhavan Gandhi Sangrahalaya. She continues to carry out many activities in the memory of her grandfather Bapuji through these two organisations. 

Gandhiji used to stay in Mani Bhavan at 19, Laburnum Road in Gamdevi  in Bombay during his visits between 1917-1934.  During these 17 years, Mani Bhavan used be the focal point of Gandhi’s political activities. This mansion belonged to Revashankar Jagjeevan Jhaveri who was Gandhiji’s friend and host in Bombay during this period. It was from Mani Bhavan that Gandhiji had  initiated the non -cooperation, Satyagraha , Swadeshi, Khadi and Khilafat movements.

Inside Mani Bhavan 

Gandhiji’s association with the Charkha (spinning wheel) began in 1917, while he was staying in Mani Bhavan. It is also closely associated with Gandhiji’s involvement in the Home Rule Movement.   

Usha didi presented me with her own  Khadi sari as I touched her feet to seek her blessings for my Gandhi karya.