#23 Gandhi's love for football, and Steve Jobs' glasses
Also, Gandhi Jr's jugaad to watch The Ashes
What's the difference between T Chowdiah and Mahatma Gandhi?
One is a violinist and the other is a non-violinist
This is a famous joke by famed Kannada playwright TP Kailasam. On the occasion of the Mahatma’s birthday, we’re sending you the newsletter a day early. This also gives you TWO WHOLE DAYS to sign up for The Great India Quiz 2. Hosted by the incomparable Dr Navin Jayakumar with special guests including BBC Mastermind India’s ‘Champion of Champions’ - Archana Garodia Gupta. Check out our snazzy poster 🥰 Prizes worth Rs 10K to be won!
We hope your weekend is filled with learning and joy!
Three things we learnt this week:
Steve Jobs admired Mahatma Gandhi a lot and in an interview in 1999, said that Gandhi was the person of the century. Another interesting fact, Steve Jobs chose the round glasses as a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.
Mahatma Gandhi was a huge football fan. During his 2 decade long stay in South Africa, he started 2 football clubs - both named Passive Resisters. Inspired by the writings of Leo Tolstoy and Henry Thoreau, he adopted to fight racial discrimination and injustice in South Africa with a first of its kind sporting team.
While Gandhi preferred football to cricket, his son preferred cricket. Devdas Gandhi, his youngest son, was traveling in the UK during the 1948 Ashes and figured out that he could catch Don Bradman in action. He did some jugaad and procured passes for the Nottingham test, but struggled with accommodation. He had a brainwave and decided to follow his father’s footsteps and check into “His Majesty’s Hotel” - Jail. After requesting the jailor, Devdas spent the night in jail, broke fast with convicts, watched Bradman bat and then went back to London.
Things we’re reading / watching / listening to:
Amit Varma and renowned writer, historian Ramachandra Guha discuss Gandhi as he is - a complex, misunderstood, deeply impactful man. This podcast discusses the early years of Gandhi before he changed the face of the Indian freedom struggle.
Gandhi (1982) - this was a labour of love for Richard Attenborough who spent decades trying to get this movie made. An earnest performance from the cast and watching this will give you some idea about the life of Gandhi.
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