GANDHI tells his faithful friend about the daily life of his ashram.

Mohandas Karamchand, Mahatma GANDHI (1869.1948)

Autograph letter signed to his friend Hermann Kallenbach.

Three octavo pages in English, on the back of a Johannesburg letterhead.

Ahmedabad. May 20 [1916]

“No man can beforehand stipulate about his future conduct.”

The father of the Indian nation tells his faithful friend about the daily life of his ashram.

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“ From MK Gandhi. My dear friend, your letters have become most irregular & so I imagine having mine become. Sometimes I get two at a time. I hope the parcels have been safely delivered to you. They contain your clothing biscuits & cut brushing sticks. I wish your opinion on the biscuits. They were turned not alright so far as I could judge.

You will be pained to hear that Maganbhai is leaving the Ashram . Next to Maganlal he was the strongest man. Indeed, Mrs Gandhi thought that Maganbhai was the stronger of the two. Maganbhai is leaving as he frankly tells me that he can no longer observe the right rule of the Ashram. He wants to go out into the world and have a taste of it. His remaining in the Ashram can now make of him only a hypocrite. He will be leaving in a day or two. So it may come so (?) what I said might and I may be left all by myself. Just now Maganlal seems to be strong like a lion. But so did Maganbhai. No man can beforehand stipulate about his future conduct . Peter thought he would not wince but even so great as he did though with him the shock was momentary.

Harilal's wife is again with me. She is leaving in a few days to join her husband at Calcutta. I described to you Navansang & Bela's little girl. They are now quite alright. The handlooms are making very good progress. I hope to send you some new cloth. With love from us all. Yours ever old friend. »

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 French transcription:

“ From MK Gandhi. My dear friend, your letters have become very irregular & I imagine mine are too. Sometimes I get two at once. I hope the packages were delivered to you. They hold your cookies, clothes and hairbrushes. I would like to have your opinion on the biscuits. As far as I could tell, they weren't very good .

You will be saddened to know that Maganbhai is leaving the ashram. After Maganlal, he was the strongest man. Indeed, Mrs. Gandhi believed that Maganbhai was the stronger of the two. Maganbhai leaves because he tells me frankly that he can no longer observe the rules of the ashram. He wants to discover the world and discover its flavor. By remaining in the ashram, he can only be a hypocrite. He will leave in a day or two. So it may be that what I said will happen and I will be all alone. Right now Maganlal seems to be strong like a lion. But that was the case with Maganbhai too. No man can stipulate in advance his future conduct . Peter thought he wouldn't wince, but even though he did, the shock was momentary.

Harilal's wife is with me again. She leaves in a few days to join her husband in Calcutta. I told you Bela 's little girl They are now doing very well. Handlooms are making very good progress. I be able to send you new fabrics. With our love to all. Always yours, your old friend. »

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The document presented here allows us to evoke the strong and troubled link between “The Great Soul” and Hermann Kallenbach, a Jewish-German architect. The two men met in South Africa in 1904.

After long discussions on religion, on the concept of Satyagraha (non-violence and civil disobedience) the two men formed a complete friendship. Their links are considered today by Gandhi's biographers and exegetes as a platonic homosexuality.

According to Gandhi himself, the two men considered themselves “soulmates”; they lived together, near Johannesburg, in the Satyagraha House designed by Kallenbach and called “the Kraal”. They then shared a life of asceticism, then settled at the “Tolstoy Farm”, isolated 35 km from the city, which would become the base camp of the Satyagrahi community, until the victorious outcome of their struggle. in 1913.

A year later, Gandhi left the country to join India forever. The two friends did not see each other again but maintained a sustained and regular correspondence.

In this letter Gandhi tells his protector of his difficulties in preserving the ashram. He evokes the departure of his faithful Maganbhai in words marked with justice and the categorical refusal of lies which characterize his doctrine. He compares him to Maganlal Khushalchand Gandhi (1883–1928) his most loyal follower. Maganlal was a cousin of Gandhi.

In July 2012, the Indian government acquired several thousand letters received by Hermann Kallenbach from Gandhi. This letter is therefore one of the rare relics of this correspondence still in private hands.