The book Our Created Moon: Earth’s Fascinating Neighbor reveals some ways the Moon benefits mankind. One obvious way is the light it reflects at night, which has guided travellers on land and sea for…
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Beggar by choice
In the history of begging for a public cause, Gandhiji created a world record. He discovered this capacity in himself in South Africa when he was in charge of collection of subscriptions…
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When India’s Prime Minister took a bank loan to buy a car
India’s former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri had many feats to his credit, but he will always be remembered as the PM who resurrected a nation’s broken self-confidence after the defeat against…
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‘Uncle Gandhi’
The title is certainly likely to surprise readers. Well, it was the children living in Bow in the ‘East-End’ of London who chose to address Gandhiji as ‘Uncle’. When in September 1931,…
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Gandhiji’s spiritual heir
On 7 June 1916, a young man of twenty waited at the gates of Gandhi’s ashram at Kochrab in Ahmedabad for an interview with him. He had been drawn to the Mahatma on…
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Basic pen
Most people have lost a pen at some time or the other. So did Gandhi. He had a costly fountain pen which was pilfered. The pen was immediately replaced but the theft…
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Dignity of labour
Once upon a time, Lalaji (Lala Lajpat Rai) and Mahatma Gandhi were staying at the house of an ardent nationalist, Shiv Prasad Gupta. On their first day at the house of their host, Lalaji…
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Gandhiji’s fearless nature
When Gandhiji visited the Northwest Frontier to meet his Pathan supporters, he was dwarfed by their height. They were tall and rugged, and all carried guns. “Are you afraid?” he asked them.…
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“We are here to serve, not to be served”
A sanyasi (monk), Swami Satydev, spent a day at Gandhiji’s Sabarmati Ashram and then expressed his wish to stay there. “I like the work you do here,” he told Gandhiji. Gandhiji said…
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The copper coin
Gandhiji went from city to city, village to village collecting funds for the Charkha Sangh. During one of his tours, he addressed a meeting in Orissa. After his speech, a poor old…