He might be frail and needs support of someone to walk, but at the age of 93, V. Kalyanam is clear and loud about what he thinks about the present day happenings and how much he had learnt through his four-year association with Gandhi as his personal assistant.
At Andhra University on Friday, Mr. Kalyanam told a meeting organised by AU’s Gandhian Studies Centre on the occasion of Gandhiji’s 68th death anniversary several anecdotes and happenings when he was with the Father of the Nation. “I was fortunate to work with the greatest man. It happened accidentally and he discovered me,” he said.
Released from Lahore jail after being sentenced for distributing pamphlets on Quit India movement in Delhi, Mr. Kalyanam approached Gandhiji through his son Devdas Gandhi in Mumbai. Initially he had mistaken Gandhiji as a servant of the house, Mr. Kalyanam said. Gandhiji engaged him as his personal assistant for a salary of Rs. 60 with accommodation and food. Later, he moved with Gandhiji to Sabarmati Ashram on October 1, 1944. Gandhiji used to start the day at 3.30 a.m. and he was economical in everything. He was using only a bottle of water for the whole day, said Mr. Kalyanam. He was taking dictation from Gandhi to reply letters and the former PS conceded that “Gandhiji’s speech as well as his handwriting was incomprehensible and I would commit mistakes. I would understand my mistakes when he corrected them.” Gandhiji wrote on the backside of envelopes of letters he received not to waste paper and Mr. Kalyanam has with him now 5000 such envelopes of letters received by Gandhiji, which he keeps as souvenirs. Gandhiji’s address was written in different ways and one such was “Mahatma Gandhi, Dictator of India”.
