Man of books

In the article, “Gandhi’s faithful dissenter” (Dec. 25), Gopalkrishna Gandhi has stated that C. Rajagopalachari was a man of books and a writer of masterpieces. In an article in the Books that have influenced me - A symposium, published by the now defunct G.A. Natesan & Co, Chennai, Rajaji says a number of books influenced him, including Thoreau’s Duty of Civil Disobedience, The Trial and Death of Socrates, J.S. Mill’s On Liberty and Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations.

However, Rajaji concluded the article by saying “it is not English books that made me whatever I am. It is the stories my mother and two aunts of mine amused me with that built me up.” As for masterpieces, apart from his writings in English, his Tamil rendition of Ramayana — Chakravrthi Thirumagan — and Mahabharata find a place in many homes.

S. Nallasivan,

Tirunelveli