SECTION 2: GANDHIJI AS A LAWYER CHAPTER 4 - HOW I BEGAN MY LIFE

M.K. Gandhi after completing his education and qualifying as an advocate

returned to India to practice his profession further. He was returning
from Eden in England on a ship to Bombay dock. He came bearing fears
and doubts in mind on how to proceed as a lawyer in India. His elder
brother had come to meet him on the dock and he also made
acquaintances of Dr. Mehta and his elder brother who insisted Mr.
Gandhi to stay with him in Bombay. Their relationship which started in
England turned out to be a permanent friendship over time. Gandhiji’s
elder brother had high hopes for him. His desire for fame and wealth
made him leave no stone unturned in order to prepare the field for
Gandhiji’s practice. By the time Gandhiji returned to India, two sects were
divided. One which accepted him and the other thought that going to
England had made him unholy. So his brother took him to Nasik and gave
him a bath in the sacred river. Gandhiji, out of respect towards his
brother followed all his instructions and on completing the ritual they
finally reached Rajkot. It was a delight for him to meet his boy who was
now 4 and the other children of the house. He enjoyed their company
and wanted to help them in their education as well. Everything was
reformed on his arrival. Be it food, cutlery or clothes. All of it was
transformed according to the European culture. New dish like oatmeal
porridge and cocoa as a beverage was introduced. Naturally, the
expenses went up. New things were added on a daily basis and Gandhiji
thought that practicing in Rajkot would do him no good. No client would
have hired an inexperienced lawyer so he took his friends’ advice of
moving to Bombay to gain some 24 experience in the high court before
practicing. Bombay was no easy as there was less income and more
expenditure. All of these difficulties made Gandhiji think that a barrister’s
job was bad. More of exterior show with less of knowledge.
I said in the last chapter that the sea was rough in Bombay harbour, not
an unusual thing in the Arabain Sea in June and July. It had been choppy
all the way from Aden. Almost every passenger was sick; I alone was in
perfect form staying on deck to see the stormy surge, and enjoying the
splash of the waves. At breakfast there would be just one or two people
besides myself, eating their oatmeal porridge from plates carefully held in
their laps, lest the porridge itself find its place there. The outer storm was
to me a symbol of the inner. But even as the former left me unperturbed,
I think I can say the same thing about the latter. There was the trouble
with the caste that was to confront me. I have already adverted to my
helplessness in starting on my profession. And then, as I was a reformer, I
was taxing myself as to how best to begin certain reforms. But there was
even more in store for me than I knew. My elder brother had come to
meet me at the dock. He had already made the acquaintance of Dr.
Mehta and his elder brother, and as Dr. Mehta insisted on putting me up
at his house, we went there. Thus the acquaintance begun in England
continued in India and ripened into a permanent friendship between the
two families. My elder brother had built high hopes on me. The desire for
wealth and name and fame was great in him. He had a big heart,
generous to a fault. This combined with his simple nature, had attracted
to him many friends, and through them he expected to get me briefs. He
had also assumed that I should have a swinging practice and had, in that
expectation, allowed the household expenses to become top-heavy. He
had also left no stone unturned in preparing the field for my practice. The
storm in my caste over my foreign voyage was still brewing. It had divided
the caste into two camps, one of which immediately readmitted me,
while the other was bent on keeping me out. To please the former my
brother took me to The Law and The Lawyers www.mkgandhi.org Page 35
Nasik before going to Rajkot, gave me a bath in the sacred river and on
reaching Rajkot, gave a caste dinner. I did not like all this. But my
brother's love for me was boundless, and my devotion to him was in
proportion to it, and so I mechanically acted as he wished, taking his will
to be law. The trouble about re-admission to the caste was thus
practically over. I had planned reform in the education of children. My
brother had children, and my own child which I had left at home when I
went to England was now a boy of nearly four. It was my desire to teach
these little ones physical exercise and make them hardy, and also to give
them the benefit of my personal guidance. In this I had my brother's
support and I succeeded in my efforts more or less. I very much liked the
company of children, and the habit of playing and joking with them has
stayed with me till today. I have ever since thought that 1 should make a
good teacher of children. The necessity for food 'reform' was obvious.
Tea and coffee had already found their place in the house. My brother
had thought it fit to keep some sort of English atmosphere ready for me
on my return and to that end, crockery and such other things, which used
to be kept in the house only for special occasions, were now in general
use. My 'reforms' put the finishing touch. I introduced oatmeal porridge,
and cocoa was to replace tea and coffee. But in truth it became an
addition to tea and coffee. Boots and shoes were already there, I
completed the Europeanization by adding the European dress. Expenses
thus went up. New things were added every day. We had succeeded in
tying a white elephant at our door. But how was the wherewithal to be
found? To start practice in Rajkot would have meant sure ridicule. I had
hardly the knowledge of a qualified vakil and yet I expected to be paid ten
times his fee ! No client would be fool enough to engage me. And even if
such a one was to be found, should I add arrogance and fraud to my
ignorance, and increase the burden of debt I owed to the world ? Friends
advised me to go to Bombay for some time in order to gain experience of
the High Court, to study Indian law and to try and get what briefs I could.
I took up the suggestion and went. In Bombay I started a household (at
Girgaum).
The Law and The Lawyers www.mkgandhi.org Page 36 But it was
impossible for me to get along in Bombay for more than four or five
months, there being no income to square with the ever-increasing
expenditure. This was how I began life. I found the barrister's profession a
bad job—much show and little knowledge. I felt a crushing sense of my
responsibility. An Autobiography, (1959), pp. 63-6
One of the worst things that has happened to me is my name starting
with “A” uk.
Most of the kaam hamko hi pehle karna ko padta hai yaar

So yeah afternoon all, I’m Ajay.

The topic of my presentation is the third chapter of the law and lawyers
which is HOW I BEGAN LIFE.
Here I’m not going to lengthen this presentation instead I have divided the
topic further into 3 parts

1. Return to India
2. The new changes
3. His experience as a lawyer in India

My presentation’s is going to take around 6/7 mins maybe.

If you have any questions, feel free to post those in the informal group
okay?

 Mk Gandhi after completing his education and qualifying as an

advocate , returned to India to practice his profession further.
He was returning from eden on a ship to Bombay dock.

 His elder brother had come to meet him on the dock and he also
made an associate of dr Mehta and his elder insisted Mr. Gandhi to
stay with him in Bombay.

 HIS BROTHER HAD KEPT HIGH HOPES ON HIM AND MADE HIM
LEAVE NO STONE UNTURNED IN ORDER TO PREPARE THE FIELD FOR
GANDHI’S PRACTICE

 By the time Gandhi had returned to India

Two sects were divided. One which accepted him and the other
which thought that going to England had made him unholy.

 So, his brother took him to Nasik and gave him a bath in the sacred
river.
  GANDHI PERSONALLY DIDN’T LIKE IT BUT DID IT OUT OF HIS
RESPECT OF HIS BROTHER and after completing the rituals they
reached Rajkot.

So yeah that’s the first part,

Coming to the second part I;e THE NEW CHANGES

 It was a delight for Gandhi to meet his boy who was now then 4
years and the other children of the house.
 He enjoyed their company and wanted to help them in their
education as well as their physical health.
 Everything was reformed on his arrival.
 Be it food, cutlery or clothes, everything was transferred according
to the European culture.
 New things like oatmeal and cocoa were introduced.
 NEW THINGS WERE ADDED EACH DAY AND THUS THE EXPENSES
ALSO INCREASED.

 Gandhiji thought no client would have hired an inexperienced

lawyer and practicing in Rajkot would do him no good
 So he took his friend’s advice and went to Bombay to gain some
experience in the high court before practicing
 There he found that Bombay was no easy as there was no income
but the expenses were high
 All these difficulties made Gandhiji think that a barrister’s job was
bad like more of exterior show with less of knowledge.

So that brings me to the end of the presentation

Thank you all for your time