Mahatma Vs Gandhi

Harilal Gandhi, the eldest among the four sons of Mahatma Gandhi, is the tragic protagonist of this play. The tussle between the father and son was a poignant story of their lives. Harilal, as a young lad, was burdened with the widely acclaimed morals of a strict disciplinarian father, who could lead the world but was unable to understand his own child. The personal life of Mahatma Gandhi was overshadowed by his larger-than-life political career. Gandhiji, who was well aware of Harilal’s inadequacies, prevented his son from following his heart’s desire and recommended someone else’s name for a work, citing moral grounds. This episode creates a lifelong rift between the father and the son. Harilal loses his heart and doubts his father’s love and intention. He leaves South Africa and heads to India to educate himself and be financially independent. But he was not educated enough to find a job and his business ideas were not as brilliant as he had believed those to be. After the death of his wife, Gulab Gandhi, Harilal was shattered and started leading a beggar’s life. He changes his religion twice, as a protest against his father.

Gandhiji, who was busy attending meetings and conferences, where the fate of millions of Indians was to be decided, often found headlines in newspapers screaming, ‘Police arrested drunk Harilal for creating a scene on the road’. And sometimes Harilal himself from the dais of fundamentalist organization public meetings had announced - ‘I shall continue my fight till Ba (Kasturba Gandhi) and Gandhiji embrace Islam’. This play is an effort to understand yet another enigma of human relations and life.