October 12, 2004
‘Mira and the Mahatma’Literature
A new novel by Goan psychoanalyst Sudhir Kakar re-imagines the relationship between Mahatma Gandhi and Miraben, one of his most committed disciples, a British admiral’s daughter who ‘went native’:
[N]one stood out so vividly as a tall, broad-shouldered and rather imperious-looking Englishwoman named Madeleine Slade… She chopped off her hair, traded her Western clothes for an outfit of homespun cotton and embraced Gandhi’s principles of simplicity and self-denial… He gave Slade the name of Mira, after a mythical Hindu princess, and elevated her to the status of his foremost disciple, sitting with her every evening for an hour of quiet conversation while Slade massaged his feet with oil. Over the next two decades, he would write her nearly 500 letters…[H]e does suggest that Slade fell passionately in love with Gandhi, who had taken a vow of celibacy… [Gandhi wrote,] “May God remove what I consider is your moha,” a Hindi word for infatuation.
The book’s approach echoes the Freudian analyses of Indian mythology, such as that of Mirabai’s devotion to Krishna, by non-South Asians. These analyses’ obsession with sexuality almost always provokes controversy. In this case, Kakar is adopting a classically Western approach to explore the obvious implications of a retroactively sainted man’s personal relationships. Of course, Gandhi admirers are up in arms:
Kakar’s implication that the deep emotional connection between Gandhi and Slade had something other than a purely spiritual basis has raised eyebrows in a country accustomed to hagiographic portrayals in school textbooks and movies such as “Gandhi”…
Here’s Ennis’ previous post on canonizing Gandhi.
manish on October 12, 2004 12:19 PM in Literature · T·r·a·c·k·b·a·c·k address · Direct link · Email post
It's amazing how many Indian scholars like Kakar take a particular philosophical world-view and use it as a template without fully acknowledging the particular cultural context they are examining. It's another classic example of the western hegemonic presence imposing itself upon eastern cultures. This time, done by an Indian classically trained in western theory filtered through the Indian perspective. (See Dipesh Chakrabarty's book, Provincializing Europe for more details on this phenomenon. His exploration of Indian Marxists and the disservice they have done to Indian history is particularly compelling.)
I don't disregard psychoanalysis entirely, and indeed, I find that in order to understand many theorists working today, it's important to have a basic knowledge of historical movements. Some of my favorite feminists at one time worked either in conjuction with or against psychoanalysis' peculiar male bias.
Moreover, I don't completely disavow the fact that there may have been romantic undertones in the relationship between Gandhi and Miraben. At the same time, I do think that reading too much into their relationship and the pantheon of Hindu gods is..........exhausting.
He gave Slade the name of Mira, after a mythical Hindu princess, and elevated her to the status of his foremost disciple, sitting with her every evening for an hour of quiet conversation while Slade massaged his feet with oil.
Is *that* what they called it back in the old days? :)
as for psychoanalysis, it is not science. Pharmacology and psychiatry is science...psychoanalysis is pretentious literature.
Hold the presses! GC and I ... AGREE FOR ONCE!
It's such a basic emotion. You can supress it, but can't deny. And most of us must have experienced the same in our lifetimes.
Taking a vow at celibacy, doesn't absolve one of such feelings. One can control the actions, but the feelings will linger on.
Brave attempt.