Kasturba: A Life By Arun Gandhi, Penguin, Rs 295 There must be a surfeit of some emotion in a well-written biography. In the case of Kasturba: A Life, the emotion is love. Not only because the author, Arun Gandhi, is a grandson of Mohandas and Kasturba Gandhi, but also because of Kasturba's quiet but firm influence on her illustrious husband at a time when the woman's role in the society was minimal. It is impossible not to love someone who displayed determination and innocence at the same time. This eminently readable book provides valuable insights into what was once India's best known household. However, there are no references to sources and there is a dearth of material on Kasturba's early life. This implies a fair amount of reconstruction. The author himself says that in view of natural calamities destroying Kasturba's family records, certain assumptions have to be made to present a picture of the Kasturba's early life. There are evidences indicating that she was born into a wealthy family in Porbandar in 1869, the same year as Gandhi. Kasturba was married to him at the age of 13. There is little that is remarkable about the fact except that Gandhi became the Mahatma and Kasturba also had to bear her share of the burden as well as the fame. The major part of this burden was the frequent uprootings, enough to try the patience of any woman. These were also accompanied by cultural dislocations. For example, the society in Durban was totally different from that in Porbandar. In fact, the violent welcome received in Durban must have filled her with apprehension, but she carried on with fortitude. It was also not easy for a Vaishnavite to stay with a Parsi family who ate meat, fish and fowl. This tested her inner strength but she emerged a winner. Mohandas Gandhi decided to set up a legal practice in Johannesberg, which had an Indian population of around 12,000. Soon after, a plague swept through the Indian community and when Mohandas plunged into community service, Kasturba volunteered eagerly. In Arun Gandhi's words, 'ultimately...it was not new-found friends or allies who had made the deepest impression on my grandfather during the plague. It was the one closest to him: his own wife.' The story of dislocation continued beyond South Africa. Kasturba also experienced the austerity of ashrams in Sabarmati and Wardha - and that of the British jail. It was in the Aga Khan Palace jail that she died of a heart attack. The book dwells on the sexual intimacy between husband and wife but never makes it a focal point. Rather, it stresses the mental bond between them. The tragedy of their son, Harilal, is also explored, including the extremely poignant episode of his visit to the Aga Khan Palace when Kasturba was dying. Even at her end, Mohandas and Kasturba were together. The Times of India described her as 'a brave woman with a large and kind heart... known to India's worshipping millions simply as 'ba' - mother.' It was ironic that the sandalwood used at her cremation had been originally bought by the government for perusal, in case Mohandas died during his 21-day fast. The author gives glimpses of several touching moments like this and in the process, reveals his own intense love and admiration for his grandmother and grandfather. What makes the book stand up is this love for the subject, for there is little else which is particularly new. And it is also what makes trivial the intrusion of the private into the public. The easy chronology of events makes for easy reading. The book's greatest achievement is perhaps in selecting a person who has been marginalized by most historians of the Indian freedom struggle. In her own right, Kasturba was her true partner. As Arun Gandhi puts it, 'While Mohandas experimented with truth, Kasturba experienced it.'