On 2nd October, 1869 Putlibai, the fourth wife of Deewan Karamchand Gandhi gave birth to her fifth child at Porbandar. Karamchand’s first wife had born a daughter and died. Second wife died after giving birth to a son. Third wife died childless.
The fourth wife, Putlibai had born a daughter and three sons already.
The fourth son of Putlibai was christened Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. The mother preferred to call the child ‘Monia’ lovingly. The rest of the family called him ‘Manu’, the short version of Mohandas.
Putlibai’s Monia was a naughty kid. The mother liked to take him to palaces whenever she was invited by the royal ladies of Porbandar and Rajkot.
Naughty Monia’s favourite prank was to make his elder sisters chase him and then dodge them to hide where they could not find him.
When Monia grew up a bit more he made other members of the family also chase him. For hiding sometimes he chose trees because he could climb trees like a monkey.
During those days kinder gartens were not there to prepare little kids for the schools. Parents were also not in any hurry to school their children. It was also a fact that orthodox mothers avoided parting with their male children as long as possible until the fathers put their foot down. The education for the female child was considered luxury. Mostly they were married off in childhood to be gotten rid of. Thus, little Monia did not suffer the schooling until he was seven years old.
His father shifted to Rajkot when Mohan alias Monia had just entered his seventh year. He was put in a village school to start his education in 1876. After five years of studies there he was enrolled in a new schools for middle and high classes. As a student Monia was a non-descript boy who found security in hiding behind the students infront to escape the gaze of the teacher.
For some reason Monia always dreaded other boys making fun of him or being jeered at. He was extremely shy and diffident. Talking to teachers or other boys was mission impossible for Monia.
Taking part in sports or physical exercises was beyond his scope. He avoided school playground as if it were mined just to blow him up. As a result Monia’s body retained its frail and skinny state.
Monia didn’t shine in studies either. He refused to excel in any subject. It appeared that Mohandas was determined to remain mediocre among mediocres. His becoming qualified enough to carry on the family tradition of serving as Deewan of some princely state was as bright as his winning trophy in state wrestling tournament.
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