Mahatma Gandhi – The Father of the Nation (2).pptx

Mahatama Gandhi

1. English Story Telling

2. Mahatma Gandhi – The Father of the Nation October 2 is a very important day for our country. We celebrate this day as Gandhi Jayanti . It is the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi- the Father of the Nation. We also call him “ Bapu ” with great respect and affection. Long ago on this day in 1869 a sweet baby was born in Porbandar town in Gujarat. Father Karamchand Gandhi and mother Putlibai named the baby “Mohan” – Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

3. As a child, he was greatly influenced by honesty and the strict discipline of his father and by the simplicity and religious thoughts of his mother. At a very early age the shy, little boy learned the values of Honesty and Discipline. He lived these values throughout his life and rightly showed the power of these values to the entire world. Today I will tell you a story on Gandhiji’s childhood.

4. The night was very dark and Mohan was frightened. He had always been afraid of ghosts. Whenever he was alone in the dark, he was afraid that a ghost lurking in some dark corner would suddenly spring on him. And tonight it was so dark that one could barely see one’s own hand. Mohan had to go from one room to another. As he stepped out of the room, his heart began to beat like a drum. Rambha , their old maidservant was standing by the door.

5. “What’s the matter , son?” she asked with a laugh. “I am frightened, Dai”, Mohan answered. “ Frightened, child ! Frightened for what?” “See how dark it is! I’m afraid of ghosts!” Mohan whispered in a terrified voice. Rambha patted his head affectionately and said, “Whoever heard of anyone being afraid of dark! Listen to me: Think of Rama and no ghost will dare come near you. No one will touch a hair of your head. Rama will protect you.”

6. Rambha’s words gave Mohan courage. Repeating the name of Rama, he left the room a nd from that day, Mohan was never lonely or afraid. He believed that as long as Rama was with him, he was safe from danger. This faith gave Gandhiji strength throughout his life, and even when he died the name of Rama was on his lips.

7. Some unknown facts about Mahatma Gandhi There are 53 major roads in India and 48 roads outside India named after him. He walked almost 18 km a day throughout his life. This is almost equal to walking around the world twice. He travelled all around the world but he never travelled in an aeroplane . During 1921 seeing the poverty in Madurai where people didn’t have clothes to wear he gave up his clothes and started wearing only dhoti and even got his head shaved.

8. Some unknown facts about Mahatma Gandhi Mahatma Gandhi shares his birthday with another great leader of our country Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri ji . The smiling picture of Bapu on the currency of our country is not a drawing but a mirror image captured in 1946 but was printed on the Indian rupee only after 1996. However as a mark of respect United Nations have also declared his birthday that is 2 nd October as the International Day of Non-violence with effect from 2007 .