Tracking the Mahatma

“My early childhood was spent listening to stories about the Mahatma from my great grandfather. My favourite anecdote is the trial of my great grandfather by a British lawyer when he was arrested for spreading the teachings of Gandhi. To every answer,the lawyer kept saying ‘you are a liar’,to which he simply quipped — a man who wears a Gandhi cap can never lie,” says Mishra,who is a mechanical engineer in Pune.

Mishra was also introduced to many freedom fighters who had worked closely with the Mahatma in his childhood and he had kept contacts with them later on. “In 2007,I got a call from a family I knew who wanted to know if I am interested in some gramophone recordings that they were planning to discard. Curiosity took me all the way to Jhansi from where I got the records. Many of them were in bad condition.”

Then began his extensive work on retrieving the audio content. Once re-recorded in a new audio format,he took it to many freedom fighters and archivists to ensure the authenticity. “It was only after confirming the voice through many primary and secondary sources,including voice samples of Mahatma,and re-establishing the period when these speeches were made — which we found was between the 30s and 40s — that we proceeded to make a good recording. Once done,I rushed to gift the first copy to President Pratibha Patil.”

It was Patil who asked Mishra to take the voice to the masses—”as much as you can. It’s the voice of the Mahatma”. Interestingly,most of the speeches — eight of them — are priceless as they have never been heard or archived unlike the other popular ones made by Mahatma. It also includes the sound of gunfires at the peak of a rally and the Mahatma pleading with the crowd to settle down and not to be threatened.

And today,Mishra takes time out from his profession and visits schools with CDs of the audio recordings. “It’s unconditional respect that takes me to schools. The students who hear it will get to hear the Mahatma in some of his finest moments,speaking about freedom,to an audience that is as moved as them.”

The audio clips,according to Mishra,were recorded by the British and it can be understood by the level of technical efficiency employed. “I recall one of the freedom fighters telling me that this has to be made by the British. We Indians were too busy listening to the Mahatma and fighting for freedom.”

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