Where Am I Giving: A Global Adventure Exploring How to Use Your Gifts and Talents to Make a Difference

15Growing Up Gandhi (India, 2017): Mandated giving / The Mother Teresa controversy / Gandhi on giving

NOTHING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD WAS OF NOTE. The buildings were faded white and uniform. It wasn't leafy. It wasn't grand. It wasn't gated. There wasn't a sign with an arrow that read: “Guru this way!”

“Oh, I see it. I'm here,” I said into my phone. I had arrived but hadn't realized it.

“Ask at the shop and they'll tell you where my apartment is.”

I hung up.

“I'm looking for Gandhi.”

A guy from the store walked me to a staircase outside the building.

I was sweaty. The cab ride from my room at the Royal Bombay Yacht Club had taken more than 90 minutes. Mahatma Gandhi, seen as the father of the nation, led the country to independence from the British in 1947. Yet in 1958 the Yacht Club still did not welcome Indian members. The irony of my accommodation and my destination was not lost on me.

At the top of the steps there was a wooden “Gandhi” sign. The door was open and the room was crowded.

“Kelsey!” Tushar Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi's great-grandson, stood and shook my hand (see Figure 15.1). Picture Mahatma Gandhi and now picture the opposite. That is Tushar. He's a big guy. His hand made mine feel small. He introduced me to his audience – members of a free Tibet movement.

Figure 15.1 Tushar Gandhi and the author.

Two men sitting on a couch adjacent to Tushar's chair stood and gave ...