Gandhi: A Photo Biography

Description

A visual narrative of the life and work of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. A strong, intimate, entertaining and moving documentary of both the public and the private man. This book introduces to the reader the life and work of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi often through rare and never before seen photography. The photographs derive from two main collections, one from the photo-archives of Gandhi's foremost biographer Vithalbhai Jhaveri, and of Kanu Gandhi, Gandhi's great nephew. Jhaveri made it his life's work to collect photographs of MK Gandhi from sources around the world. After Jhaveri's death, Peter Ruhe turned the extensive photo collection of over 9,000 prints into a photo-archive of the highest standard through scientific cataloguing and computerisation. Kanu Gandhi lived with MK Gandhi for the last 12 years of his life and was the only person Gandhi gave permission to photograph him, but with three conditions; that the freedom movement would not fund it, that he was not to use flash and that Gandhi would not pose for him. This collection is therefore a precious and intimate view of the more private side of Gandhi's life. The book has a strong visual narrative and allows us a rare

Peter Ruhe lives in Berlin and Mumbai, India. He is a specialist in the conservation of visual material of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and has in various countries presented Multi Media events on Gandhi and worked on several TV productions. Peter Ruhe is the founder of Gandhiserve. His life before Gandhi involved semi-professional football and, later, computer programming. In 1983 Peter made his first visit to India. In Germany in this same year he became involved with the German Peace Movement and the foundation and establishment of the Gandhi Information Centre, Berlin. In 1984 he was co-author of the book 'My Life is My Message' and four years later began preparation for what is now the largest photo-archive on Gandhi and India's Freedom Movement. His visits to India concentrated mainly in Gujarat, the region of Gandhi's home, here he worked on many projects. In 1992 he was awarded for his life work by the Gujarati Writer's Association in Rajkot. In 1997 he was the Director of Research for the documentary TV-serial on Gandhi by Ketan Mehta, and in 1998 established the non-profit organisation Gandhiserve in Berlin. Every year he visits numerous associates and relatives of Gandhi, photographers, collectors and contemporaries of Gandhi throughout India and in other countries. His aims are to record reminiscences and first hand information about Gandhi and India's freedom movement and to guide the owners of material in the correct way to store and handle their treasured films, letters, photographs and documents and to make this material available.

"'For anyone truly inspired by one of the greatest men that ever walked the earth, this comprehensive biography of the Mahatma is a must' (Garavi Gujarat); '... allow[s] us an intimate insight into the life of one of the 20th century's great figures' (Sunday Times Magazine); 'This is a history book with a difference. It brings Gandhi to a new generation of readers. Some wonderful old photographs tell a great story and a perceptive new text shows Gandhi, the man who struggled to live up to ideals despite the contradictions that dogged him in his personal and political life' (Swagat)"