39. Mahatmaji tickled to laughter

"As I entered I gave Mahatmaji an Indian salutation with bowed head and palms of my hands close together in front of my chest. Now whether it was the sight of my large feet in their baggy socks or whether I cut a comic figure as I saluted him I do not know, but the old gentleman fairly chortled with laughter and his eyes shone like a schoolboy's behind his steel-rimmed spectacles," wrote Mr. Robert Stimson of The Times of India, reminiscing about Gandhiji. He continued:

"That is the first thing one notices about Mahatma Gandhi, high spirit, his sense of fun, his ability to see the ludicrous side of things. He is the exact opposite of severe and tight-lipped and 'saintly' in the stained-glass window sense."