55. Nothing too small for him

Acharya Kaka Kalelkar, who was with Gandhiji in Bombay at the time of the Congress Session there in 1915 relates the following story revealing how great the latter could be even in small things:

One day I noticed him searching furiously for something in an agitated mood.

I asked him, "Bapu, what are you searching for?"

"A small pencil," he answered.

I took one out of my attache case to give him.

"No, no. I want the small pencil I am searching for," Bapuji said.

"Use this for the moment, Bapuji, and I shall search for yours later," I replied.

"You do not understand, Kaka," he said, "I should not lose that pencil. It was given to me in Madras by the young son of G. A. Natesan. And with what affection he ran and gave it to me; and how can I afford to lose it ?"

We both searched the rogue of a pencil and Bapuji felt at ease only after it was found.

The pencil was hardly one inch long !