We learn far more truth from fiction than history. This novel captures India's long and uneven journey towards independence from the eyes of a young couple, Sriram and Bharati, who find themselves working closely with Gandhi.
You get a sense of the frustration and despair of the Indian people during that era, of India's confused mixture of antipathy and codependency with England. It's also interesting to see the spectrum of violence of the various resistance movements, ranging from Gandhi's absolute non-violence to other actors choosing far more aggressive measures of sabotage and terrorism.
The novel's fictional scenes with Gandhi give an interesting perspective on his striking mix of humility and power. He has a knack for upsetting the status quo in nearly everything he does: teaching his fellow Indians self-reliance and self-sovereignty by showing them how to spin and sew their own crude clothing; teaching people to boil saltwater rather than buy salt at inflated prices from British sources. In one scene, Gandhi scandalously blows off the wealthy elite of a city in order to stay in the "untouchable" neighborhood.
Of course Gandhi (and everyone else) knows that India's elites are "elite" because they condoned or benefited from British occupation. You can't colonize and control a country with seven times your population without collaboration of that country's elites. Thus Gandhi wanted (and needed) to thumb his nose at the established hierarchy of India.
No one could control this guy, and it's amazing to watch.
Gandhi tells a crowd: "It is not enough for you to clap your hands and show your appreciation of me. I am not prepared to accept it all so easily. I want you really to make sure of a change in your hearts before you ever think of asking the British to leave the shores of India. It's all very well for you to take up the cry and create an uproar. But that's not enough. I want you to clear your hearts and minds and make certain that only love resides there, and there is no residue of bitterness for past history. Only then can you say to the British, 'Please leave this country to be managed or mismanaged by us, that's purely our own business, and come back anytime you like as our friends and distinguished guests, not as our rulers.'"
This is the second of two novels I've read by this author, both offering readers wonderfully useful context on mid-20th century India. You can find my review of Narayan's novel The Financial Expert here.