Gandhi
The Most Important Journey
A few days ago, I finally got to the part of this book I wanted to read about: India’s independence. I first learned of Mountbatten many years ago, when I was preparing myself for a trip to India and reading everything I could about the subcontinent.
I eventually came across Freedom at Midnight, which is a brilliant book centering on Gandhi’s biography and perspective. Mountbatten’s biography, which is the one I’m reading now, is, of course, based on his perspective. And this is what makes reading both books so unique.
This is a history with other important players, and I hope to learn more about their perspective in the future. For now, I am simply fascinated by what I’m learning from this book, enjoying each new page more than the previous one. To be honest, this moment is what kept me reading it. Even though it is a well-written book, it is also massive, and each chapter has so much detail.
In any case, although it was an almost boring read so far, looking back, I now find it invaluable to have learned more about Mountbatten’s personal life and professional trajectory before his role in India’s independence. But his participation in the country’s history was definitely what I was looking forward to since the day I started reading this book.
I have always been fascinated by history, which ultimately led me to pursue a postgraduate degree in international affairs. But what you may not know is that after that I began a master’s degree program in history. Unfortunately, life had other plans for me, and I never finished it.
I’m a huge fan of history because the paths we took as a society in the past explain a lot about the world we live in today. Which also makes me sad because it seems like as a society we often take too long to learn. It appears to be so difficult for our species. We frequently start over again after moving forward.
Anyway, I feel that after this book, it is time to take a break and invest more time into another passion of mine, cognitive psychology. I don’t know if that will make me less sad about humanity, though.
Freedom at Midnight
I came across the book Freedom at Midnight while browsing the shelves of used bookstores. At that time, I was searching for everything I could read to help me learn more about our next adventure. So, finding a book about India before our trip to the country was no coincidence. However, it was a great surprise to come across this book in particular.
This is an exceptionally well-written account of the touching life of Mahatma Gandhi and the history of India’s independence. It touched me so deeply.
Update: I learned so much about the country and its most significant historical figure that I wanted to give it to my friend, who was also planning a trip to India. But I couldn’t help it and recently bought another copy to read it again.