Children’s book on Gandhi on the best-selling list
MAHATMA GANDHI is often imagined and portrayed as an elderly man, full of wisdom and wearing a simple loin-cloth.
However, the public rarely envisions him as a young man in a suit, shivering in the cold of a train station waiting room, unsure of his identity and confused about how to stand up to injustice.
This is the Gandhi that co-authors Kathryn Pillay and Stephanie Michelle Ebert introduce in their first children’s book: How to Stop a Train, The Story of How Mohandas Gandhi Became The Mahatma.
The book, published by Pan Macmillan, was released in South Africa last month, and as an e-book internationally on April 12.
Pillay, a senior lecturer in sociology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, said that according to Nielsen Bookscan Data for week 13 of 2024, the book was among the Top 100 best-selling children's books in the country.
It also ranked number 63 of all South African titles (adults and children) that week.
“Our publisher informed us that it is quite difficult for a local children’s book to make it to the Top 100, so we were absolutely thrilled,” said Pillay, of uMhlanga.
Ebert, a writer and freelance digital communications specialist from Pietermaritzburg, said that when she read an email on how well the book was received, she screamed.
“I think Kathryn cried. It was just a humbling moment to know that we have been able to play a part in getting this story out into the world, and it is so encouraging to know that it’s resonating with people,” said Ebert.
She said it was their first co-authored book, but they had a long-standing working relationship.
“Kathryn supervised my Master’s thesis in 2014, and we collaborated on an academic journal article that was published in 2022. Given our history of successful collaboration, we were confident from the outset that we would work well together on this project.”
Pillay said they hoped Gandhi’s story would inspire young people to ask how their actions could make a difference in the world.
“The story revolves around the moment when Gandhi was thrown off a train in Pietermaritzburg because he refused to move out of the first-class compartment. He had purchased a firstclass ticket, and did not want to co-operate with the racist ideas of the train
conductors who wanted him to sit in the back because he wasn’t white.
“The title is significant because actually, Gandhi did not stop the whole train that day. They threw him off, and the train kept going. It seemed like his action of sticking to the truth in his soul had no effect on the larger world.
“But what Gandhi learnt in that moment and his decision to stick to the truth no matter what, led him to keep
working for justice.
“His ‘no’ to injustice in that moment led to many more people starting to say ‘no’ to injustice, and, collectively, their actions shifted the course of history.
“Gandhi is often referred to as the ‘Mahatma’ which means ‘great soul’, but when Gandhi was a young man in South Africa, he was just ‘Mohandas’, an ordinary man.
“It was through his repeated actions of bravely choosing to stick to the truth that he earned himself the title of respect, ‘Mahatma Gandhi’,” said Pillay.
Ebert said that as a mother of two young boys, she always looked for books that could help them understand more of their rich history in South Africa, and give them a sense of agency when it came to facing injustice.
“We live in Pietermaritzburg, and it was on a visit to the train station once that I wished I had a better way to talk with my boys about the events that happened there. I knew I didn’t have the expertise to write such a book, but thankfully I knew Kathryn, who is an academic expert on the experience of South Africans of Indian descent. I reached out to her to write this book with me. We didn’t want to write a dry book of history, but rather an exciting, page-turning adventure about Gandhi’s life.”
Pillay, a mother of one, added that when Ebert approached her with the idea of the book, she immediately knew she wanted to be a part of the project.
“In addition to telling the story of Gandhi, we knew we had to conceptualise the book around the themes of social justice and inequality. We wanted the book not only to tell Gandhi’s story, but also to serve as a handbook on bravery and courage in addressing injustice.
“We envisioned it as a resource for young people, parents and educators to facilitate discussions about injustice and difficult topics in the world.”
The book is aimed at children, aged 6 to 12. It’s a picture book, with illustrations by Paddy Bouma, and a story. It includes supplementary materials to help parents and teachers use it as an educational resource.
The book launch will take place, with a reading and signing, at Exclusive Books Gateway on April 27 at 2pm.
An event will also be hosted on May 1 at the Pietermaritzburg Railway Station. There, families can visit the place where Gandhi was thrown off the train, and explore the Gandhi Foundation Museum.
The book is available in most bookstores and online, including Exclusive Books, Bargain Books, Takealot and Loot.