Didn't know Hindi, but they got' Bapu

Bengaluru: It was a call to fund the freedom struggle and Mahatma Gandhi spoke only for 10 minutes in Hindi, a language a majority who had gathered at Madhugiri did not understand, but his tone conveyed the meaning and donations poured in, a centenarian lexicographer said Tuesday.

Recalling the incident in 1927, Prof G Venkatasubbiah said the people had come only to listen to the Mahatma and with no inkling it would be a plea for charity had no cash on them. “Yet, when the programme was over, women were at the forefront in giving away their gold necklaces, bangles and rings," reminisced the 105 year old Venkatasubbiah.