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KANU GANDHI'S MAHATMA (1938-1946)

Kanu Gandhi, a second cousin of Mahatma Gandhi went to work as a typist and personal assistant to his uncle. Because he had direct access to this political leader, his colleagues urged him to photograph his life. He began doing so in 1938, with Gandhi’s permission. Gandhi did lay down two conditions: he would not have to pose, and no flash would be used in the photographing. He also insisted that the photographs not be paid for by the independence movement. Kanu financed his reportage through the photographs he sold to newspapers in ever increasing numbers. With his wife Abha he grew into one of Gandhi’s most important confidants. The bond only deepened after the death of Gandhi’s wife in 1944. After the assassination attempt in 1948, Mahatma Gandhi died in Abha’s arms. At that moment, Kanu was working on a reportage in what later was to become Bangladesh. Courtesy The Kanu Gandhi Estate.

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