“How completely you have taken possession of my body. This is slavery with a vengeance,” Gandhiji wrote to Kallenbach, whom he met in South Africa.<\/p>\n
He nicknamed himself ‘Upper House’ and Kallenbach ‘Lower House’, and said cotton wool and Vaseline were ‘a constant reminder’ of Kallenbach.<\/p>\n
Another letter to Kallenbach from Gandhiji quoted in the book reads: “Your portrait [the only one] stands on my mantelpiece in my bedroom. The mantelpiece is opposite to the bed.”<\/p>\n
It’s possible that Lelyveld has presented these letters out of context. But, I am not here to dispute the facts since I don’t know much about the Mahatma’s relationship with Kallenbach.<\/p>\n
So, I analysed Gandhiji’s handwriting. Here are a couple of points:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/writechoice.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/03\/mahatma-gandhi.jpg\" "\\"Mahatma")
<\/a>Pic courtesy: http:\/\/www.deepeshmd.com\/<\/p><\/div>\n
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<\/a>Sample of Mahatma Gandhi’s handwriting (1st sample)<\/p><\/div>\n
#1. Homosexual leanings<\/h3>\n
A writer’s sexual life is seen in the lower zone of his handwriting. The sample below shows that a homosexual person’s lower zone is sharply triangular.<\/p>\n
If you compare it with that in Gandhiji’s sample, you’ll find no similarity at all. Gandhiji’s lower-zone letters<\/a> in the sample above are round. But before you make up your mind, read the next point.<\/p>\n Triangular Y, indicating homosexuality (Picture courtesy: Handwriting University International)<\/p><\/div>\n Oscar Wilde’s handwriting<\/p><\/div>\n It is well known that Oscar Wilde served time in prison for homosexual activities. Interestingly, there is some similarity between his handwriting and that of Gandhi. In the lower-zone letter, of course.<\/span>In Wilde’s handwriting, look at the tails of y’s in “by and “you”.<\/p>\n Normally, the tails take left turn and come up to the baseline, indicating a normal sexual preference. But in this sample, they turn right, reflecting some confusion as far as sexuality is concerned.<\/p>\n Similar inverse tails of lower-zone letter g is found in Gandhi’s second sample (below). Look at “against” and his own signature “mkgandhi”.<\/p>\n Mahatma Gandhi’s handwriting (2nd sample)<\/p><\/div>\n The two samples of Gandhiji’s handwriting here are totally different.<\/p>\n In the first one, there is no sign of any homosexual<\/a> preference. But in the second, there is.<\/p>\n So, what’s the conclusion, you may ask. I know you will like me to take a stand here and make clear whether Gandhiji was a homosexual or not.<\/p>\n But in this case, I will sit on the fence, and swing both ways.<\/p>\n#2. Comparison with Oscar Wilde<\/h3>\n