MOHANDAS Karamchand Gandhi. I repeated the name over and over again as I memorised a brief life history of the Indian statesman for my Tawarikh (History) exam in Standard Four at St Marks Primary School in Butterworth, Penang.
The Tawarikh book in Malay for the history curriculum at that time had us students learning about Jesus Christ and Siddhartha Gautama Buddha under the great religions of humankind topic. Perhaps that is what sparked my interest in the world’s great religious traditions that has continued until today, 52 years later.
