Champaklal Speaks

Why so many Clips?

It was long ago. I used to wash dhoti everyday and dry it myself. Once it so happened that I needed clips to hold the dhoti on the cloth line. I asked for some from Prosperity. Purushottam was then in charge of Prosperity. Every evening he would present all requisition chits from sadhaks to Mother for her sanction, in the Prosperity room (in Library House) just before we all gathered there for 'games'.¹

That day Purushottam had presented my chits to Mother. When I went in, Mother asked, “Why do you want so many clips?”

I said: “You can come and see the size of my cloth!” I spoke with a touch of vehemence. She kept quiet: she did not say anything.

The next day she started telling me, very sweetly: “ Champaklal, you know, people were saying, how can Champaklal talk to Mother like that?”

I did not at all realise what was wrong and exclaimed: “What is there?” Again she fell silent and did not say anything more.

It was much later that I realised that something was wrong in my way of speaking, in my expression.