Snapshots of a genius

COVER STORY: DR BHIM RAO AMBEDKAR

- PRATUL SHARMA

Know your fiancé

In Feb 1948, Ambedkar wrote to his fiancée, Dr Sharada Kabir (Savita Ambedkar after marriage): "You have not cared to inquire into my past. But it will be available to you at any time in the pages of many Marathi magazines."

Culinary files

Ambedkar liked cooked radish and mustard leaves. He would fry them in ghee, like the Punjabis. Otherwise his food was simple: one chappati of bajra, a small quantity of rice, curd and three pieces of fish. Breakfast included toasts, eggs, and tea, a habit formed during his student days at Columbia University.

Strengths and weakness

Ambedkar was ambidextrous and proficient in nine languages-Hindi, Pali, Marathi, Sanskrit, English, French, German, Persian and Gujarati. He played the violin and, while in college wrote a skit, A Wise Girl, based on Shakespeare's King Lear. He also played cricket. But, he had trouble with maths. He once wrote to his college principal that he wished to drop a year as he was weak in maths.

In tune with nature

Ambedkar loved dogs and is said to have sobbed like a child when his pet dog died in an accident. He also enjoyed gardening. The Daily Mail praised the garden he maintained at his official residence.

House of justice

Former IAS officer Kartar Singh 'Polonius' wrote that Ambedkar as law minister patiently heard and redressed the grievances of small government officials and labourers who met him at his bungalow in Delhi. The bungalow thus came to be known as insaaf ki kothi or house of justice. When he left office, he arranged housing and jobs for his staff, from the private secretary to the sweeper.

Books of life