Along the west coast of India, to the north of Bombay, is the peninsula of Saurashtra. Along its crescent-shaped coastline lies a port called Porbander, also known as Sudamapuri or "Lord Krishna's abode."
About a quarter of a mile inland stands a house of three stories, bought in 1777, by a villager known as Harjivan Gandhi. In this house, on the ground floor was a room, so warm and stuffy, that one could hardly remain in it more than a few minutes. It was 12 feet long, 12 feet wide and 11 feet high.
In this room, on October 2, 1869, echoed the first shrill cries of a new born babe – a boy born to Putlibai and Karamchand Gandhi. He was named Mohandas.
Mohandas's father was a prime Minister of Rajkot, a man known for his integrity and unflinching loyalty. When it came to compromising his principles, he was adamant to the point of courting arrest. He was not, however, a rebel or a revolutionary and was much given to religious discourses.
Intelligent and possessed of sound common sense, his mother, Putlibai, was a devout and religious woman. Though soft of voice and very kind by nature, she kept her vows and observed fasts with incredible obstinacy. Along with her little son, she would often visit local Vaishnava temples before taking food for the day.
Gandhi had a high forehead, shining eyes and well-formed nose. Being the youngest of the family, he was the apple of his mother's eye; but when he was three years old, he was entrusted to the care of the children's maid Ramabhai. He reminisced "The outstanding impression my mother has left on my memory is that of saintliness for she was deeply religious. Ramabhai also was in no small measure responsible for Gandhi's religious background. It was she who taught Gandhi to chant the Ramanama. At that tender age, he repeated it mechanically and its influence was very great on his life of sacrifice and struggle.