15 MAY 2014

Not sure if fact or fiction, but as an alumnus of the University College of London, it sure brought a smile to my face.

When Gandhi was studying law at the University College of London, there was a professor, whose last name was Peters, who felt animosity toward Gandhi, and because Gandhi never conceded to him in any disagreement, their "arguments" were very common.

One day, Mr. Peters was having lunch at the dining room of the University and Gandhi came along with his tray and sat next to him. The professor, in his arrogance, said, "Mr. Gandhi: you do not understand...a pig and a bird do not sit together to eat," to which Gandhi replied, "You do not worry professor, I'll fly away," and he went and sat at another table.

Mr. Peters, enraged, decided to take revenge on Gandhi on the next test, but Gandhi responded brilliantly to all questions. Then, Mr. Peters asked him the following question, "Mr. Gandhi, if you are walking down the street and find a package, and within it there is a bag of wisdom and another bag with a lot of money; which one will you take?" Without hesitating, Gandhi responded, "the one with the money, of course." Mr. Peters, smiling, said, "I, in your place, would have taken the wisdom, don't you think?" "Each one takes what one doesn't have," responded Gandhi indifferently.

Mr. Peters, already hysterical, wrote on the exam sheet the word "idiot" and gave it to Gandhi. Gandhi took the exam sheet and sat down. A few minutes later, Gandhi went to the professor and said, "Mr. Peters, you signed the sheet but you did not give me the grade."

(The story seems to be fiction according to our Internet search, but people enjoy it immensely and believes it well represents how Gandhi would have handled the situation!)