Of Mahatma Gandhi’s few possessions, his watches were the most beloved.
January 7, 2015 6:52 AM   Subscribe

 
When his friend the Anglican missionary C. F. Andrews had objected strongly to his bonfires of foreign cloth, Gandhi took great pains to point out it was only foreign mill-made cloth he was against since it had destroyed India’s spinners and weavers. “If the emphasis were on all foreign things it would be racial, parochial, and wicked,” he wrote. “The emphasis is on foreign cloth. The restriction makes all the difference in the world. I do not want to shut out English lever watches.”

Gandhi was a man of deep principles.
posted by Renoroc at 7:05 AM on January 7, 2015 [3 favorites]


For some reason, I am more respectful of other people's time than I am of mine. I have come to loathe being late for an appointment, but I have no problem sitting on my couch watching an episode of How It's Made for the third time.
posted by 724A at 7:15 AM on January 7, 2015 [4 favorites]


Well of course. How It's Made is mesmerizing.

And everyone, even a hard-core ascetic like Mohandas over here, needs a small arena of human joy that is all their own. A well-made watch can be a tiny perfect metaphor for all the good that humanity has brought to the world. This is cool.
posted by chicobangs at 7:41 AM on January 7, 2015


On the one hand, I totally agree with Gandhi that being late is an abomination, and rude to the people you might be meeting. On the other hand, I'm afraid I --- like 724A --- can happily zone out and waste time not assigned elsewhere. And no, I see no sin in that.
posted by easily confused at 8:42 AM on January 7, 2015


One of the more annoying things I've needed to get used to since I moved is what I think of as "Northwest time", which is the tendency for things to be 5-10 minutes late.
Around here, "late" doesn't start until 15 minutes after the set time.

For someone raised Back East, this is a constant source of irritation.*

On the other hand, it's better than my encounters with "Island Time" where "tomorrow" is a perfectly acceptable answer to any question involving a schedule.

*He says, as he waits for contractors to show up for a 930-10am appointment...
posted by madajb at 10:09 AM on January 7, 2015


"Thus he went on rebuking me for about fifteen to twenty minutes till it was time for his evening meal."

Kinda sounds like he wasted his time ...
posted by madajb at 10:09 AM on January 7, 2015 [1 favorite]


I live in the northwest, and I am totally irritated by lateness (and come close to getting anxiety attacks if, for some reason, I am late).
posted by lhauser at 7:34 PM on January 7, 2015


The ish watch.
posted by homunculus at 12:50 PM on January 8, 2015


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