14. Chacha Nehru and Children

 Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, was remarkable in many ways—a brilliant writer, the architect of the Panchsheel principles in foreign policy, India’s longest-serving Prime Minister, and a devoted disciple of Mahatma Gandhi. However, to the children of India, he is lovingly remembered as Chacha Nehru. Since 1954, his birthday on November 14 has been celebrated as Children’s Day, reflecting his deep affection for children. Here are some touching anecdotes from Nehruji’s life:

1. Panditji Who Rocked the Baby

Once, Gandhiji was walking in the garden of Teen Murti Bhavan when he heard the loud cries of a baby. Curious, he followed the sound and discovered a baby lying on the ground, crying inconsolably. With no sign of the mother nearby, Nehruji bent down, gently picked up the baby, and cradled him in his arms.

The baby immediately stopped crying and began smiling toothlessly at him. Nehru sat down and lovingly rocked the child in his lap. A short while later, the child’s mother, a laborer working in the garden, rushed over, alarmed. To her amazement, she found her child happily playing in the lap of the Prime Minister of India! Overcome with gratitude and awe, she respectfully took her child back, astonished at Nehruji’s humility and kindness.

2. The Balloon Seller and Chachaji

During a visit to Tamil Nadu, Nehru was traveling in a motorcade, greeted by crowds lining the streets. Among them, he noticed a group of children standing by a balloon seller holding colorful balloons that floated high above.

Charmed by the sight, Nehru asked his vehicle to stop and called the balloon seller over. The man, trembling with fear, approached, thinking he had done something wrong. Nehru reassured him, bought all the balloons, and distributed them to the delighted children nearby. He even paid the seller through his personal assistant. Picking up a small girl who giggled as she held her balloon, Nehru joined in her laughter, sharing her innocent joy.

3. A Speech for Children?

Once, over a hundred children came to meet Nehruji at Teen Murti Bhavan. At the time, he was in the middle of a crucial meeting to decide Congress candidates. His staff, aware of his love for children, kept the young visitors entertained with food and toys.

When Nehru finally arrived, tired but happy to see the children, his exhaustion quickly faded. The man accompanying the children requested him to give a speech. Nehru laughed and replied, “A speech? This is not the time for such things with these little ones!” Instead, he began running and playing with the children. Their joy filled the air as they chanted, “Chacha Nehru ki jai!”

4. The Autograph Incident

On another occasion, a child visiting Nehru handed him a small book and asked for an autograph. Nehru signed it promptly. The child looked at the signature and said, “Chachaji, you forgot to write the date!” Smiling, Nehru took back the book and added the date.

The child inspected it again and said, “Chachaji, you didn’t write a message for me!” Nehru laughed, took the book once more, and wrote a heartfelt message. When the child looked at the book, he was surprised to see that the autograph was in English, the date was in Urdu, and the message was in Hindi!

Curious, the child asked, “Why did you do this?”
Nehru replied with a grin, “You asked for the autograph in English, the date in Urdu, and the message in Hindi—so I gave you each in its proper language!”

5. The Story of the Rose

Nehru loved flowers as much as he loved children. One day, a child came to see him, holding a beautiful rose. When Nehru reached out to take it, the child asked him to bend down. Nehru obliged, and the child neatly tucked the rose into the pocket of his coat. Touched by the gesture, Nehru patted the child’s cheek lovingly. From that day forward, a rose became a signature accessory in Nehru’s attire.

6. The Best Arms in Life

Once, someone asked Nehru, “In whose arms have you felt the most comfortable?”
Nehru replied, “In the arms of a woman, and that too, someone else’s wife!”
Shocked, everyone stared at him until he added with a smile, “Don’t misunderstand me—it was in the arms of my father’s wife, my mother!”

7. Weight Loss and Gain

A mischievous boy once asked Nehru, “Chachaji, when were you at your heaviest and your lightest?”

Without missing a beat, Nehru replied, “My heaviest weight was 70 kilograms when I was in Ahmednagar Jail. My lightest weight? 3 kilograms—the day I was born!”

8. The Blood-Drinking Father

Nehru’s father, Motilal Nehru, was a Western-educated man who enjoyed red wine. One evening, young Jawaharlal saw him drinking it and, alarmed, ran to his mother, exclaiming, “Mother, father is drinking blood!”