Sadanand More's magisterial work takes as its overarching framework the relations— at once personal, political and philosophical— between Gandhi on the one side and Gokhale's great rival, Bal Gangadhar Tilak on the other. As More writes early in the narrative: 'The process of transition from Tilak's leadership to that of Gandhi's was a traumatic and painful experience for Maharashtra. There was discord not just between families but within households as well'. This conflict between Tilak and Gandhi, he further notes, 'lies at the heart of the history of Maharashtra', and therefore, unless the conflict 'is understood in its entirety, it would certainly be difficult to understand Maharashtra'. Lokamanya to Mahatma is a colossal work of scholarship, at once very deep and extremely wide. Deftly translated from Marathi by Abhay Datar, this two-volume study covers an astonishing array of themes— sociological, literary, intellectual, biographical, political, pan-Indian and at times, also global. Lokamanya to Mahatma has rich discussions of disputes and arguments between individual politicians, their parties, and their ideologies. These multiple strands are woven together by the historian as a master craftsman. While reading Sadanand More's study, it struck me several times that there was a comparable book waiting to be written on Gandhi and Bengal, another province with which the Mahatma had complex and contentious relations. I wonder if there is indeed a Bengali Sadanand More, with comparable intelligence, energy and erudition. Meanwhile, we can all, whether Maharashtrian, Bengali or neither, feast on this splendid work of scholarship that the original Sadanand More has offered us. ...” Ramachandra Guha