The Nehru-Gandhi family story reminds one of Greek myths, of family curses. Like the Kennedy’s in America, the Royal family in England, the Nehru-Gandhi’s are the Greeks of our times. The Nehru-Gandhi name is synonymous with power in India. Much like the Kennedy’s were, the Gandhi family was and to some extent still is the First family in India. Generation after generation, the family has been allied with political power, with wealth, status and with tragedy.
Was there, is there, a curse on the Gandhi family? In her article “The Oracle and the Family Curse” Liz Greene writes about four features that generally appear in every myth about a family curse.
In brief, what Liz says is:
The “family curse is an inversion of a family blessing”. The curse begins as a blessing, a boon by the gods bestowed upon someone extraordinary which is then misused or abused in some way leading to the boon turning into a curse.
There is always hubris involved. The individuals, in some manner or other, transgress the mortal limits imposed by the gods.
The curse is usually linked with the abuse of children or of creative potential.
The members of the family who inherit the curse exacerbate it through their own hubris.”
The Gandhi family seems to have had fulfilled all the criteria. I say ‘have had’ hoping that the curse has been expiated but I really don’t see how that might have happened.
