Dr. Paul Marett
C.P. Shah remembers:
'Meghjibhai was not interested in contributing to collections for small funds. He believed that if money was given out in small subscriptions, money necessary for big schemes could not be built up. Big schemes were for the benefit of the masses and they were not easy to implement. To Meghjibhai money was no problem and so he insisted that the largest amount of money should be spent for the benefit of the largest number of people. This does not mean that Meghjibhai did not ever donate funds for small works. Occasionally he did give small donations for valuable works. On such exceptional occasions he did not allow his principles to rule him too rigidly. A certain gentleman from India came to London for surgical treatment on his eye. He did not have enough money for it. He needed? 250. Our Chamber of Commerce decided to collect that amount for the gentleman. That evening I happened to see Meghjibhai. I talked to him about the gentleman's difficulties. Without any enquiry or further discussion he wrote out a cheque for the amount there and then. That gentleman was saved from his difficulties.'
Sometimes he would receive proposals for large-scale projects about which he did not have much information. On such occasions he would rely on those who brought the proposals to him. Among his reminiscences of Meghjibhai, C.P. Shah writes:
‘As he had astonished everyone by giving a huge donation to Dhebarbhai for the Saurashtra Medical College, so on one occasion we had an equally astonishing experience of his generosity. At that time, Dr. Jivraj Mehta had come to London as the High Commissioner of India. It was his first day of taking up office and that evening a small dinner party was arranged at my place in his honour. Among other guests were Meghjibhai and Shapurbhai from Vallabh Vidyanagar. Shapurbhai said casually "We want to set up a medical college and a hospital in Vallabh Vidyanagar and we shall link the institution with the name of the person who will donate a certain amount to us". At once I turned to Meghjibhai and said "This is your subject so you will be interested in it". Then we discussed it in detail. At the end of the discussion Meghjibhai said to me "I shall see you in the bank tomorrow and we shall talk further“. Accordingly, Meghjibhai called on me in the bank and said, "Chandubhai, I haven't seen Vallabh Vidyanagar, nor do I know anything about it. But I know you, and the proposal that your friend has come up with is in keeping with my programme. So tell him that he will get from me the amount he needs".
C.P. Shah continues:
'We proceeded further in the matter. At that time the foremost person in Vallabh Vidyanagar was Shri H.M. Patel and I contacted him. Finally it was decided that Meghjibhai would donate? 110,000 sterling, or the equivalent in rupees, and from that amount a medical college and a hospital would be started in his name. Only a person like Meghjibhai could donate such a huge amount on a friend's recommendation. On the spot he would take decisions about donations of hundreds of thousands of rupees. Unfortunately the leaders in Vidyanagar could not avail themselves of Meghjibhai's offer on account of some difficulties of their own'.
C.P. Shah recalls that Meghjibhai could be harsh at times: 'He would not refrain from telling the straight truth and so some people considered him arrogant. In fact he did not like to talk in a roundabout way and please people with a superficial sweetness. I think that it was quite natural that Meghjibhai, who had built up his wealth and expanded his charity, did not like to waste time and energy on hearing false flattery.'
Reference has been made above to Mr. J.K. Gohel. Mr. Gohel was very impressed by Meghjibhai's philanthropic activities and his commercial talent. In turn, Meghjibhai, who had a capacity for assessing the worth of a person, recognised Mr. Gohel's ability and a friendship grew up between them. Meghjibhai was impatient of government officialdom but he never allowed his prejudices to affect his friendship with Mr. Gohel, even though the latter was a government official.
Recollecting those days Mr. Gohel says 'When I made up my mind to leave the I.A.S. and join Meghjibhai, we promised each other that he who outlived the other would look after the family of the dead friend. I had not imagined that the tragic event would take place within four years.'
Meghjibhai, Jaya, Maharani Saheb of Jamnagar, Meenal,
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Mr. V.N. Dhebar, Maniben,
Mr. Manubhai Shah, Mr Morarji Desai, H.H. Jamsaheb, Sumi.
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, Meenal,
Mr. V. N. Dhebar, Premchandbhai.
