Kanu however was forbidden by Gandhi from capturing Kasturba's last moments as she lay dying on his lap during his incarceration at the Aga Khan Palace in Pune. Years later as Gandhi breathed his last in Abha's lap at Birla House, Delhi, Kanu was away at Noakhali where Gandhi had ordered him to stay. Kanu's interest in photography came to an end with Gandhi's assassination although he did undertake a few assignments including one in famine affected Bihar in the 1950s.