Sabarmati Ashram

Imagine you want to walk back in time and experience your history books coming alive about Gandhiji’s role in India’s freedom struggle. In that case, you must visit the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad. It is also called Gandhi Ashram or Satyagraha Ashram and is located on the banks of the Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad. It was home to Gandhiji and his wife, Kasturba Gandhi, for 12 years from 1917 to 1930. 

After checking into our hotel, we first visited the Sabarmati Ashram. A site map shows us where we are and how we can go about visiting various structures at the ashram. 

Book Shop

The ashram has a bookshop with a massive collection of books by Mahatma Gandhi on Mahatma Gandhi, India’s freedom struggle, religious texts, books for children, and books on theology and philosophy. If you are a book lover, you can spend the entire day rummaging through the vast collection of books here. The bookshop also sells souvenirs like pen stands, charkhas, keychains and other paraphernalia. I pick a copy of Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali, which has long been on my reading list.

Khadi Shop

As we go further, we see the Khadi Shop, which sells outfits made using hand-spun Khadi. Eager buyers are checking the collection consisting of jackets, kurtas, shirts and other items of clothing. Khadi was not just a hand-spun and woven fabric but a symbol of Swadeshi (self-sufficiency) during the fight against the British. 

Museum

The Museum throws light on the Mahatma, his teachings and life. Renowned architect Charles Correa designed it. We see various panels that showcase Gandhiji’s life and the ashram. A panel titled from Mohan to Mahatma has a series of pictures that trace his transformation from a young boy to the icon the world knows him as today. The Dandi March or Salt satyagraha began from this ashram, so its route and details are prominently displayed. What was ashram life-like, why did the ashram come into existence, the vows taken by ashram residents and several other details are on display. An interesting display was about what great leaders and stalwarts like Martin Luther King, Einstein, Tolstoy, etc, had to say about Gandhiji. The Museum has three galleries: Gandhi in Ahmedabad, My Life is my Message and Painting Gallery.

Gandhi in Ahmedabad Gallery: This gallery has hand-drawn panels that trace historical events in Gandhi’s life. I found one particularly interesting about whether Kasturba (Gandhiji’s wife) was his teacher. I was stunned at the brutal honesty with which Gandhiji confessed that he tried hard to make his wife bend his way, only later realising his folly. This made me wonder about Gandhi, the thinker and how he introspected every action, thought or word. 

My Life is my Message: An attempt has been made in two hundred and fifty pictures to retrace Gandhiji’s life from his birth in Porbandar, his time in England, and South Africa, steering India’s struggle for independence to his assassination in Delhi. 

Painting Gallery: Paintings of Gandhiji meditating, spinning the wheel, preaching, leading the Dandi March, and several others adorn this gallery. A portrait of Gandhiji made of heated groundnut shells is eye-catching.

Magan Niwas: We then head to Magan Niwas, which is named after Gandhiji’s nephew, who was referred to as the soul of the ashram. He was instrumental in upgrading the designs of charkhas- the spinning wheel. So what did we see when we entered Maganlal’s residence? No prizes for guessing. Different types of charkhas! Here is an honest confession. Up until now, I assumed the charkhas were of just one kind, like the ones we saw in most pictures. But over here, we saw different types of charkhas and how various khadi fabrics can be made from them prominently displayed.

Hriday Kunj: This is Gandhiji’s simple abode where he lived with his wife, Kasturba, from 1917 to 1930. Its simplicity and starkness remind you of the maxim ‘Simple living high thinking.’ A room with a charkha, a table and mattress where Gandhiji held his meetings and spent most of his time is enclosed and out of bounds for tourists. Then there is Kasturba’s room, a kitchen, a guest room and a store room. I would have loved to spend more time contemplating here, but there is a constant stream of tourists entering and leaving the premises. 

Vinobha Mira Kutir: This, again is a simple, plain house where Vinobha Bhave, whom Gandhiji described as a model Satyagrahi, lived from 1918 to 1921. Mira was Madeleine Slade, a British Admiral’s daughter, who was impressed by Gandhiji’s ideology and lived here from 1925 to 1933. It was from these two personalities that the structure got its name.

Nandini: The guest house of the ashram is Nandini. Famous leaders and guests who have stayed here include Jawaharlal Nehru, Mawlana Abul Kalam Azad, Tagore and others. 

Udyog Mandir: We visit the Udyog Mandir, which has several handmade items and souvenirs on sale. Printed T-shirts, cards, bags, wall hangings, magnets, keychains and other knickknacks are up for grabs. In another room, we see a ‘Tree of Life’ painted on a wall with the quote ‘Be the change you wish to see in the world’ written. Another painting of a temple, mosque, church, gurudwara and other places of worship spreads a message of communal harmony.

We stroll around the Ashram premises and can see the Sabarmati river. There are steps that lead you to the ghats. There is a statue of Gandhiji in black stone prominently displayed. In another corner are Gandhiji’s Three Monkeys ‘Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.’ Trees and flowering plants ensure that birds and butterflies find a home. The peace and aura that the ashram radiates are reflective of the Mahatma whose home this was and where the seed for Indian Independence was sowed. 

The Sabarmati Riverfront is close to the ashram, so we visited it too. It has a promenade that is 11 km long and has several ghats to reach the river. It has gardens, children’s parks, an amphitheatre and numerous other amenities. 

~ Shameera Somani with pictures by Rafiq Somani