Today is Gandhi Jayanti, the happy birthday of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi or Mahatama Gandhi, fondly called Bapu, one of the most courageous Indian known.
He is still the only one who could rally all of India together for any cause single handed. What did he do and how could he achieve such a super human feat was only because he was driven by his beliefs and hope for a free India. He was called Mahatama (a great soul) by poet and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.
He was born on 2nd of October in 1869 at Porbandar, Gujarat. Gandhi’s birthday is called as Gandhi Jayanti in India and is a national holiday. World-wide 2nd of October is commemorated as the International Day of Nonviolence.
He started his political carrer when he first organized Indian people against the English oppression in South Africa, the Civil rights movement in South Africa (1893–1914).
Then he came back to India and started rallying people against the British using one simple funda called Ahimsa, non-violence. The simplest of all principles, but yet the hardest to follow for us humans. Ahimsa against the British. When he started his Salt March, Dandi Yatra, from Sabarmati Ashram with only 80 people, his popularity grew by leaps and bounds. Here was a man, a fakir, who was defiant to the British and was rallying to break their laws. Those 80 people became more than 50000 by the time he reached Dandi and broke the law. His call to the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1920 was so widely received that the country came to a standstill.
To remember such a great soul India has a lot of memorials built. But there are a few places which are more equal than others. Below are the 5 places where Bapu did a lot of his exemplary work and inspired people,
1) Sabarmati Ashram – Ahmedabad
Source: www.flickr.com/photos/dinudey/6515171053
This is the perfect place to get a glimpse into Bapu’s life. His life and how he changed India and the world. He lived here for twelve years along with his wife Kasturba. It was from here that the Dandi Yatra was launched. This is where your history textbook will come alive. The ashram is now a national monument.
Source: www.flickr.com/photos/jhiggs/407712535
The place where all the major political decisions were made and all movements were initiated. This was the hot seat of it all. The work done here changed India for good. Political reforms like Non-Cooperation Movement, Satyagraha, and Swadesi etc. were initiated from here.Gandhiji stayed at this home frequently between 1917 till 1934, while executing his political agenda.Around 1955, the house was renovated and established as a memorial for Gandhiji by Gandhi Smarak Nidhi.
3) Gandhi Smriti/Birla House, New Delhi
Source: www.flickr.com/photos/wheavil/6709750017
This is where Bapu spent the last days of his life. The last few years of his life were painful cause of the communal riots which broke out with partition. He fasted and prayed for peace here. And he was assasinated here as well. This place attracts a lot of people who want to pay homage to this great soul.
Source: www.flickr.com/photos/michellerlee/5119145713
The Aga Khan Palace was built in 1892 by Sultan Muhammad Shah Agakhan the 3rd. It stands as a symbol of India’s freedom movement. This historical building served as prison for Mahatma Gandhi and his associates after the launch of the Quit India movement. Amongst the associates were his wife Kasturba Gandhi and his secretary Mahadevbhai who passed away while in captivity at the Aga Khan palace.
The classic movie Gandhi was also shot here.
5) Mahatama Gandhi Mandapam, Kanyakumari
The mortal remains of Bapu, his ashes, were kept here before being casted away in the sea. This place is right on the Kanyakumari beach near the Bhagvathi Amman Temple. The design of the Mandapam is done in such a way that on 2nd Oct. the sun’s rays fall on the place where the urn was kept.
–
Trodler
This post was published on Trodly travel blog.
Featured image by { pranav }
Last Updated on September 17, 2018 by Rohan
