Gandhi Ashram ,Ahmedabad ,Gujarat ,India

1 Gandhi Ashram

For many years Ahmedabad was the center of Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violent struggle for India’s independence. The energy of that movement can still be felt at the Satyagraha Ashram that he established on the banks of the Sabarmati in 1917, after the previous Kochrab Ashram had to be abandoned because of a breakout of plague. He chose a location that was, at the time, far out of the city so that he could try farming and other such experiments. He learnt the art of spinning and weaving, and soon the ashram began to buzz with khadi, not just as a way of producing clothes, but also as a way of thought. The activity waned when he moved to Sevagram Ashram near Wardha, Maharashtra, after the Namak Satyagraha, leaving the Ashram in the hands of the Harijan Sevak Sangh.You can get a sense of his life, the history of the movement and those who worked alongside him, at the Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya, a small museum that includes excellent pictorial and written documentation, a library of Gandhian literature and paintings, and an immense archive of letters written by Gandhiji, every single one on the back of used paper. The grounds include the Hridaykunj, Gandhiji’s sparse living quarters, Vinoba-Mira Kutir, where Vinoba and Mira each stayed on separate visits, a prarthana bhumi, a guest house and a building used as a training center for cottage industries, all preserved as part of the museum. The grounds are open from sunrise to sunset, but the best time to visit these grounds is early morning, as the sunrises over the river, and people are in a meditative spirit.