Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya Ahmedabad, Gujarat
The museum in Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya celebrates the achievements of Mahatma Gandhi and depicts his life and work. A trip to Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya offers a perfect option for the tourists to spend some time learning about this amazing personality. The audio-visual presentations and exhibits included in the museum are his handmade paper, spinning wheels, diaries, photographs, negative, speech copies and personal belongings.
Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya is an addition to the Sabarmati Ashram, a colony of tiled houses, which was the second home of Mahatma Gandhi. The building of Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya is one of the most iconic works of the famous architect, Charles Correa. Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya is the finest examples of Indian freedom movement and holds a special position in the eyes of the travellers. The museum is divided into many galleries namely Photo Gallery, Audio Gallery, Video Gallery, Gandhi in Ahmedabad Gallery, My Life is My Message Gallery, Painting Gallery and Archives & Library.
My Life is My Message Gallery exhibits 250 photographs organised in seven parts that explain the entire journey of Mahatma Gandhi from his birth in Porbandar (in 1869) to pivotal role he played in South Africa, England and finally ending with his tragic assassination in Delhi. Also to see in the gallery are photographs accompanied by quotes from his original texts. The museum also has a painting gallery dedicated to his life as here one can see eight paintings depicting Gandhi in various poses. All these portraits are created by Chandulal Shah and Hiralal Khatri (famous textile merchants), and Shri Rajkishore Kapoor. Highlights of the paintings are the fact that groundnut/peanut shells, heated at varying temperatures, were used to create a detailed interpretation of Gandhi.
Also, there is a library and an archive centre that contains manuscripts, letters and diary entries written by Mahatma Gandhi during his stay in Sabarmati Ashram.
The library and archives of the Gandhi Memorial Museum consists of:
- 34 111 letters- either to Gandhi or from him; original as well as Photostat copies.
- 1 371 manuscripts of Gandhi's articles published in 'Navajivan', 'Young India' and 'Harijan' written in English, Hindi or Gujarati.
- 210 films in Hindi, Gujarati and English which depicts his life and mission
- 106 video cassettes
- 612 audio cassettes
- Diary of Mahatma Gandhi
