All Talk and No Action Monday, March 28, 2011

I stole some hours from work in Ahmedabad and visited Sabarmati Ashram yesterday.

There is much to enjoy and learn at the place.

I share some of my favorite snaps from the trip.

*****
I love the way the below letters have been addressed.The last time I posted a letter without an authentic address and was sure it would be delivered, was to the "Indian Jawan" during the Kargil War. If you itch to try this today, I suggest Rajnikant.






Next time you are stopped from going about your work during bandhs, please feel free to use the below picture. Some tenets of this letter were well encapsulated in the movie Road to Sangam.


This is how Gandhiji's Kutir looks. I am not posting other pictures of his home as I would like you to visit Sabarmati Ashram and feel the tranquility for yourself.


Other assorted pictures (Gandhiji & Kasturba) taken from the exhibition rooms:








Now the fun part: - while I was involved in not so important stuff  like this:


and this:

I was asked " Whot izzh your name?" Before I could confirm if I had heard him right, he declared : "My name is Sooresss". For the uninitiated in Gujarati accent - the kid's name is Suresh. He stays in a hostel behind the ashram.


I love the way kids are always ready for a photo shoot.


Suresh was sure he didn't look good in the previous snap. So, demanded a better one.


 And then we played ball.

Suresh had much strength in his tiny arms and most of his throws went beyond the roof onto the other side of the house. Mine? Err, let's just say, I brought some well deserved laughter to the kids at the hostel.
 

*****
Most of my knowledge on Gandhi comes from school textbooks and random discussions with friends. While I respect and admire what he did for India, some of his philosophies seem implausible to me. I don't have a well formed opinion on him and may not be able to reason out his actions, for now.

*****
Sabarmati Ashram houses a library of more than 30,000 books on Gandhi and his philosophies. Exhibition rooms have some priceless personal letters, notes and news articles spanning the decades of the freedom struggle. Worth a walk through this memory lane.

6 comments:

Defiant said...

Very good collection...of pix :) Umm... good blog too :)

All Talk and No Action said...

@Madhumathi - Welcome to the blog :-)

ashkd said...

this collection reminds me of the collection in Calcutta related to SC Bose.. i was overwhelmed to see the handwritten letter of SubhashChandraji..

BTW.. your all toes are quite far apart!! i havent seen ever like this before.. are you deliberately doing it??

All Talk and No Action said...

@ashkd - I have deliberately not put up all pictures from the museum... The Ashram is worth a visit.. many valuable letters and news articles adorn the walls... a gratifying experience for any history enthusiast..

About my foot - there is indeed much space between my big toe and the index toe :-)

ashkd said...

research topic hai phir to tumhare toes.. :-)

Deguide said...

good to find gandhi s ashram in pristine condition