The house is
like a poem – a poem that is simple and rich with meaning.
A poem that
comes from the heart and touches the lives of all who read it.
The house is
aptly called ‘Hridayalaya’ – the house where the heart resides. It is located at
the centre of the Sabarmati ashram and radiates positive energy to all the
other structures.
It is the
house of the man who could politely say “It is now time for you to leave” to
the British.
It has a
guest room, Kasturba’s room, Gandhiji’s room, and a tiny kitchen. The rooms are
small with stone floors and single shelves in the walls. The simplicity and the
austerity are remarkable. In the backyard a little gate opens up to lead to the
placidly flowing Sabarmati River.
The museum
houses a library and the gallery called “My life is my message”. The gallery
has life size paintings and photo-enlargements of milestones in Gandhiji’s
life.
One display
depicts envelopes and postcards with an unusual postal address:
To ... (this
is simply followed by a picture of Gandhi)
To ... (a
picture of Gandhi) ...India
To Gandhiji,
New Delhi
To The King
of India Mahatma Gandhi, P.O. Yerawada Jail.
Another
display tells about the favourite activities of Gandhi – among reading and
writing letters, he mentions cleaning toilets too. There is a picture of a
laughing Gandhi with this exhibit.
Parents with
babies in strollers, young white students, a group of girls from an elite
school in North India, some villagers from a neighbouring town have all come to
visit this place of inspiring serenity.
Three statues
of monkeys sit in the garden – the first covers his mouth to say ‘speak no evil’,
the other covers his eyes to say ‘see no evil’, the third covers his ears to
say ‘hear no evil’.
As we turn
to leave, a sleek squirrel drops out of a neem tree and scampers off to climb a
pole that displays another powerful message – ‘FORSAKE NOT TRUTH EVEN UNTO DEATH’.
