A booklet on a visit to
the Gandhi Museum
PDM 10
Tata-Dhan Academy
My life is my message
Bapu…your life is inspiration for us
A Booklet on visit to Gandhi Museum
My life is my message
PDM 10 Tata-Dhan Academy
My life is my message
Meenakshi temple, heart of Madurai City, has seen
several changes and numerous incidents have taken
place in front of the temple but that is standing
quite, standing silent unlike human hearts. But one
incident which still beats at the „West Masi Street‟ is
when Mahatma Gandhi arrived there. There he
brought one change in himself that he started
wearing „loin cloth‟ to bring change in others. And
the most important loin cloth in which he breathed
last is preserved in the Gandhi Memorial Museum,
Madurai.
Father of India
We had an opportunity to visit the museum on August
05th ‟09. It was a great learning experience for us and we
thought to share our experience with others. From very
childhood we have been reading about „Bapu‟ but for the
first time we are writing about him. We have been
writing throughout our schools, colleges and even today
but no writing has given such satisfaction which we are
feeling writing this. We have written down our
experience, our learning which you are holding in your
palms in the form of this little booklet.
The booklet comprises of a brief history of Mahatma
Gandhi and the museum with all its three sections. Then
it talks about Bapu‟s West Masi Street incident. The next
pages tell about role of Mahatma and his philosophy in
present world and ultimately role of museum.
It was a great responsibility writing this booklet and we
have put in our sincere efforts. We hope our learning and
experience will be experienced by the readers.
Students, PDM X Batch
Tata-Dhan Academy
A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE OF
GANDHI MUSEUM
It was Friday 5:30 PM, 30th January 1948, while
going to attend Morning Prayer he was shot dead by
Nathuram Godse. In the mourning speech,
Pt Jawahar Lal Nehru said “Friends and comrades,
the light has gone out of our lives and there is
darkness everywhere. I do not know what to tell you
and how to say it. Our beloved leader Bapu, as we
call him the Father of the Nation is no more.” It is
true that the light went away from our life on that
Black Day of Indian history. But, was it possible for
a person to destroy that source from where that
incessant light is still coming and removing the
darkness from lives of billions. Gandhi is not only
Mohan Das Karamchand Gandhi, he personifies the
whole Bharata. Immediately after his death, people
started mulling on how to preserve the period and
memories of Gandhi for posterity. How our coming
generation will visualise that great man, about
whom Einstein said “The generations to come will
2 My life is my message
scarce believe that such a man, as this ever in flesh
and blood walked upon this earth.”
Front Entrance of Gandhi Museum
Soon after his assassination, an appeal was issued
to the public to raise funds to erect museums in the
memories of Gandhi. The rich and poor, all
contributed for the cause and the Gandhi Memorial
Trust, New Delhi came into being. The trust was
able to collect two crore rupees within a short span
of time. It was decided to build museums across the
country. The foundation was laid from Madurai and
My life is my message 3
spread to, National Gandhi Museum New Delhi;
Mani Bhavan Gandhi Sangrahalaya, Mumbai;
Sabarmati Ashram Preservation and Memorial
Trust Gujurat; Gandhi Smarak Sanghralaya,
Barackpore and Gandhi Sangharayalay, Patna. The
beginning of preserving Gandhian thought and
memory started from a south Indian city that is
where you are right now, the Athens of East.
Pt. Nehru on 15th April, 1959 inaugurated The Madurai
Museum.
Me and my
inspiring life.
4 My life is my message
The Three Different Sections in the
Museum
“My life is my message”, this is the talisman left
behind by Gandhi for the present and future
generations to follow. The Gandhi Memorial
Museum in Madurai has been dedicated towards
this cause. This is an institution which has been
raised in the memory of Gandhi, to keep his faith
and beliefs alive. The Gandhi museum has been
divided into three sections for the convenience of
the visitors. The museum‟s main aim is to mobilise
the youth of the country to believe in the tenets of
Gandhi and to follow the righteous path set by him.
Bapu with Nehruji…
My life is my message 5
Bapu in South Africa… Bapu in our hearts…
The first section is named “India Fights for
Freedom”. In this section the freedom struggle of
India has been very vividly described especially
focusing on the role played by Gandhi and the other
freedom fighters. The entire process of the freedom
struggle has been pictorially depicted. The historic
struggle for Independence of 1947 has been
expressed in many shades in this particular section.
There are 265 illustrations depicting the freedom
struggle in this section.
The second section is on the Life of Gandhi. This
section represents the visual biography of Gandhi
6 My life is my message
through photos, quotations, paintings etc. This
section refers to Gandhi‟s life in South Africa to the
point where he fought for the freedom struggle and
up to his death in 1948. His stay in South Africa
moulded his image and changed him for the better.
We will try to walk on your path…
The third section is devoted to Gandhi‟s Relics and
his Replicas.
My life is my message 7
Original Artefacts used by Gandhi are placed in this
museum:
Blood stained Dhoti
Pair of wooden chappals
Pair of leather chappals (non- violent
chappals)
Spectacles
Shawl used by him in London
Wooden Plate
Letters of Gandhi to Hitler
Letters of Gandhi to Tagore
Letters of Gandhi to roosevelt
Bapu in 1930’s Salt Sathyagraha…
8 My life is my message
The Role of the Museum
This museum is established with the motto of
propagating the ideals of the Gandhi and keeping
his values alive in his absence. Throughout his life,
Gandhi followed the path of truth and Non-violence
and after his departure this museum is
accomplishing the same job. Whole purpose of
setting up this museum is to highlight the freedom
struggle of India, the role of Gandhi in the
movement and how He urged the nation to come
together and fight for a common cause, a cause that
would enable India to see a better future and help
the country grow independent.
You are our inspiration!
My life is my message 9
Gandhiji and Rabhindranath Tagoreji…
The museum brings us closer to the ideals of
Gandhi. It is a sacred institution highly revered by
the people of Madurai, a city which played a crucial
role in the freedom struggle. As citizens of India we
should be grateful that we have an institution par
excellence which has treasured the nations glorious
past for the future generations. This revered
institution gives us /Indian‟s a sense of security that
in case we dither from the path of righteousness we
always have the museum and its varied knowledge
and above all the tenets and beliefs of BAPU to
guide us.
10 My life is my message
Museum conducts classes on meditation,
pranayama and yoga and tries to inculcate
simplicity and healthy practices in our life. It has a
rich library covering all aspects of Gandhi‟s life. It
has a good collection of books and manuscripts
written on him and his principles. It shelters
biographies and autobiographies of various freedom
fighters. It also has books on yoga and naturopathy.
One can have easy access to all these books. There is
also one centre of training of fine arts for children.
Apart from this, museum conducts seminar to
spread the thoughts of Gandhi to the world.
Hey Ram!!!
“Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to
remember from time to time that nothing that is
worth knowing can be taught.”
“It is a thousand times better to have common sense
without education than to have education without
common sense.”
“Too often students are given answers to remember,
rather than problems to solve”
M K Gandhi
“Education is only a ladder to gather fruit from the
tree of knowledge, not the fruit itself”
“The only person who is educated is the one who
has learned how to learn - and change”
“By nature all people are alike, but by education
become different”
With expectations…Bapu