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