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Aga Khan Palace Gandhi Museum refurbished, opened to public
The Aga Khan Palace where Mahatma Gandhi spent 21 months under house arrest during 1942-1944, and where his wife Kasturba and secretary Mahadev Desai breathed their
The Aga Khan Palace where Mahatma Gandhi spent 21 months under house arrest during 1942-1944, and where his wife Kasturba and secretary Mahadev Desai breathed their last, has been refurbished and re-opened to the public.
Closed for a month-and-half, six of the total 12 museum galleries, located on the ground floor, were opened to the public by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) at 8.30 am on Wednesday on the occasion of Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary. While the museum is managed by the ASI, the library is run by the Gandhi National Memorial Society.
An evening tour of the specially illuminated heritage site from 6 pm to 9 pm, with an entrance ticket of Rs 25, is an added attraction for tourists. A new booking counter, cafeteria, souvenir shop and new washrooms are being added to the palace grounds.
The ASI had already repaired the roof, restored the flooring and maintained the 19 acres landscape of the palace built in 1892.
“It is a two-storey structure, which has Italian arches with wooden beams and stone and wooden flooring in the interiors. The museum continues on the first and second floor but the work is still not complete hence these galleries will be opened at a later date. In total, the Gandhi Museum will have 12 galleries,” said Rajendra Yadav, superintending archaeologist, ASI.
The galleries depict the story of Gandhi’s stay and the beginning of the freedom movement. The first gallery showcases Gandhi addressing the public in an open hall, where small baithaks have been spread around in the room to seat visitors.
“There are 25 audio guide headsets which are freely available for those who wish to listen to the story of the freedom movement. Each gallery is equipped with an interactive screen, a 3-D projector and two projectors showing documentaries bringing the story of Mahatma alive,” said Yadav.
Mahadev Desai, who served as Gandhi’s secretary, also has a dedicated gallery with a touchscreen giving information from his five diaries.
Another gallery houses an ‘illegal radio unit’ used by freedom fighters to relay secret transmissions. One room is dedicated to Kasturba or ‘Baa’ as she was lovingly called by all. “Everything in this room is as it is; her bed where she breathed her last, her books, etc,” said Yadav.
About Aga Khan Palace
Aga Khan Palace was built at an estimated cost of Rs. 1.2 million by Mawlana Sultan Muhammad Shah, who succeeded his father Mawlana Aly Shah as the 48th Imam of Ismaili Muslims on August 17, 1885. The palace was constructed as an act of charity to help the poor who had been devastated by a famine. In February 1969, during a visit to India, the palace was donated by Prince Shah Karim Al Hussaini, Aga Khan IV, the 49th and current Imam of the Ismaili Muslims to the Indian government as a mark of respect to Gandhi and his philosophy. In 2003, it was declared a monument of national importance by the ASI.
