“ If someone were to end my life by putting a bullet through me and I met his bullet without a groan and breathed my last taking God’s name then alone would I have made good my claim.”
These were the words of Mahatma Gandhi on January 29, 1948, a day before he was assassinated.
As the country is all set to celebrate his 145 birth anniversary on October 2, a visit to the famous Gandhi Memorial Museum here creates a feeling as if the Father of the Nation is still alive. In fact, his above mentioned words welcome the visitors to the special enclosure where some of the original artefacts used by Gandhiji are preserved for posterity.
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What stands out in the museum is a blood-stained cloth worn by Gandhiji on the day he was assassinated, which is among the most valuable artefacts that rekindle the memory of the Mahatma.
The Gandhi Memorial Museum, which was inaugurated on April 15, 1959 by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, has 14 original belongings of which the stained cloth stands out.
Going around the galleries on the 13.5-acre museum campus reminds everyone of the sacrifices, struggle and selfless saga of Gandhiji and his followers.
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“Foreign tourists who visit the museum spend a lot of time near the original artefacts and those from the UK break down on seeing the blood-stained cloth. Some of them even say that they feel ashamed and embarrassed that Gandhiji was put to a lot of hardship by the British during the independence movement,” a woman guide said on Tuesday.
A pair of spectacles with box used by Gandhiji after 1947; an original letter dated March 7, 1937, written by him to Narayanasath Sanghi of Devakottai and signed in Tamil; original yarn spun by him and a wooden spoon of 1946; a shawl used on his visit to the 1931 Round Table Conference at Buckingham Palace; a pillow with cover, Gandhiji’s letter to Hitler in March 1939 to prevent war and a pair of footwear used in 1945 are among his original belongings that generate interest for the present generation.
The Gandhi Memorial Museum is one of the seven museums established by the All India Gandhi Memorial Trust to perpetuate his memory and propagate his message.
It is housed in the majestic summer palace of Rani Mangammal, a regent of the Nayak dynasty.
“Gandhiji is more relevant now since there is violence everywhere. Peace should become people’s culture and that is what he wanted. He told people to be courageous but not violent,” says M.P. Gurusamy, museum secretary.