At Sabarmati Ashram, Trump praises “great friend” Modi

Trump and Melania also tried their hands on the khadi spinning wheel at the ashram

February 24, 2020 01:52 pm | Updated November 28, 2021 11:24 am IST - Ahmedabad

U.S. President Donald Trump tries his hand at the spinning wheel, also known as charkha, as Melania Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi look on, at Sabarmati Ashram.

U.S. President Donald Trump tries his hand at the spinning wheel, also known as charkha, as Melania Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi look on, at Sabarmati Ashram.

U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife Melania on Monday paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Sabarmati Ashram, which was home to Mahatma Gandhi between 1917 and 1930 during India’s freedom struggle.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who reached the ashram a few minutes earlier, showed Trump and the U.S. First Lady ‘Hriday Kunj’, a room inside the ashram where Gandhiji and his wife Kasturba lived.

Modi explained the importance of this place in India’s freedom struggle.

During the visit, Trump and Melania also tried their hands on the khadi spinning wheel, also known as charkha.

Melania also helped Trump in weaving khadi on charkha.

Before leaving, Trump wrote a message in the visitors’ book of the ashram.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s message in the visitors’ book of Sabarmati Ashram.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s message in the visitors’ book of Sabarmati Ashram.

“To my great friend Prime Minister Modi - Thank you for this wonderful visit,” wrote Trump and signed the message.

It was also signed by Melania.

The Trumps were in the ashram for around 15 minutes.

Modi also presented “Three Wise Monkeys,” a larger version of the one belonging to Mahatma Gandhi, as a memento to the U.S. president.

Trump and Modi then resumed their roadshow till Motera stadium.

Ashram trustee Kartikeya Sarabhai, who welcomed Trump and Melania with a khadi stole, told reporters later that the Trumps told him how much they enjoyed their visit to the ashram.

“They said the place gave them a sense of peace. They said they understood the symbolism of this place. The Central government gifted them a statue of Gandhiji’s Three Monkeys, conveying the message of speak no evil, see no evil, hear no evil,” Sarabhai said.

He said the Ashram trust gifted the Tumps a special edition of Gandhiji’s autobiography, a pencil drawing of Gandhiji and a charkha.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.