Visitors can now listen to Mahatma Gandhi’s “recreated heart beats” at Delhi’s National Gandhi Museum. The Museum will launch a series of programmes on Monday to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation.
On the eve of Gandhi Jayanti, the museum will also inaugurate a special photo exhibition on the theme of ‘Non-violence and World Peace’ and release a finely-curated ‘Digital Multimedia Kit’ containing audio and video footage from his life, Museum director A. Annamalai said on Sunday.
“We have gathered the ECG (electrocardiography) details from different stages of Gandhiji’s life and recreated his heart beat on the digital medium. This will be a very interesting feature for the public,” he said.
Another special collection being released Monday is the ‘Digital Multimedia Kit’ about Gandhi which will be available for people to buy.
Includes books, pictures
“The kit in a pen drive contains six components: basic books (20 by Gandhi and 10 on him), a documentary film by A.K. Chettiar, 100 specially-curated pictures, Gandhi’s voice, a virtual tour of his ashrams and his favourite bhajans ,” Mr. Annamalai said, adding that the collection could inform the youth about the iconic leader.
Chettiar’s documentary — Mahatma Gandhi: 20th Century Prophet — whose footage was acquired in London, covers Gokhale’s visit to South Africa in 1912.
Rare footage
“It’s perhaps the only footage of Gokhale and with him stood a young lawyer Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi dressed tidily in a suit,” Mr. Annamalai said.
Also included is footage from the Quit India Movement, speeches of Mahatma Gandhi, Subhas Chandra Bose and Jawaharlal Nehru, besides Gandhi’s visit to the North West Frontier Province with Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan and the Noakhali - Peace Pilgrimage.
There are 100 selected photographs of Gandhi from his place of birth in Porbandar through to his memorial at the Rajghat, Mr. Annamalai said, adding that the collection also includes pictures of his early life, time in London and South African, important events of the Indian Freedom Struggle and with various contemporary leaders. The pictures are in the form of a power point presentation.
Audio clips
He said the digital kit also has audio clips of Gandhi. “His speech recorded in London in 1931 ‘Spiritual Message of Mahatma Gandhi’ (English), the one delivered at the Asian Relations Conference held at Delhi, 1947 (English), besides the Post Prayer Speech on Cleanliness and Hindu Muslim Unity in 1947 (Hindi), among others, are part of the collection,” Mr Annamalai added.
The digital kit has been priced at ₹300 and only includes the production cost. It will be available for the purchase at the museum, he said.
“We are trying to find some sponsors for the kit, in Hindi and English, to bring down the price to ₹100 so that it reaches more people,” Mr. Annamalai said.
He said the National Gandhi Museum will begin ‘Gandhi: 150’ celebrations from Monday and a series of other programmes will be held round the year in various cities across the country.
