Mani Bhavan: The Gandhi Residence in Bombay for 17 Years

We had a powerful visit to where Mahatma Gandhi lived when he would pass through Mumbai. Gandhi did not own this home but rather a friend of his did.  It's 3 stories tall and to own a home in Mumbai at that time that was 3 stories tall, the friend must have had money.  His room has been left exactly the way it was when he stayed there.  There is a peace and quiet that fills his room when you see it with your own eyes.  He would talk to the people of Mumbai that would gather at the house from the screened in porch on the front of the house.  Gandhi was arrested one of the last times at this location.  Dr. Martin Luther King visited the house (which had been turned into a museum by then) in the 1940s when he visited Mumbai.  Mumbai was so honored to have Dr. King come to Mumbai that they arranged for him to stay at a top notch hotel.  Dr. King, however, refused to stay in the top notch hotel after visiting the house.  He meditated there next to the chair that Gandhi spent time meditating in and felt Mahatma Gandhi's presence.  He refused to leave the house even after the owner of the museum told him that they were closed and the museum wasn't set up for guests to stay.  Dr. King told them that he didn't need much to sleep, just a sheet and pillow.  For 3 days he ended up staying there and meditating, but before he left, he came to realize what his mission would be in the United States.  Tushar Gandhi, Dr. Arun Gandhi's son, is working hard to have the museum put a plaque on the wall to honor Dr. King's visit since not many people know of this story.  President Clinton, Hillary Clinton, and President Obama have all visited the museum.  On the floor of the room featured in the pictures below, you see Gandhi's slippers and a loom that he used to make clothes.  You also see pictures of the 50,000 books Mahatma Gandhi read during his time there as well as people preserving the pages of the books.  I asked Tushar why the statues at the museum have garlands around his neck because you rarely see him with a garland in Gandhi's pictures.  He said the reason for that is because whenever Gandhi visited new cities or villages, people would make him a garland as a gift, but he refused to wear the garland unless it was handmade.  There are four pictures featured below one of the statues that represent Gandhi's philosophy of wanting to create an independent India (from the British) and employment for the people.  The four pictures show the spinning wheel, spices being pounded, the milkman, and pottery making.  These were the ways Gandhi wanted his people to become self-sufficient.  In one of the photos below, you will notice 4 different pictures of Mahatma Gandhi.  They represent the progression of his style of dress throughout the 4 stages of his life. Throughout the various photos, you can see how we were able to view original documents, artifacts and photos that the museum preserves and protects.  I would like to give a big thank you to Dr. Arun Gandhi and Tushar Gandhi who gave us all an autographed copy of the Autobiography that the museum sells with pictures and stories of Mahatma Gandhi's life.  What an honor it was to tour this museum with Mahatma Gandhi's grandson and great-grandson.  A memory I will always cherish and never forget!