Gandhi Lifescapes 2017
Day 01 (1st December) : Arrive Mumbai, India
Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport is the primary international airport in Mumbai, India. The Airport’s IATA code – “BOM”, is derived from Bombay, Mumbai’s former name. The airport is South Asia’s second busiest airport in terms of passenger traffic and the busiest airport in India in terms of international passenger traffic and the second busiest in terms of overall passenger traffic. Upon arrival at Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, proceed to immigration, customs clearance and luggage collection. Continue to the exit where you will be met and transferred to The Ramee Guestline Juhu Hotel, check-in after 2:00...
Read MoreDay 02 (2nd December): Mumbai / Pune
Following a buffet breakfast at the hotel we will set out by bus to Pune, a city crucial to the lives of Mahatma Gandhi, his wife Kasturba, and his secretary Mahadev Desai. They were held as prisoners at Pune’s Agha Khan Palace from August 9, 1942 to May 6, 1944, following the launch of the Quit India Movement. It was during captivity at the Agha Khan Palace that both Kasturba and Mahadev Desai breathed their last. To honour them, the locations of their deaths were converted into memorials, known in India as Samadhi. We will visit the memorials and get a chance to explore the prison that grew to become such an important and spiritual place for the Mahatma....
Read MoreDay 03 (3rd December): Pune / Mumbai / Porbandar
We begin day 3 of the tour with an early breakfast at the hotel, and drive back to Mumbai. From Mumbai’s domestic airport we will board a flight to Porbandar, a port city on India’s west coast, and the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi. On arrival, the group will be met and transferred to Hotel Harmony to freshen up following which we will visit Kirti Mandir, Gandhi’s ancestral home. On October 2, 1869, the Gandhi household was blessed with a baby born to Karamchand Gandhi and his wife Putli bai. They named him Mohandas, and he went on to become the Father of the Nation. Therefore, the ancestral complex of the Gandhis was converted into a temple, to commemorate and reflect...
Read MoreDay 04 (4th December): Porbandar / Rajkot
Photo: MK Gandhi and his friend Sheikh Mehtab The next day after breakfast we revisit Kirti Mandir where we will find memorabilia used by the Gandhis. Later on, the group will drive to Rajkot, a neighbouring city to which the Gandhis moved when the Mohandas was seven. On the way, we will pass through Kutiyana where the family name ‘Gandhi’ meaning grocers, was given to the family. Most of the childhood lessons drawn from experiences in high school and their community that Gandhi recounts later in his autobiography, go back to the city of Rajkot. Rajkot is where MK Gandhi attended high school in 1883. Accommodations: Imperial Palace Rajkot Meals Included: Buffet...
Read MoreDay 05 (5th December) : Rajkot Gandhi’s Childhood
This day we will begin with breakfast and a special visit to Kaba Gandhi no Delo, the home Gandhi grew up in. A signature 1880s construction, it now houses a museum called Gandhi Smriti. This house obviously is one of the several important landmarks when tracing back the Mahatma’s life. It is here that he spent married life, went to school, and made friends. Young girls are now taught embroidery on the Gandhi Smriti premises. After exploring the place, we will head to Rashtriya Shala. Rashtriya Shala: While boycotting Government Institutions as a part of the Non- Cooperation Movement, Gandhi asked the people to pull out of British-run schools too. He introduced Gujarat...
Read MoreDay 06 (6th December): Rajkot Khaddi Cooperative
Day 6 will be a day visit to Khadi Cooperative in Rajkot. If there is one single object that can epitomise Gandhi’s philosophy and solution, it is the charkha or spinning wheel. When he boycotted foreign goods and services, he introduced an alternative: swadeshi, which means ‘of one’s own country’. He exemplified the practice of spinning cotton into khaadi as a means to one’s liberation, and exemption from reliance on others. Therefore, khadi became, and still remains the symbol of self-employment and self-reliance and many people today find a connection to Bapu, the Father of the Nation, through the act of spinning the wheel. Accommodations: Imperial Palace Rajkot...
Read MoreDay 07 (7th December): Ahmedabad Sabarmati Ashram
Arrive Ahmedabad at 6:30 AM – Early check-in will be subject to availability of the day Upon arrival at the Ahmedabad Railway Station the group will be transferred to the The Pride Hotel where we will enjoy breakfast. After breakfast, we will visit the Sabarmati Ashram and Manav Sadhana an NGO based in the Gandhi Ashram. “Manav Sadhanda is dedicated to the upliftment of the under privileged through love.” In 1990 a group of young people inspired by Gandhian values, started Manav Sadhana. What began as a daily ritual of playing with street children under one of the trees in Sabarmati Ashram, bloomed into an NGO providing children with...
Read MoreDay 08 (8th December): Gujarat Vidyapeeth
We start the day with a buffet breakfast at the hotel. After breakfast, we visit the Gujarat Vidyapeeth, tour the campus and then engage in student interaction. Gujarat Vidyapith was founded by MK Gandhi October 18, 1920. The Institute provides a higher education with a blend of courses teaching nursery to doctorate classes. The main objective is to develop workers of character, skill, culture and dedication for the conduct of all movements connected with the regeneration of country in accordance with the ideals taught and lived by MK Gandhi. The guiding principles are: Adherence to truth and non-violence Participation in productive work with a sense of dignity of...
Read MoreDay 09 (9th December): Ahmedabad / Surat / Bardoli
Early morning, before breakfast, you will have the option of exploring the enchanting old city of Ahmedabad. See how the women compensate who are in the city where they might not have access to a river or lake to wash their clothes. Visit a Muslim Mosque in session, a Jain Temple in morning session, cows sitting relaxing outside the Jain Temples. Walk among the camels, elephants, bicycles and motorcycles as we walk from temple, to mosque to temple. Visit the Kavi Dalpatram Memorial – Kavi Dalpatram was born into a Brahmin family which was rich in Vedic knowledge and culture. He had powerful analytical and intellectual skills enabled him to continuously...
Read MoreDay 10 (10th December) : Surat / Dandi & Valsad
After a buffet breakfast at the hotel, the group will drive to Dandi and Valsad by bus. Stopping at Matvad the group will walk the last 5 kilometers (3 miles) to Dandi retracing the footsteps of Bapu and the 80 handpicked satygrahis who accompanied him from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi on the epic 241 mile Salt March Satyagraha. Then from Dandi drive to Dharasana and visit the site of the raid on the Government Salt Depto. Dandi is a small village in the Jalalpore district, Gujarat, India. It is located on the coast of the Arabian Sea near the city of Navsari. It shot into worldwide prominence in 1930 when Mahatma Gandhi selected it to be the place for the Salt Satyagraha....
Read MoreDay 11 (11th December): Surat/Mumbai
After early breakfast at the hotel, the group will drive to Mumbai. First on the list is to wander around at Hanging Gardens, a vast park spread over Malabar Hill, a beautiful coastal neighborhood situated over the Arabian Sea. Next we head to get buffett dinner at a local hotel, and freshen up (no rooms). At 7:15 PM, the group will be transferred to the Mumbai Railway Station to board our overnight sleeper train the “Duronto Express” to Nagpur at 20:15 hours. Meals Included: Buffet breakfast at the Gateway Hotel + Packed lunch on board the bus to Mumbai. Dinner at hotel in Mumbai Travel by: Surat-Mumbai by Volvo Bus; Mumbai-Nagpur (via overnight sleeper...
Read MoreDay 12 (12th December): Arrive Nagpur Legacy of Love
Legacy of Love narration by Arun Gandhi At Nagpur station, the group will be met and transferred to the hotel for breakfast. After that we will drive to Wardha for a visit to Gandhi’s Sevagram Ashram. This is the place where Dr. Arun Gandhi spent crucial time with his grandfather, the Mahatma. It is only fitting that he narrate some of his experiences and lessons he learnt on these very grounds to the group, making the visit a lot more special. Dr. Arun Gandhi will narrate his experiences from his book Legacy of Love. At 3:30 we will go to see the activities at Bajaj Wadi and by 5:00 PM we leave for Nagpur. We arrive in Nagpur around 7:00- 7:30 PM and will have...
Read MoreDay 13 (13th December): Nagpur / Mumbai / Delhi
Pic of young Arun Gandhi with Mahatma Gandhi in Nagpur After a late breakfast at the hotel we leave for Nagpur airport to board a flight to Delhi, where upon arrival we’ll be transferred to the Suryaa Hotel. Accommodations: Suryaa Hotel Meals Included: Buffet breakfast at the Pride Hotel Nagpur + Lunch on the flight + Dinner at the local restaurant in New Delhi. Travel by: (Indigo Flight – 13:25 hrs / 17:55 hours ) Share us...
Read MoreDay 14 (14th December): New Delhi
Delhi, the capital of India, has a fascinating history and a stimulating present. It always been the center seat for ruling empires over the centuries, and hence finds itself teeming with art and rich culture, albeit in ruins and forgotten roads. It was here, that the Mahatma was assassinated one January evening. This will therefore be an important day for the tour, because we will visit the place where Gandhi uttered his last words ‘he ram..’. After breakfast, we will go to Rajghat, a memorial erected to immortalize the Mahatma on his cremation grounds. People often gather here in quiet prayer, feeling a sacred tranquility take over. We will also visit the National...
Read MoreDay 15 (15th December): Trip to Agra Taj Mahal
After an early breakfast at the hotel, the group will leave for Agra by bus (approx 4 hrs drive, one way). Arrive Agra and proceed to the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort. Lunch will be at a local restaurant. Later, the group will drive to Delhi International Airport to board flight back home. No dinner this evening. Visit the Taj Mahal. With its incredible lacy white grandeur the Taj Mahal is perhaps the most perfect architectural monument in the world. To the poet Tagore it was a `tear on the face of eternity’. In memory of his wife the great Mughal emperor Shah Jehan constructed this most extravagant and incomparable monument built for love. Amazingly graceful from...
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