January 16: New Delhi and Gandhi Smriti

Delhi, the Empress of Indian cities has a fascinating history and a stimulating present. She has often been sacked and desolate. But she could not be despoiled of the incomparable situation that marks her for the metropolis of a Great Empire. The capital of India, Delhi has been the seat of power of a number of dynasties – the Rajputs, the Afghans, the Turks and the Mughals who continued their imperial line until the British. Scattered over are surviving ruins, remnants of mighty edifices, tombs of warriors and saints, which in an impressive sense of magnificence are memorials not of a single city but of supplanted nations.

After breakfast, visit the Raj Ghat with Arun and Tushar Gandhi.  This is  a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi, a beautiful sacred black marble platform that marks the spot of Mahatma Gandhi’s cremation one day after his assassination and then to the National Gandhi Museum which showcases the life and principles of Bapu.

Gandhi Smriti, housed in the Old Birla House on 5, Tees January Marg, New Delhi, is the sacred place where Mahatma Gandhi’s epic life ended on 30 January 1948. Mahatma Gandhi had lived in this house from 9 September 1947 to 30 January 1948. Thus, the hallowed house treasures many memories of the last 144 days of his life. The Old Birla House was acquired by the Government of India in 1971 and was converted into a National Memorial of the Father of the Nation and was opened to the public on August 15, 1973.

Preserved at Gandhi Smriti are the rooms where Mahatma Gandhi lived and the prayer ground where he held a mass congregation every evening. It was here where assassin’s bullets felled Gandhiji. The building and the landscape have been preserved as they were in those days.

Meals Included: Buffet breakfast at the Holiday Inn Hotel + Lunch + Dinner. 

Holiday Inn Mayur Vihar, New Delhi 

Weather: New Delhi January temperature varies from 2°C or 35.6 F to 10°C or 50 F.