Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Where Mahatma Gandhi's soul still lives


The course of the shining Sabarmati river in Gujarat has been intertwined with the march of history for centuries.

Sitting on the scorching sands of her banks, Sultan Ahmed Shah had the urge to establish a capital here in the 15th century, which he did and it was named Ahmedabad after him. Before him, Solanki king Karandev I established a base on this river.

But kings and sultans completely pale in greatness when one remembers the indomitable leader who sat by the banks of the Sabarmati and dreamed of world peace and freedom for India.

Even 60 years later, the sun-dappled, spartan Sabarmati Ashram, located in the heart of blazingly hot and bustling Ahmedabad, is a serene, supremely peaceful location where Time has stood still. It has halted in memory of one of India's greatest human beings.

Enter the ashram and you feel that Gandhiji's soul continues to reside here.

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