The Aga Khan Palace , National Monument where Mahatma Gandhi was kept under house arrest from 1942 to till 1944, is quite close from where I stay and earlier today, I went over to take a look...............
The Aga Khan Palace was built by Sultan Muhammed Shah Aga Khan III, in Pune. Built in 1892, it is one of the biggest landmarks in Indian history. The palace was an act of charity by the Sultan who wanted to help the poor in the neighboring areas of Pune, who were drastically hit by famine. It is an impressive property spread over a large piece of land which is green with tall trees. In 1969, Aga Khan Palace was donated to the Indian people by Aga Khan IV as a mark of respect to Gandhi and his philosophy.
At around 5 PM on a week- end, the place was deserted with barely 10 visitors to the monument. A few couples were in the garden area, having chosen the spot due to its lack of crowds to gain a few moments of privacy. A lone Security Guard ( private firm) was on duty. As we bought an entrance ticket and got into the palace, we went past a person who was listening to a recent song on his mobile ( chikni chameli....). Jarring though it was, we went over to the left wing of the property which is the only part open to the viewing public. Here are a few pictures with comments :
(1) The plaque outside the Aga Khan Palace
(2) The greenery surrounding the palace..... a forlorn dog rests under a banyan tree
(3) A display in one of the rooms
(4) A setting sun preens through an arch
(5) A view through glass window of the room that the Mahatma occupied along with his wife Kasturba ( she passed away while they were imprisoned here)......
(6) The Aga Khan Palace campus
(7) A view of the palace
( 8) The Samadhis of Kasturba and Mahatma's Secretary Mahadev Desai ( they both passed away while in imprisonment at the Palace)
(9) A close up of the samadhi of Kasturba
( 10) The upkeep of this National Monument leaves a lot to be desired as this wall shows....with politicians busy lining their pockets in multiples of Rs 10000 crore ( INR 100 billion) on each deal, where is the money for Kasurba?
(11) Broken stair cases......A part of the Kasturba Monument
(12) Broken Walls :Yet another shot
As the clock nears 6PM, the lone guard blows a whistle asking us to leave ......this chair in the front lawn tells a story of its own
shame for us that it is the respect we give to The father of India.
ReplyDeletePoliticians are as such useless just focussing on their new khadi kurta and Gandhi Cap
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