Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya (Sabarmati Ashram Museum)

The Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya is the memorial museum within Sabarmati Ashram, on the west bank of the Sabarmati River in north Ahmedabad. Gandhi lived and worked at the ashram from 1917 to 1930, and after Independence the trustees created the museum to preserve his legacy. It was designed by the architect Charles Correa and opened in 1963, and it is a low, modest building of exposed brick and concrete arranged around courtyards, in keeping with the simplicity of the surrounding ashram. The collection is documentary and personal. It includes letters written by and to Gandhi, photographs of the freedom movement, and a modest number of personal belongings, alongside a library and archive of books and papers on Gandhi's life and thought. The displays are largely chronological, and use photographs, reproductions of letters and text panels to follow his career from South Africa to the Dandi March and the later years, with an emphasis on his ideas of non-violence, truth, and self-reliance. One highlight is a series of large photographic panels and small exhibits describing the ashram's daily routine of prayer, spinning, and communal work. The museum also organises exhibitions and study programmes, and its archives are used by researchers. The building is well maintained by the ashram's trust and its condition is good, although the wider campus has been part of an extensive redevelopment plan that has drawn public discussion. The atmosphere is quiet and reflective, and the museum is best combined with the neighbouring cottages, including Hridaya Kunj, the prayer ground and the riverfront. Admission is free, and the museum shares the ashram's daily hours. Signage and captions are available in English, Hindi and Gujarati, and a visit typically takes about an hour on top of the time spent in the ashram grounds. It suits visitors interested in the personal and political history of the Indian independence movement.