The Gamdevi house that served as Mahatma Gandhi's Bombay headquarters from 1917 to 1934, now a memorial museum preserving his room, his spinning wheel and the library of his political years.
Mani Bhavan is a quiet two-storey house on Laburnum Road in Gamdevi that belonged to Gandhi's friend Revashankar Jagjeevan Jhaveri and served as his base in Bombay for seventeen years from 1917. Some of the most consequential decisions of the freedom struggle were taken here: the launch of the non-cooperation movement, the founding of the Satyagraha campaigns against the Rowlatt Act, the beginning of Gandhi's fasts, and his experiments with khadi and the charkha spinning wheel, which he first took up in this house. He was arrested on its terrace in January 1932. The building became a memorial in 1955 and was formally inaugurated as a museum by Jawaharlal Nehru, and it has since received visits from figures including Martin Luther King Jr. in 1959 and Barack Obama in 2010. The second-floor room where Gandhi lived and worked is preserved behind glass exactly as he used it, with his floor mattress, spinning wheel, books and two telephones. Other rooms hold a research library of some 50,000 volumes, a photographic gallery tracing his life, a film and recording archive, and a series of small dioramas depicting scenes from his career. The scale is domestic and the atmosphere unhurried, which makes it one of the most affecting historical sites in the city; a visit takes about an hour and requires no ticket, though donations support the trust that maintains the house.
| Admission | Adult Free; donations welcomed · Child Free |
|---|---|
| Hours | Daily 9:30 AM - 6:00 PM |
| Address | 19 Laburnum Road, Gamdevi, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400007, India |
Why it matters
Mani Bhavan was the operational centre of Gandhi's political work in Bombay for seventeen years and the birthplace of the non-cooperation and civil disobedience campaigns that shaped the independence movement.
Site facts
- Built
- House built around 1900; Gandhi's Bombay base from 1917 to 1934
- Architect
- Unrecorded; a typical Gamdevi merchant's town house of the period
- Style
- Early 20th-century Bombay residential architecture with wooden verandas
- UNESCO listing
- Not inscribed; protected as a national memorial
Weather through the year in Mumbai
Best time Shoulder Worth avoiding
Average daytime temperature in °C.
Location
19 Laburnum Road, Gamdevi, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400007, India
18.9601, 72.8095 View on map
Highlights
- Gandhi's preserved second-floor room with his charkha, mattress and books
- The terrace where he was arrested in January 1932
- A research library of around 50,000 volumes on Gandhi and the freedom struggle
- Photographic galleries and dioramas tracing his life and campaigns
- A guest register that records visits by Martin Luther King Jr. and Barack Obama
Tips for visiting
- Visit on a weekday morning, as the small rooms feel crowded when school groups arrive
- Allow about an hour, longer for those who want time in the library and film archive
- Leave a donation at the desk, as entry is free and the trust maintains the house on contributions
- Read the dioramas in sequence, as they explain the chronology the preserved rooms assume
- Combine the visit with Girgaon Chowpatty and the Hanging Gardens, both a short drive away
When to visit
Weekday mornings from November to February, when the house is quiet, the rooms are cool and school groups have not yet arrived.
Accessibility
The ground floor is reached from the street with a small step, but Gandhi's room, the library and the terrace are on upper floors reached only by stairs, so full access is limited for wheelchair users.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an entry fee for Mani Bhavan?
No. Entry is free, though donations towards the upkeep of the house and library are welcomed.
How long did Gandhi stay here?
He used the house as his Bombay base from 1917 to 1934, staying whenever his work brought him to the city.
What can be seen inside?
Gandhi's preserved room with his spinning wheel and books, a photographic gallery, dioramas of his life, a film archive and a research library of some 50,000 volumes.