We have all studied about the ‘Father of the nation’ – Mahatma Gandhi, throughout our academics. From the change he brought about in our country to all the movements he supported or was a part of, we’ve read it all. With pride, we can say that the independent India that we live in today, has a lot to do with his contribution towards this nation.
Bapu, as he was fondly called, means nothing but ‘Father’ . Today, on October 2nd we celebrate his 150th birthday. Gandhi Jayanti is considered a national holiday. It is also recognised as International Day of Non-violence.
We thought of taking you through all those things/places in India which have been dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi, in honour of his birthday. There is a list of things and it almost seems endless but we are narrowing it to 5 things that are named after him.
5 things dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi
1 . Roads
We love our road trips so we thought of roads first! It comes as no surprise that there’s a road/roads named after Mahatma Gandhi. Not just that, we’ve definitely driven by on the famous M.G. Road at least a several hundred times. Whether it is in Mumbai, Kolkata or any of the cities that have a road named after Mahatma Gandhi; it has either been the most accessed or acts as a landmark to your delivery guys if you live anywhere close to it.
2. Universities, schools and institutions
We’ve studied about Mahatma Gandhi all through our school and college years. There have been many schools, colleges, universities and research institutes which have been named after him, simultaneously,. The most famous or rather well known Mahatma Gandhi University is an Indian collegiate public university in Kerala. It is a university approved by UGC, established in 1983. It is located on the University Campus Road in Athirampuzha. Other Universities include MGU Delhi, Meghalaya, Banaras and more, which also have an equally good standing. If you’ve studied at or live close to any of these Universities, do tell us about your experience.
3. Structures and Places to visit
Whether it is the Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park in Wandoor, Andamans or the Gandhi Memorial museum in Madurai, there’s always so much you take back when you visit these places. Taking your kids to places like these, will help a great deal in all the things they learn about Mahatma Gandhi. So a road trip to some of the famous museums and memorials is a must visit for any history lover.
We already know of roads that have been named after Mahatma Gandhi. But, there are bus and metros stations too that don’t lag behind either. Mahatma Gandhi Road metro station in Bangalore is not just an ordinary metro station. It has a boulevard, an open market and a bicycle stand for commuters. It has beautiful paintings on the walls and also some great artefacts outside which give you a feel of the city. So if you’re in Bangalore, you must board a metro from/to the M.G. metro station!
Apart from stations, there are parks, a stadium and a Gandhi heritage online portal where you find original transcripts by him, made available to researchers to study his life. There’s also a super thermal power project at Khanpur village in the Jhajjar district of Haryana, which you must’ve heard of. Generous contributions have been made across India, in honour of Mahatma Gandhi,
4. Cinema
Every film maker dreams of making a movie about a leader. It is that step in their career where they feel like contributing to the entertainment industry, in an inspirational way. Having said that, the life of Mahatma Gandhi has inspired many film makers to make movies about it. While we had the movie ‘Gandhi(1982)’ where we saw his life unwrap in front of us, there was ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai‘ which helped us understand his virtues and values through humour, life lessons and more. There was also a movie called ‘The Making of Mahatma’ by ace director Shyam Benegal. It was basically a story about Mahatma Gandhi during his time in South Africa. So, hit these movies up if you haven’t watched them already!
5. Awards
The International Gandhi Peace Prize is awarded to contributions made by Institutions and individuals, to the society in non-violent and other methods . This is a prestigious award, decided by the higher authorities.
Well, with all that information you sure could keep an eye out for these places when you travel next. Especially some of the museums and memorials are really informative and can be a great tourist attraction to visit. If you’d like to add these ‘things to do’ to your list, do reach out to us. In fact, we urge you to use our planner and customise it the way you like.
You also have the option of hiring a scout to handle all the planning for you as they are experienced travel experts who are good at planning road trips.