ATIT Reheated - Pune, Maharashtra: the Aga Khan's palace/Gandhi's prison where he lost his best friend and wife, but left behind his sandals and a half-pipe

By Jack Brummet, India Travel Editor



The Aga Khan Palace - click all pictures to enlarge

It was here, in the Aga Kahn's palace in Pune where Kasturba Gandhi and Mahatma Gandhi's long time aide (whom he thought of as a son), Mahadeobhai Desai died. The palace that once belonged to the Aga Khan (whose son became the President of the League of Nations), served as lodging for the imprisonment of Gandhi and his wife Kasturba as British rule in India drew to a close. The Gandhi exhibits housed there are very homey and casual, and yet it is a thoughtful and moving collection. Seeing Gandhi's artifacts made him and that era resonate--we saw his cooking pots, letters and books, his sandals, photos, his Bhagavad Gita, even his bathtub, and a memorial with his ashes, in the garden near where his wife and friend's ashes are buried.

This is something to see if you're ever in Pune. This 1892 palace was built by Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah Agakhan III and was donated to India in 1969 by Aga Khan IV. It became the Gandhi Memorial.

I loved this place. It was a funky and moving tribute to, as Lord Buckley called him, "The Hip Gann." The Mahatma's presence and vibes reverberated in the palace and grounds like a celestial choir.



A pretty moving story about Gandhi's close aide dying
within a week of their imprisonment. Click to enlarge.


A memorial where at least some of Gandhi's ashes
rest.




The curved brick wall we began calling Gandhi's half-pipe

A folky painting, kind of in the Soviet tractor style of propaganda art

The sandals Gandhi wore in prison

detail from a painting of Gandhi and his wife

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In Pune, Maharashtra: the Aga Khan's palace/Gandhi's prison where he lost his best friend and wife, but left behind his artifacts and a half-pipe

The Aga Khan Palace - click all pictures to enlarge

It was here, in the Aga Kahn's palace in Pune where Kasturba Gandhi and Mahatma Gandhi's long time aide (whom he thought of as a son), Mahadeobhai Desai died. The palace that once belonged to the Aga Khan (whose son became the President of the League of Nations), served as lodging for the imprisonment of Gandhi and his wife Kasturba as British rule in India drew to a close. The Gandhi exhibits housed there are very homey and casual, and yet it is a thoughtful and moving collection. Seeing Gandhi's artifacts made him and that era resonate--we saw his cooking pots, letters and books, his sandals, photos, his Bhagavad Gita, even his bathtub, and a memorial with his ashes, in the garden near where his wife and friend's ashes are buried.

This is something to see if you're ever in Pune. This 1892 palace was built by Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah Agakhan III and was donated to India in 1969 by Aga Khan IV. It became the Gandhi Memorial.

I loved this place. It was a funky and moving tribute to, as Lord Buckley called him, "The Hip Gann." The Mahatma's presence and vibes reverberated in the palace and grounds like a celestial choir.



A pretty moving story about Gandhi's close aide dying
within a week of their imprisonment. Click to enlarge.


A memorial where at least some of Gandhi's ashes
rest.




The curved brick wall we began calling Gandhi's half-pipe

A folky painting, kind of in the Soviet tractor style of

propaganda art

The sandals Gandhi wore in prison

detail from a painting of Gandhi and his wife

---o0o---

Visiting Bombay High Court, where Ghandi told the Brits to take a hike

This beautiful building was completed in November 1878--it
is four floors, many very utilitarian courtrooms, and some gorgeous ones.

The Bombay High Court is one of the oldest Courts in India. It is the Appellate court over the States of Maharashtra, Goa , Daman and Diu. 75 judges and many hundreds of attorneys work there.

We actually got to sit in on some trials and hearings, and visited the courtroom where Gandhi underwent a famous trial and defied the British overlords. That courtroom was gorgeous--spare, but artfully designed. He was jailed then, for like two years, but there is now a large framed photograph of him on the wall.

The trials were pretty interesting. All attorneys wear suits under black robes and white ties. Everyone holds, shares, and passes around huge volumes of documents and papers. There were computers around but little sign they helped to abate the massive volume of paperwork.

It was also the first time I've seen carbon paper in use in about thirty years!
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