After Taj, Obama arrives at Mani Bhavan

MUMBAI - After attending a memorial service for 26/11 victims at the Taj Hotel, US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle arrived at Gandhi Museum at Mani Bhawan to honour the memory of Mahatma Gandhi.

The Obamas who arrived here this afternoon, reached Mani Bhavan in a cavalcade of over 24 cars, including two limousines, six mini buses and a SWAT team and an ambulance.

Located in a comparatively quiet locality in the Gamdevi precinct, this modest building served as Gandhi’s headquarters in Mumbai for about 17 eventful years from 1917-1934.

It belonged to Shri Revashankar Jagjeevan Jhaveri, who was Gandhi’s friend and his host during that period, and to the Mani family prior to that.

In 1955, the building was taken over by the Gandhi Smarak Nidhi and converted into a memorial to the Mahatma, who frequently stayed here and initiated political activities.

It was here that he learnt to weave fibre on the charkha and drank goat’s milk for the first time, besides gradually changing his attire from western tailored suits to the unstitched loin cloth he wore to the end.

Visitors come to see the room that Gandhiji occupied, its picture gallery, the library hall and terrace, where he was arrested on January 4, 1932. (ANI)