Madurai house linked to Gandhi withering away
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MADURAI: The historic temple town was always close to Mahatma Gandhi
and he paid five visits in all, staying at different places during his
trips. It was during his visit in 1921 that Gandhi decided to replace
his traditional attire with just a loincloth to associate himself with
the ordinary peasants of India. The house in which Gandhi undertook a
sartorial makeover is now maintained by Khadi Board. Unfortunately, the two-storey building lacks maintenance and show signs of deterioration.
The house once belonged to Lalji Kalyanji - a Madurai-based Gujarathi merchant. The room where Gandhi replaced his attire with the modest loincloth on September 22, 1921 is now a memorial hall with the pictures and quotes of the Father of the Nation adoring the walls. The whole floor has layers of dust and cobwebs hang from the ceilings. Even worse, the wall paint is peeling and a tree roots have made inroads into the building, signalling its decay. A portion of the building has already collapsed at the rear and trees have spread their roots there too.
The historic monument may collapse in near future if renovation is not carried out. After TOI reported about the poor condition of the building in February 2012, the then-district collector U Sagayam had initiated a few steps to preserve it. However, nothing materialised and the building's condition only deteriorated thereafter.
Historians vouch that with the adoption of the one-piece garment by Gandhi, his political platform transcended into the socio-economic sphere. "From that particular moment, he decided to take up the socio-economic problems haunting the country," R Venkataraman, history scholar, said.
An old man, who happened to step into the memorial hall on Wednesday, remarked that Gandhi was inspired by the peasants working near that street. "It is said Gandhi changed his dress after seeing them," he said. He quietly walked out after making a telling comment on the condition of the building: "Who respects Gandhi now...only the currency notes with his pictures".
(A TOI series on neglected monuments in Madurai in the wake of the demolition of a heritage structure recently.)
The house once belonged to Lalji Kalyanji - a Madurai-based Gujarathi merchant. The room where Gandhi replaced his attire with the modest loincloth on September 22, 1921 is now a memorial hall with the pictures and quotes of the Father of the Nation adoring the walls. The whole floor has layers of dust and cobwebs hang from the ceilings. Even worse, the wall paint is peeling and a tree roots have made inroads into the building, signalling its decay. A portion of the building has already collapsed at the rear and trees have spread their roots there too.
The historic monument may collapse in near future if renovation is not carried out. After TOI reported about the poor condition of the building in February 2012, the then-district collector U Sagayam had initiated a few steps to preserve it. However, nothing materialised and the building's condition only deteriorated thereafter.
Historians vouch that with the adoption of the one-piece garment by Gandhi, his political platform transcended into the socio-economic sphere. "From that particular moment, he decided to take up the socio-economic problems haunting the country," R Venkataraman, history scholar, said.
An old man, who happened to step into the memorial hall on Wednesday, remarked that Gandhi was inspired by the peasants working near that street. "It is said Gandhi changed his dress after seeing them," he said. He quietly walked out after making a telling comment on the condition of the building: "Who respects Gandhi now...only the currency notes with his pictures".
(A TOI series on neglected monuments in Madurai in the wake of the demolition of a heritage structure recently.)
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