The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Gandhi Bhavan renovated

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 05, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Gandhi Bhavan renovated

Staff Reporter

BDA has taken up reconstruction work at a cost of Rs. 1 crore.

— PHOTO: Bhagya Prakash K.

New look: Gandhi Bhavan in Bangalore which is being renovated.

BANGALORE: While India has succeeded in reclaiming a precious historical document written by Mahatma Gandhi 19 days before his assassination from the London auction house Christie’s, Bangalore’s administration has paid its tribute to the legendary figure in its own way.

The nearly 50-year-old Gandhi Bhavan, dedicated to spreading the messages of the Mahatma and the only such institution in Karnataka, has now been renovated.

Located in Kumara Park, in the precincts of the old guesthouse where Gandhiji stayed on his visits to Bangalore, Gandhi Bhavan was inaugurated in 1965 by S. Radhakrishnan, the second President of the country.

Lack of care

The two-floor stone building had begun to degenerate because of lack of care.

“We simply did not have the money to take up renovation work because we received no grants from the Government,” H. Sreenivasaiah, president of the Gandhi Bhavan, told The Hindu. But now after grants from well-meaning po liticians, we have been able to restore it, he added.

The building and its entrance being in bad condition, the Bangalore Development Authority took up reconstruction work at a cost of Rs. 1 crore.

Though delayed, the renovation has now been completed, with the auditorium boasting a new look in terms of wall panelling and wooden flooring.

The leaking roof has been fixed, lighting facilities have been improved, and gates have been provided for the compound. The stone façade has been whitewashed sensitively so as to not take away from its originality, said Dr. Sreenivasaiah.

Museum

“We now plan to convert the picture gallery, which displayed images from the life of Gandhiji, into a museum. It is being planned on the lines of the Gandhi museum in Delhi. For this endeavour, we are being helped by the Gandhi museums in Mumbai and Madurai,” said Dr. Sreenivasaiah.

The renovated building is set to be inaugurated on Thursday by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy.

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