As India marks the end of the 150th anniversary of Gandhi’s birth, his message may already seem remote to some. However, new initiatives have come to mark this momentous, albeit almost lost year. One such is the Gandhi Peace Centre at Bhubaneswar, a digital interactive museum that brings the Mahatma alive – a CSR initiative by the Aditya Birla Group, which was inaugurated just before lockdown due to the novel Corona virus.
“This being the 150th, birth anniversary of the Mahatma, we felt that a fitting tribute, to the Mahatma would be, to set-up technological marvels, that would like a prism refract, the epic life of the Mahatma,” says Rajashree Birla, chairperson, The Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiative and Rural Development. “To set-up insightful galleries, in different parts of India, where Gandhiji’s imprint, is more than discernible would, we felt, be an act of deep homage.”
Explaining the choice of locating the museum in Odisha, Birla said Gandhiji felt a kind of spiritual connect with Odisha, which he visited eight times. “His tryst with Odisha, began in 1921, as part of his nationwide journey, to spread his ideals of Satyagraha, Swaraj and Ahimsa. It became intense, when he saw the frugal, precarious living conditions, of the poverty struck, the ill treatment of the Harijans, and the huge unemployment. So, he pledged to put Odisha on a transformative journey.
He did so by motivating, and goading, the people of Odisha, to help him in his crusade against untouchability, to become self-reliant, through the charkha, establishing khadi as an industry, coupled with a razor-sharp focus, on agriculture. Stalwarts such as Utkalmani Gopabandu Das, spearheaded Gandhiji’s freedom movement in Odisha.”
“Mahatma Gandhi was truly a global citizen. His teachings of Peace, Truth and Ahimsa are as apt today as they were when India was fighting for its independence,” remarks Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman, Aditya Birla Group. “I have always believed and lived by the ideals of the Mahatma and I wish that each one of us does the same. We are, in our own special way, propagating the ideals, beliefs and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi and ‘Eternal Gandhi’ is our homage to the great man.” Under his aegis, this is the fourth such centre, after ones in Delhi, Birmingham, and an upcoming one in Houston. The group has also opened a number of retail stores called Eternal Gandhi, centred around Gandhi’s artefacts, mainly at airports.
What to expect
The centre itself is built on a five-acre of land, located near the historic Khandagiri and Udaygiri caves, with six galleries where memorabilia and articles used by Gandhi are on display. The state government had signed an MoU with the Aditya Birla Group in 2017 for operation and management of this centre, valid for 15 years. At the time of the inauguration, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said the centre would provide an institutionalised platform to awaken consciousness about the life and works of Gandhiji and educate people to realise the deeper significance of his ideals.
While Gandhi is the highlight, a number of elements of Mauryan emperor Ashoka are also incorporated in the centre. The museum is circular in shape – resembling Ashoka’s Dharma Chakra, points out architect Sundeep Karkhanis, Principal Architect at Shashi Karkhanis and Associates. In the centre is a 22 ft ‘Ahimsa Pillar’, inspired by the Ashokan pillars.
The museum narrates
The museum leverages technology in almost every installation. Rich the story of Mahatma interlaced with cutting edge technology in Hindi, English and Odia, points out Birad Rajaram Yajnik, the digital curator. “It provides an engaging experience of Gandhi’s journey from Mohan to Mahatma and from Mahatma to Bapu, touching upon his childhood, his time spent as a lawyer in South Africa and the freedom struggle in India.
The museum also provides a look at Gandhi in the 21st century, highlighting the immortality of his ideas till date.”media interfaces, touch-screens, robotic arms and QR-code-enabled installations are a few things to mention from the list. Users can hear the voice of Mahatma, take home a message of Mahatma Gandhi written by a robotic arm, take selfies with Mahatma and even provide interactive feedback.
The museum also has an app and each installation is QR-coded to provide a technology driven tour of the museum.
Besides the Ahimsa Pillar, other highlights in the museum include the Ahimsa Square, the Gateway to the Gandhi Peace Centre and various busts of Gandhi – depicting him as a young lawyer, upon his return to India in 1915 and as Bapu, the father of the nation. Each bust weighs 100 kg and has been indigenously scaled up into a 3-D model by scanning images of Gandhi using photogrammetry techniques.
An interesting activity is the Letterpress Printing Machine – which prints Gandhi’s newspaper Harijan from 9 January 1949. Another feature, Mahatma Speaks, allows visitors to pick up a phone receiver and hear the words of Mahatma. Bhajans of Mahatma, another interactive installation, consists of 5 bottles filled with salt, which are triggered to play favourite bhajans of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi’s Signature is an installation with a robotic arm that provides Gandhi’s signature.
Another highlight is the Pool of Silence, an installation that allows visitors to introspect the violence and bloodshed that has happened in the world thus far. Two messages from Gandhi are mentioned on either side walls of this installation.
The museum, which has a built-up area of 25,000 sq ft, is designed to handle half a million visitors annually. Perhaps many more need to visit to understand Gandhi’s message.
About the museum
Address: Khandagiri - Chandaka Rd,
Khandagiri, Bhubaneswar, Odisha
Timings: Daily 11.00 am - 7.00 pm,
Monday closed
Features
There are six galleries at the museum
Ahimsa Gallery: The Ahimsa gallery highlights the disturbing current and historic aspect of himsa in the world
Mahatma in the 21st Century: This gallery introduces Mahatma Gandhi as a solution to himsa (violence) in today’s world
Mohandas to Mahatma: This gallery focusses on the journey of young Mohandas to lawyer M.K. Gandhi to being called the Mahatma in South Africa from 1869 to 1914
Mahatma to Bapu: This gallery focusses on the timeline of Gandhi’s return from South Africa to being bapu (the father of the nation) from 1914 to 1948
The Gandhian way: This gallery highlights the Gandhian concepts of Praja Vikas, Niti Nityam and
Atma Nirbharata: The inspiration and eternal Gandhi store: The Engagement Zone includes multiple interactive installations where visitors can engage. These include bhajans of Mahatma, Gandhi’s signature, a photo with the Mahatma and an opportunity to record visitor testimonials. The Eternal Gandhi store offers memorabilia and artefacts inspired by the message of the Mahatma.