Rajghat – Memorial of Mahatma Gandhi & more

An eye for an eye, will make the world blind – Who said this?

A guy who’s memorial is just 5 km from my house in New Delhi and yeah he’s the Father of my nation (India)- Mahatma Gandhi.

So in 2016 I decided to start blogging again, and 1st place which came to my mind was Rajghat – Memorial of Mahatma Gandhi & more

Almost all the Delhi sightseeing tours include Rajghat as its essential piece of modern Indian history and some of the very few places in Delhi which has that much greenery. So let us dive in some pics which I took, and there is no shortage of it in this post.

There is no entry ticket at Rajghat, and there is a total of 6 entry gates. Four on the main road and two other on the left-hand side road from red-light.

Here are some shots from the parking area

Parking is free here (which should be at every tourist attractions in Delhi) and there is also a Cafeteria (not bad) and a Bookstore entirely dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi. Have a look.

So moving on, I just went in Rajghat, through some security check and entry is completely free, even for foreign travelers. The view which you will see once you are inside the main complex from gate number six.

Just 20 steps away, on the left-hand side, I saw the most amazing view one can find in Delhi. The Memorial of our Nation’s Father or as local say – Gandhi’s Samadhi or Bapu Samadhi

Just walked in and had to take out shoes, as it’s not allowed to visit the Samadhi area with boots.

The first thing you will notice is that the complete samadhi is walled (more like a mountain type area) and in the center there is a beautiful well-maintained garden and in the middle, we have the samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi. Here are some pics.

Now this is a place where two types of people come:

• One who think that Mr. Gandhi was just a politician, and he did what he dad to do.
• Second, like me who believe that he was a scholar, a man whose words had the power of truth and even today if you read them, you will be inspired.

So for people like me, there are stone writings all over this walled area of the samadhi, a total of 12, like the one presented below and the most common one.

Will create an anther post on all the stone writings at Gandhi’s Samadhi.

And along with Gandhi’s memorial, we have Kishan Ghat, memorial of Choudhary Charan Singh, which is just aside. And here is a pic:

Now as I mentioned earlier, Rajghat is huge. So if you walk towards east from Gandhi’s Samadhi, you will notice a lovely stonework architecture which is:

Veer Bhumi, land of the Braves – Memorial of Rajiv Gandhi

Rajiv Gandhi died in 1991 in a terrorist attack (don’t want to discuss that here) and thus he got this honor to have his Antima Sanskar aside Mahatma Gandhi Samadhi. Here are some pics of Veer Bhumi:

Moving forward, you will see a lake aside Veer Bhumi, which is more of a water conservation project as the whole lake preserves rain water and there are ducks, swans (even stray dogs) and some other beautiful birds. Check out these pics of the lake:

It’s a great place for families to have a small picnic. As it’s not easy to find any other clean lake in Delhi.

Shakti Sthal – Memorial of Indra Gandhi

Well, next on the map is “Shakti Sthal” – Place of Power, memorial of the only women Indian Prime Minister Indra Gandhi and I must say that she must have been a lover of modern stone art. Just check out her memorial ROCK:

Must have to say that her memorial place is remarkable. It has well-planted trees, same level grass, lovely flowers, kinda rare view in Delhi.

And with this, we have covered 50% of complete Rajghat Area. Now from here I took a day off, as Rajghat is only open till 6:00 pm

Day 2 and I am back at Rajghat, to explore the memorial of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru & S. Gandhi which is:

Shantivan – Memorial of Jawaharlal Nehru

Now when you are at Shantivan to see the memorial of Jawaharlal Nehru, then don’t need to park at Rajghat Main parking. Just drive 3 km back from the red light mentioned at the top of the post and you will find 1st entry gate which is like, dedicated to Jawaharlal Nehru (he is still a big man in India and even has a cult, and those who follow his cult are known as Nehruvian).

Here are some pics of Shantivan – Garden of Peace:

It will typically take a traveler to see the place in 1 hours, and I will suggest visiting Rajghat & Shantivan, early morning as its 42 degree Celsius in June.

But if you have the spirit or obsession, Rajghat is opened every day, expect if there is some foreign Prime Minister or President isn’t visiting the place.

Every foreign Prime Minister or President who visits New Delhi for the 1st time, visit Rajghat to show his respect to Mahatma Gandhi or somehow to his words. So you should do the same.