{"id":249,"date":"2016-06-17T09:35:58","date_gmt":"2016-06-17T09:35:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jatinchhabra.com\/?p=249"},"modified":"2018-05-01T12:49:53","modified_gmt":"2018-05-01T07:19:53","slug":"rajghat-memorial-of-mahatma-gandhi-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jatinchhabra.com\/rajghat-memorial-of-mahatma-gandhi-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Rajghat \u2013 Memorial of Mahatma Gandhi & more"},"content":{"rendered":"

An eye for an eye, will make the world blind \u2013 Who said this?<\/p>\n

A guy who\u2019s memorial is just 5 km from my house in New Delhi and yeah he\u2019s the Father of my nation (India)- Mahatma Gandhi.<\/p>\n

So in 2016 I decided to start blogging again, and 1st place which came to my mind was Rajghat \u2013 Memorial of Mahatma Gandhi & more<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\"Rajghat

Rajghat Entry Gate<\/p><\/div>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Here are some shots from the parking area<\/p>\n

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\"Rajghat

Rajghat Parking<\/p><\/div>\n

Parking is free here (which should be at every tourist attractions in Delhi) and there is also a\u00a0Cafeteria (not bad) and a Bookstore entirely\u00a0dedicated to\u00a0Mahatma Gandhi. Have a look.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\"Rajghat

Rajghat Cafeteria<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Rajghat

Rajghat Book Store in Parking area<\/p><\/div>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\"Inside

Inside view of Rajghat<\/p><\/div>\n

Just 20 steps away, on the left-hand\u00a0side, I saw the most amazing view one can find in Delhi. The\u00a0Memorial of our Nation\u2019s Father or as local say\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Gandhi\u2019s Samadhi or Bapu Samadhi<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\"Gandhi

Gandhi ji Samadhi<\/p><\/div>\n

Just walked in and had to take out shoes, as it\u2019s not allowed to visit the Samadhi area with boots.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\"Gandhis-Samadhi

Gandhis-Samadhi entry<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Gandhi's

Gandhi’s Samadhi<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Gandhi's

Gandhi’s Samadhi<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Gandhi\u2019s

Gandhi\u2019s Samadhi Garden<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Gandhi\u2019s

Gandhi\u2019s Samadhi view from Top<\/p><\/div>\n

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Now this is a place where\u00a0two types of people come:<\/p>\n

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  • One who think that Mr. Gandhi was just a politician, and he did what he dad to do.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • 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.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    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.<\/p>\n

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    \"Raghupati

    Raghupati Raghav raja ram<\/p><\/div>\n

    Will create an anther post on all the stone writings at Gandhi\u2019s Samadhi.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

    And along with Gandhi\u2019s memorial, we have Kishan Ghat, memorial of Choudhary Charan Singh, which is just aside. And here is a pic:<\/p>\n

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    \"Kishan

    Kishan Ghat<\/p><\/div>\n

    Now as I mentioned earlier, Rajghat is huge. So if you walk towards east from Gandhi\u2019s Samadhi, you will notice a lovely stonework architecture which is:<\/p>\n

    Veer Bhumi, land of the Braves \u2013\u00a0Memorial of Rajiv Gandhi<\/h2>\n

    Rajiv Gandhi died in 1991 in a terrorist attack (don\u2019t 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:<\/p>\n

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    \"Veer

    Veer Bhumi<\/p><\/div>\n

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    \"Wall

    Wall statue of Rajiv Gandhi at Veer Bhumi<\/p><\/div>\n

    Moving forward, you will\u00a0see a lake aside\u00a0Veer Bhumi, which is more\u00a0of a water conservation project as\u00a0the whole lake\u00a0preserves rain water and there are ducks, swans (even stray dogs) and some other beautiful birds. Check out these pics of the lake:<\/p>\n

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    \"Lake

    Lake at Rajghat with swans<\/p><\/div>\n

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    \"Lake

    Lake at Rajghat<\/p><\/div>\n

    It\u2019s a great place for families to have a small picnic. As it\u2019s not easy to find any other clean lake in Delhi.<\/p>\n

    Shakti Sthal \u2013 Memorial of Indra Gandhi<\/h2>\n

    Well, next on the map is \u201cShakti Sthal\u201d \u2013 Place of Power<\/strong>, 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<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

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    \"Indra

    Indra Gandhi\u2019s Samadhi<\/p><\/div>\n

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    \"Indra

    Indra Gandhi\u2019s Samadhi<\/p><\/div>\n

    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.<\/p>\n

    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<\/p>\n

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

    Shantivan \u2013\u00a0Memorial of\u00a0Jawaharlal Nehru<\/h2>\n

    Now when you are at Shantivan to see the memorial of Jawaharlal Nehru, then don\u2019t 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).<\/p>\n

    Here are some pics of Shantivan \u2013<\/strong> Garden of Peace<\/strong><\/em>:<\/p>\n

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    \"Nehru

    Nehru Book store at Shantivan<\/p><\/div>\n

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    \"Entry

    Entry view of Shantivan<\/p><\/div>\n

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    \"Sign

    Sign board of Nehru\u2019s Samadhi<\/p><\/div>\n

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    \"Nehru\u2019s

    Nehru\u2019s Samadhi<\/p><\/div>\n

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    \"Sanjay

    Sanjay Gandhi Samadhi \u2013 Still don\u2019t know why?<\/p><\/div>\n

    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.<\/p>\n

    But if you have the spirit or obsession, Rajghat is opened every day, expect if there is some foreign Prime Minister or President isn\u2019t visiting the place.<\/p>\n

    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.

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