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This museum was
the former residence of Indira Gandhi at 1 Safdarjang Rd. It
displays some of her personal effects, including the sari she
was wearing at the time of her assassination. A crystal plaque
in the garden, flanked constantly by two soldiers, protects a
few brown spots of Mrs Gandhi's blood on the spot where she
actually fell after being shot by two of her bodyguards in
December 1984.
Location:1
Safdarjung Road, near Safdarjung Tomb and airport
Time to
Visit:Tuesday-Sunday, Monday closed
Preferred
Timings: 9.30 am to 4.45 pm
Admission
Fee: Free and open to all
Photography
charges: nil
How to
Reach:Tourists can either take local buses from various
points within the city to reach this museum or they can hire
auto-rickshaws and taxis or metro rail.
Nearest
Railway Station: New Delhi Railway Station
Nearest
Metro Station: Central Secretariat
Functional
Metro Station: Central Secretariat
Nearest
International Airport: Indira Gandhi International Airport
Time
required for sightseeing: Approx 40 minutes
Indira Gandhi
Memorial Museum is located in a sprawling yet simple white
bungalow where the great leader Mrs. Gandhi lived as prime
minister of India. It was here in the gardens of this bungalow
that her two bodyguards assassinated her on October 31st 1984.
The bungalow was later converted into a memorial museum.
Though the
museum has limited display but still it has a beautiful
collection of photographs covering the Nationalist movement
and personal and public life of Nehru-Gandhi family. The
collection gives a visual narration of her life from childhood
to her last days. Apart from some personal belongings of Mrs.
Gandhi, one can also view her still laid out simple drawing
room and study room through the large glass. The museum
conserves her blood stained sari, which she wore on the day
she was assassinated.
The museum also
contains the personal exhibits of her son Rajeev Gandhi
including the burnt clothes and shoes that he wore when he was
assassinated in a bomb blast in May 1991. As Rajeev was
himself a trained photographer, the museum houses some of his
best photographs covering some good times of his life.
After coming
out of the house, the visitor reaches the garden where Mrs.
Gandhi was shot. The whole stretch that she last walked has
been enclosed in a glass like frame giving a rippling affect
of a river. The place where she finally fell after being shot
on the frame has been marked, which also has few dried blood
spots.
Visitors should
not miss to read one of the last writings of Mrs. Gandhi (hung
at the right hand side partition of the entrance room),
probably written on the last night before her death. It
reveals the love and devotion of this great soul for her
country and countrymen as well as the determination and strong
will to work for the overall welfare of the country in spite
of the threat to her life.
The museum is
very popular among the tourists especially the domestic ones
who in a way pay tribute to their leaders who sacrificed their
life for their country.
Nearby Tourist
Attractions
Dilli Haat,
Safdarjung Tomb, Rastrapati Bhawan, India Gate, Jantar Mantar,
Gurudwara Bangla Sahib and Hanuman Mandir
Nearby Places
to Eat
Hotel Le
Meridien, Imperial Hotel, Hotel Inter-Continental, Parikrama
Revolving restaurant, Gaylord, El Rodeo, Bercos, Zen
restaurant, Delhi Darbar, Nizam's Kathi Kebabs and Standard
Restaurant. For snacks and fast foods: Bengali Market (sweets
and chat), Kake da hotel (Indian food), Wenger, Mc Donalds,
Pizza Hut, Domino's Pizza, Nirula's, Ruby Tuesday, Sona Rupa,
Starbeans, Barista, Café Coffee Day, Dilli Haat, and
innumerable roadside foodstalls and good Indian restaurants in
INA market, Yusuf Sarai Market, Green Park and South Extension
market.
Nearby
Shopping Venues
Sarojini Nagar
Market (all types of things but especially trendy and
fashionable clothes), South Extension Market (most commercial
shopping destination), Connaught Place (jewellery, books, art
galleries, leather goods and the list goes on), Baba Kharak
Singh Marg (it has emporium of all states of India dedicated
to state's unique art and craft created by traditional and
skilled artisans), Central Cottage Industries (merchandise and
curios), Janpath (clothes and low priced gifts, souvenirs and
curios), Panchkuian Road (ethnic things), Khan Market (local
residential market) and Palika Bazaar (electronic items) |
