Gandhi Smriti
Birla House
The house where Gandhi spent his last 144 days, kept as a museum since 1973.
Gandhi was staying in the Birla family's Delhi house when he was shot in its garden on the evening of 30 January 1948, walking to a prayer meeting. The government acquired the house in 1971 and opened it as a memorial two years later. His room is preserved as he left it: a thin mattress, a low writing desk, a spinning wheel, a pair of sandals.
The garden holds the more affecting part. Concrete footprints trace his last walk from the house to the spot where he fell, now marked by a martyr's column. The newer galleries upstairs try rather harder, with multimedia that has aged unevenly, but the room and the path need no help at all.
- 01The last roomKept as it was on the day, down to the watch and the reading glasses.
- 02The footstepsHis final walk cast into the lawn, ending at the column where he was shot.
- 03The prayer groundStill used for multi-faith readings, as it was on the evening itself.
Closed Mondays and free. Quietest early; school groups fill the garden from mid-morning.