How does gandhi narrate his experiences as a student in London
Answers
In 2007, I went on a London Walk commemorating Mahatma Gandhi’s days in the city and wrote about it. An edited version of this was published in 2007 in the Herald, Goa and in Windows & Aisles, the in-flight magazine of Paramount Airways.
The Walk doesn’t seem to be offered anymore – I have queried the organisers and have not received a response. If you’re interested, please contact London Walks.
One hundred and nine years after he first arrived on the grey, damp shores of London, the city of Big Ben and the modern London Eye commemorates its links to Mahatma Gandhi in a unique London Walk.
London is a walker’s delight. London Walks are walking tours with themes – you can retrace the life of Sherlock Holmes, Jack the Ripper, Shakespeare, the Beatles and now even Harry Potter. Or if you fancy something more historical, take a Secret London walk, make your way through Westminster or take the ‘Distinctly Different Royal Route’.
Conceived by businessman Ajay Goyal, the world’s first Gandhi Walk traces Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s visits to London. Goyal invested £5000 into researching and planning the walk. This long overdue commemoration of one of India’s greatest leaders has won public approval and was also part of London’s celebration of 60 years of Indian Independence – India Now.
Much of the London that existed in Gandhi’s time no longer survives. Many of the buildings that he stayed in or visited were destroyed in the Second World War or were rebuilt. In the absence of any architectural connections, the Walk tells the story of what Gandhi would have seen and experienced during his stay in London.
M.K.Gandhi first arrived in 1888 as an eighteen year old student training to be a barrister at University College of London. He made further visits in 1895, 1914 and finally in 1931 as the leader of the Indian freedom struggle.
The two hour long walk begins at Temple underground station which acts as a meeting point for the guide and the participants of the Walk and is led by Sue, an enthusiastic walk leader who has clearly done her homework.