Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi visited Gandhi Smriti with German Chancellor H.E. Dr. Angela Merkel on November 1, 2019. The Prime Minister received the German Chancellor in front of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi sculpted by renowned artist Padma Bhushan Shri Ram Sutar.
Explaining the significance of the place, Prime Minister informed Dr. Merkel that the Smriti is located at the site where Mahatma Gandhi spent the last few months of his life and was assassinated on January 30, 1948.
The world leaders then visited the museum and saw sketches and paintings made by renowned artist Shri Upendra Maharathi and Indo-Hungarian painter Elizabeth Brunner, a student of Shri Nandalal Bose of Santiniketan. They walked through a digital gallery curated by Shri Birad RajaramYajnik, based on the twin themes of Ahimsa and Satyagraha.
The leaders thereafter visited various digital installations in the museum including audio testimonial to Mahatma Gandhi by Albert Einstein and the interactive kiosk displaying the rendition of the song ‘Vaishnava Jana To’, sung in 107 countries an initiative of the Government of India as part of the celebrations to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Dr.Angela Merkel then paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi at the Martyr’s Column and offered floral tributes. A Gandhi Bust and Charkha was also presented by the hon’ble Prime Minister of India to the Dr. Merkel on the occasion.