After two major technical report submissions anyone would crave for a break and thats what triggered this trip. Prashanth was desperate to go somewhere. Sriram and Shilpi agreed to join and then I had to join them :D (though there was a project submission coming up!).

I plan to write this post in minute detail,so hat it would be useful for anyone who plan to go there. Please bear with some minute details!

Day 1

We reached Sevagram railway station at around 7:30am and took an auto(Rs.80) to the Gandhi Ashram. If we want to stay within the ashram campus, we need to talk to the authorities there in advance. However, right in front if the Ashram is Yatri Nivas which was built in the form of a resort. There are some 20 mini houses build for accommodating 4 in each. They gave us a cement one which was newly built. The charges are nominal. It was Rs 150/-per day. Each room had 2 beds and an attached toilet.

All of us were very hungry so we got fresh in no time and rushed to "Prakritik Aahar Kendra" which is adjacent to the Yatri Nivas. This complex which houses this canteen also has the photo exhibition of Gandhiji, a Village Industries products outlet. The menu was very different ! :-).

What grabbed our attention at the Prakritik Aahar Kendra was the fact that there was an attempt to make everything Eco-friendly. From dustbin to the washbasin tank everything was made Eco-friendly. There was a beautiful painting done on the wall of this canteen. The painting was about life style in Indian village. All the things from drawing water from well to ploughing, every small act was captured in this huge painting. It clearly gives an idea of what all we used to do ourselves at home ! :-). The artwork of bull which was done with thread was also very attractive. The window frames were yet another wonderful creation.

After having light breakfast, we moved to the sevagram ashram. The story goes like this. Gandhiji gave a call to the nation that all of us should go back to our villages and work for overall development of our villages. He proposed a village construction program. There were 7 Lakh villages in India and Gandhiji did not know where to go. He said," Tell me a place which is most economically backward and I will settle in that village". Jamnalal Bajaj was a rich man and he owned a lot of lands around Wardha. He invited Gandhiji to Wardha and then they moved to this Sevagram ashram after seeking permission from the locals. Gandhiji was 67 when he moved there. Today's ashram was in a dense forest and living there was a tough task. He had a condition on building this place. There was a limit on which they can spend and all the materials required to make this place were supposed to be obtained from within a 20KM radius.

There are 5-6 huts in all. First was named Adi-Nivas. This was where he stayed first. When the number of guests increased and there was pressure to move to a bigger place, they moved to "Bapu Kuti". Bapu Kuti was also getting crowded with men and that's when "Ba Kuti" was constructed for Kasturbaji.

All kinds of thoughts were going on in my head. For a moment, It was a great feeling to see the place where Mahatma lived. Then a contradicting thought immediately. Is this what we are here for? To see where he sat, what he used, where he walked etc?. Then I pushed myself to try to understand his thoughts, peep into his life, life style. When I see something, I try to match it. Is it as per the image I have for Gandhiji. Was he really such a great soul or is it the kind of hype today's leaders get? For example, there was a bath tub in the bathroom. I was surprised! This way there were a lot of random thoughts going on.

It was getting hot, we had a quick lunch, bought some books written by Gandhi and prepared ourselves for plan up next. We had to go to Center of Science for Villages(CSV) and then to Paunar Ashram. By now, we had friends in sevagram :-). Hira bhai, who is the cook in the Gandhi ashram arranged an auto for us. We reached the center for science in villages.

It is every social entrepreneur's dream. Work was going on in many dimensions. We could see some models of modified carts, there were vermi composting pits, there was design for houses, some products out of plants, a hand-made paper factory and loads of products out of hand-made paper. There was some research going on in irrigation methods also. All of these were Eco-friendly products. The staff there had patiently explained us most of the things in detail.

From CSV we headed to Paunar Ashram. Its actual name is Brahma Vidya Mandir Ashram and its located in a place called Paunar. The ashram was established by Acharya Vinoba Bhave,the disciple of Mahatma Gandhi. This ashram dedicated to swarajya, rural sufficiency, is run by women. It was quite some time back this place was established. This place also hosts the mortal remains of Vinobha Bhave. The women who are running the ashram are now very aged and no new ones have joined. So, what is going to happen to this place in future is a big question. It was a beautiful place and we immediately felt home as two elderly ladies came to us and explained the whole story behind it. How they worked together, produced all necessities like food, dairy products, clothes and were self-sufficient. It was an inspiring and touching story. It was a brave social experiment. I wish some young ones join that place and take it further.

PS: Pardon me for the formatting of this post. The editor is not friendly.