As the world celebrates the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on Friday, people of Lucknow recall fond memories of the Father of the Nation at the famous Farangi Mahal.
Ganddhi’s association with Lucknow began in 1921 when Mohammad Ali Jauhar wrote a telegram to Maulana Abdul Bari Farangi Mahali in the city informing that the Mahatma was coming to Lucknow. When Gandhi reached Lucknow, he made his hideout in Abdul Bari Farangi Mahali’s house and would stay there henceforth for every visit.
Today, the third generation of Bari lives in the house, which also has a room for Gandhi till date. Faizan Ali, the grandson of Bari, who looks after the house, has kept Gandhiji’s room well maintained said he still has the original telegrams sent by Gandhiji. “We have kept those telegrams very carefully,” he said.
As Faizan showed News18 the room where Gandhi used to stay, he also revealed that the Mahatma had stayed there for about three times. “Our grandfather used to tell us that whenever Mahatma Gandhi used to come here he always had a goat with him, which was tied to a tree outside the room. Our grandfather Maulana Bari used to arrange for a special cook who used to cook pure vegetarian food for Gandhi ji. Gandhiji always used to drink goat’s milk,” he said.
“When our house came in the heritage zone, many times we were offered to make this room of Gandhi ji as heritage but we refused to take any government help. Actually, we wanted to preserve our own memories of our family with Gandhiji. Our grandfather used to explain to us how the Farangi Mahal played an important role during India’s freedom struggle in Lucknow. When Mahatma Gandhi asked Abdul Bari Farangi Mahali for the freedom fight, he asked the Muslims to give zakat money to help in the freedom struggle. Not only Gandhi ji but all the leaders including Jawaharlal Nehru used to come here to the Farangi Mahal,” he said.
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