Hon’ble Governor of West Bengal, H.E. Shri Keshari Nath Tripathi inaugurated the “Gandhi Gallery – Mahatma Gandhi Interpretation Centre” at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata on July 25, 2019 at a special function organized at the Kolkata Airport to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Shri Sankar Kumar Sanyal, Member, Executive Committee GSDS and President Harijan Sevak Sangh; Shri Kaushik Bhattacharya, Airport Director, Kolkata Airport; Shri Dipanker Shri Gyan, Director, Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti; Smt. Geeta Shukla, Research Officer GSDS and others were present at the inaugural ceremony. Mr. Manish from Bhuma Infotech was also present on the occasion.
After the inauguration, the hon’ble Governor also was given a guided tour of the exhibition at the Gandhi Gallery and a journey into the life of Mahatma Gandhi through digital intervention at the kiosk.
The “Gandhi Gallery – Mahatma Gandhi Interpretation Centre” has been established the GSDS in collaboration with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi by conscientising the local masses of Mahatma Gandhi's association with their respective region. This is a permanent gallery on the life, ideas, philosophy and activities of the Mahatma.
The walk through “Gandhi Gallery” has been set up at the arrival lounge of the Kolkata Airport, where Mahatma Gandhi's association with West Bengal has been displayed in 24 panels. His association with local leaders, freedom fighters and others has been discussed through photographs and text. Gandhiji's relationship with Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose has been prominently shown. Sodepur Ashram, Noakhali tour, his efforts to maintain communal harmony in 1946-47 are also elaborately displayed.
The ‘Digital Kiosk’ installed at the Gandhi Gallery to bring before the masses the life and times of Mahatma Gandhi through the use of technology. It further includes quiz, films on the Mahatma and other information, for drawing the younger generation closer to understanding the ideals and philosophy of Gandhi ji.
Mahatma Gandhi’s association with Kolkata, particularly Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore is known to all. It was on his return from Phoenix Ashram that Mahatma Gandhi along with his family and others chose Shantiniketan as their temporary sojourn. For here, the Poet, ‘who was the singing voice and embraced freedom in a thousand bonds of delight’; and the Mathama, ‘who exemplified stark renunciation’, met; and their love of India and mankind united them. Gurudev conferred on Gandhi the title of “Mahatma”, ‘The Great Soul’.
It was also Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose who for the first time in 1944 addressed Bapuji as “The Father of the Nation”.
It may be mentioned that the Ministry of Culture, Government of India has entrusted GSDS to set up “Gandhi Gallery” at 50 designated Airports throughout India in phase wise manner of which this is the second installation of the phase. The first, being the ‘Gandhi Gallery’ at the Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport, Varanasi that was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Governor of Uttar Pradesh, H.E. Shri Ram Naik along with Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath on January 2019.