Bapu

Bapu is what Indians call Mohandas Gandhi and it means "father." Today, we explored places in Rajkot that were important to Gandhi's early life. We had a student-led tour, courtesy of Aarnav, Dhruv and Aaryaa. They were chosen by their Gujarati teacher, Reena, to help translate.

Aarnav (6th grade) , Dhruv and Aaryaa (5th grade) worked hard as our guides and translators to Alfred High School, Gandhi's Rajkot home and the clothing factory. 

We visited the high school he attended in Rajkot, Alfred High School. This school is now a government school for the children of laborers. When Gandhi attended, it was an English medium school. However, after India gained independence from Britain, it became a Gujarati only school (as it is today). It's worthwhile to note that today, learning English is one of the few paths of upward mobility. Gandhi championed the poor and wanted equality for all, but it seems ironic that his alma mater is not able to provide English to the lower income students.

We saw Gandhi's school records and discovered that he was an average to below average student. That goes to show what many of us teachers already know... grades don't give the whole picture of a person's potential. Next, we visited the home where he and his family lived. It has been designated a national landmark and is a museum that highlights Gandhi's birth through death.

A classroom in Alfred High School.

The entrance to Gandhi's childhood home in Rajkot. 

Some random facts:

• Gandhi wanted Muslims and Hindus to remain unified as India sought its independence; however, Pakistan became its own country in 1947.
• The The Salt March was a major event in Gandhi's civil disobedience against British rule. The British didn't allow Indian citizens to collect or sell salt so the British could heavily tax it. A picture of Gandhi picking up salt from the ground became an iconic image worldwide to highlight the campaign for Indian independence. 
• Ghandi's children took issue with his parenting, and rebelled against his piety. The movie Gandhi, My Father, which was released in 2007, received a lot public outcry because it criticized Gandhi, whose life and person are beyond reproach to many Indian people. 
• After his death, Mohandas Gandhi became known as Mahatma Gandhi, which means a person of high esteem or a sage. 

Since Gandhi spun cloth on a loom for the poor while he was on a hunger strike, we visited a local shop that sells cloth spun in the same way it was done 100 years ago.

A woman spinning who will get four rupees for each batch of thread she weaves onto the wheel.