Once called the ‘Sabarmati of southern India’,, the Sabari Ashram in Akathethara is among the most important sites linked to the Father of our Nation in Kerala.
It was founded in early 1923 by the brilliant young lawyer T R Krishnaswami Iyer at the behest of the Mahatma after the former was expelled from his home in Kalpathi for his work to enable equal status for members of historically oppressed castes.
Gandhiji was so impressed by young Krishnaswami’s courage of convictions that he held him as an exemplary role model for young people in India.
In subsequent years, the Mahatma visited and stayed at the Ashram on three occasions including once with Kasturba. Many key figures in our national movement came to the Ashram, Many deliberations on decisive events took place here.
It was during his second visit–in 1927– that Gandhiji, along with Ba, planted the now historic coconut tree at the forecourt of the Ashram.
Over the years, thousands of visitors, from ordinary Indians to important figures have visited the site. As much as the simple cottage once used by Gandhiji, the base of this humble tree is also a place of pilgrimage.
- Jayaram Koottaplavil, Vishnu, Prasanth
