BATTERED WITH AGE, THIS MATTANCHERRY HOUSE EVOKES MEMORIES OF THE MAHATMA

ON the eve of March 8, the centenary of Mahatma Gandhi's visit to Kochi, the old-fashioned building located opposite to Mattancherry Gujarati School is being decked up.

- KRISHNA KUMAR K E @Kochi

Though battered with age, the house still summons vivid memories of Mahatma Gandhi, thanks to its resident Rahul N Asher and his family's close association with Gandhiji.

Mahatma Gandhi's second visit to Kochi, on March 8, 1925, was mainly for the sake of his mission in Vaikom, which aimed to open the road to the temple for all sections of Hindus in Kerala's Travancore region. That day, he stayed in the house of Mathura Das Asher, a Gujarati, in Mattancherry.