The Indira Gandhi Memorial Museum is situated at 1, Safdarjung Road that lies very close to the Safdarjung Tomb and easily reachable by local transport and Metro link with the Central Secretariat as the nearest point to de-board.
The Museum was initially the residence of Late Smt. Indira Gandhi who was the former and first Lady Prime Minister of India. Set in off white colour, the bungalow sits on a massive expanse of area covered with well trimmed lawns and fringed with shady trees, plants, flowers and bushes. It was later converted into a Museum and a Memorial Site dedicated to the memory of Late Mrs. Indira Gandhi after she was assassinated within the premises of this Mansion on 31st October 1984.
The Museum exhibits the simple lifestyle of Late Mrs. Indira Gandhi seen adorned with expensive antique and yet simple furniture and art deco. The walls are hung with a range of photographs showcasing the public and personal events of the Nehru-Gandhi Clan along with a few covering the Nationalist Movement. The arrangement of a few photographs tells the visual tale of the childhood days of the Lady Prime Minister, her marriage ceremony, the times she spent in office with her father, Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru; the birth of her sons, Late Shri Sanjay Gandhi and Late Shri Rajiv Gandhi; the moment captured when she was sworn as the Prime Minister of India; Her son's marriage to Sonia; The days she relaxed and spent time with her grandchildren, Varun, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi up till her last days in office and events.
The Museum section of the Mansion is completely barred with a walled glass through which you can view her living area, dining area and selected rooms of the house. On display is a simple Sari which Indira Gandhi had worn when she was shot by her own bodyguards covered with blood stains. She was shot almost 32 times out of which the Surgeons in AIIMS retrieved 22 bullets from her injured body. Indira Gandhi had just crossed the wicket gate of this Mansion to take a walk on the green lawns when her two Sikh bodyguards plundered numerous bullets on her. They were immediately arrested and Indira Gandhi was carried to AIIMS but unfortunately succumbed to her injuries on the way itself. The entire pathway where she last walked including the spot where she was shot and the area where she fell into numbness and became unconscious is covered with a stretch of glass frame. The spot where she fell down has been exclusively marked and covered with a glass frame and erected as a Memorial Site in her honour through which you can still see the spots of her dried blood.
The Indira Gandhi Memorial Museum also showcases the personal belongings of Late Shri Rajiv Gandhi which displays the almost burnt shoes and clothes which Rajiv Gandhi had worn when he was assassinated by a LTTE lady suicide bomber in May 1991. A section of the wall is dedicated to a range of the best photographs taken by Rajiv Gandhi himself covering the best years during his lifetime. Rajiv Gandhi loved the art of photography and for this very reason completed a special course in photography. These photographs which are very impressive reveal one of his creative sides as he was also a trained and qualified Pilot.
The right hand side of the entrance of this Museum is dedicated to one of the last writings of Late Smt. Indira Gandhi which is seen framed on the wall. The writing reveals the true devotion, love and affection of this great and kind person towards her people and country where she writes about how she plans to work towards the development and social welfare of India for the benefit of the country and methods to eliminate concerns despite the knowledge of threats to her life that she had been receiving.
Outside the Museum, along the path surrounded by a beautifully manicured green garden where she was assassinated; you can listen to the speeches delivered by Indira Gandhi during her lifetime as the Prime Minister of India through hidden microphones fixed behind the shrubs and bushes. This museum is opened to public visits between 0930 hours and 1645 hours on all days with no entry fee or extra charges.
Source:http://www.delhiinformation.org/museums/indiragandhimemorialmuseum.html
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