At Mani Bhavan, memories of Obama's Mumbai visit enlivened

As Barack Obama today paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat memorial in Delhi, it enlivened memories of the US President's visit to the Mani Bhavan here four years back.
The Mani Bhavan, where Gandhi used to stay during his visit to the city, has been converted into a Gandhi museum.
After visiting the historical building on November 7, 2010, the US President, who was accompanied by First Lady Michelle Obama, had described Mahatma Gandhi as a hero for the entire world.
Obama had hailed the Father of the Nation as "a hero not just to India but to the world."

"I am filled with hope and inspiration as I have the privilege to view this testament to Gandhi's life. He is a hero not just to India but to the world," Obama had written in the visitor's book at the Mani Bhavan here, with a cupboard teetering with books of the Mahatma in the background.
Obama, who is a self-confessed admirer of Gandhi, had alongwith his wife spent about 45 minutes going around the simple, old-style, two-storey building on Laburnum Road in South Mumbai where the Father of the Nation stayed during his visits to Mumbai.

The US President has in his speeches often cited Gandhi has having a major influence on him.

Michelle had said she will always "treasure" the visit to honour Gandhi's memory.
"The visit will be one that I will always treasure. The life and teachings of Gandhi must be shared with our children around the world," she wrote in the visitors book.
"It would have been nice to see Obama at Mani Bhavan again but I am aware that such things are not fixed at a short notice," Mani Bhavan Gandhi Sangrahalaya's Executive Secretary Meghshyam Asgaonkar told PTI.
"During his visit, I recall that he appeared to be very impressed seeing Gandhi's simplicity when he went to his living room.

"Obama liked the wooden structure and also the library. He had lauded us for retaining Gandhiji's room as it was and had become very emotional while in the room," he said.