Express News Service
MANGALURU/UDUPI : Gandhi, deep-rooted in spirituality, had refused to lay the foundation stone for a Krishna Mandir in Mangaluru. He, however, later agreed after some persuasion because the temple was Sarvajanik (for all people) and located inside a school. Dwarfed behind the towering Canara School building now is the beautiful temple with a stone tablet reading that Gandhi laid the foundation stone on February 24, 1934. The trowel he used to lay the foundation stone is a precious possession here.
S S Kamath (79), president of Canara School Association, said that the school authorities sought the help of Congress leaders to persuade Gandhi to lay the stone. Gandhi visited Mangaluru thrice. His first visit was in 1920 with Maulana Shaukat Ali. The duo was touring the country to seek support for the Khilafat and non-cooperation movements against the British.
According to an article ‘Gandhiji’s Brushes with Mangaluru’ penned by John B Monteiro, the meeting at Central Maidan had to be temporarily stopped as it happened to be time for namaz. Hundreds of Muslims attending the meeting offered prayers after which it resumed.
As President of South Canara District Congress Committee, Jerome Saldanha presided the public meeting addressed by Gandhi in 1927. According to Monteiro, Gandhi stayed in a house at Penlandpet, which is now known as Gandhinagar. During his third visit in 1934, Gandhi toured Udupi distric as part of the Harijan Yatra. Gandhi then went to Ajjarkad grounds to address a public meeting that was witnessed by 6,000 people.
