City bizman wants to buy Gandhi home

Will dedicate the Jo'burg home to the country after President Patil gives go-ahead for purchase

Will dedicate the Jo'burg home to the country after President Patil gives go-ahead for purchase

The Kraal, the Johannesburg house where Mahatma Gandhi lived in the early 1900s, is up for sale and Mumbai-based businessman Pradeep Bhavnani is interested.

The present owner, Nancy Ball, has so far failed to find a buyer and was contemplating an international auction.

In a letter to President Pratibha Patil, yesterday, Bhavnani wrote he wished to buy the Mahatma's house and hand it over to the government of India.

"People are not showing any interest in The Kraal, perhaps because ofu00a0 the recession," Bhavnani, who is also the president of the National Association of Small Investors, told MiD DAY.

"I have sought the government's help so that the Gandhi home can remain with Indians," he said.

Bhavnani has also independently managed to contact the present owners of the house through e-mail and his friends in Johannesburg.

Need support

Nancy Ball, an American who has lived in the house for the last 25 years, is now moving away.

"I have failed to find an institution interested in preserving the building's legacy. We may now sell it in the open market and the media can help us drum up support," she said over the phone from Johannesburg.

Gandhi lived in South Africa for 21 years, working as a lawyer and activist.

About The Kraal

Mahatma Gandhi lived in the house called The Kraal located on a quiet street in the northern Johannesburg suburb of Orchids for three years from 1907.

It was at this time that he began to formulate his philosophy of truth and non-violence.

Gandhi lived there with a friend, Herman Kallenbach, who actually designed the house with round walls and a traditional African thatch.

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels