AHMEDABAD, India -- Peering inside the cottages at Mahatma Gandhi's retreat on the banks of the Sabarmati River, visitors find spartan spaces with only the most essential furniture -- a cot, perhaps, or a desk. Material possessions mattered little to the pacifist Indian independence leader.
The cottages, made of brick and wood, served as residences, meditation centers, conference halls and dining rooms for Gandhi and his followers. But there is very little to suggest that this was the epicenter of India's freedom movement for nearly 30 years.
