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The Untold Story of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

Discover The Hidden Legacy: Why Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s Life is Deeply Emotional.

A very special exhibition is opening soon in Ahmedabad, bringing together history, art, and the spirit of two big events! This art show is a heartfelt tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the ‘Iron Man of India,’ on his 150th birth anniversary, and it also marks 75 years of the Navajivan Trust building on Ashram Road. It’s a way to remember the past and cheer for the lasting work of the Navajivan Trust, an institution that has been around for more than a century.

The Inauguration and the Special Guest

The show is being opened by Shri Amit Ambalal on October 31, 2025, at 6:00 pm. The opening date, October 31st, is important because it is Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s birthday, which is also celebrated all over India as National Unity Day (Rashtriya Ekta Diwas).

Shri Amit Ambalal is a very well-known artist from Ahmedabad. He was born in a business family, but followed his childhood dream to become a full-time painter in 1979. He is known for his unique style that mixes reality and old Indian stories, often using humour and bright colours. He has shown his art in many places in India and around the world, and he also wrote a book about the traditional Nathdwara paintings of Lord Krishna. Having an artist of his stature open the show adds a lot of prestige to this tribute.

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Dates, Times, and a Long Celebration

You can see this wonderful art show from October 31 to December 15, 2025. That’s a long time, over six weeks!to make sure everyone gets a chance to visit. The timings are easy for visitors: 12 pm to 9 pm every day. The long run and the evening hours are perfect for students, families, and art lovers to explore this rich collection.

A Building’s Big Birthday and a National Hero

The exhibition is very special because it celebrates two milestones. First is the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The Government of India is also holding huge celebrations for this anniversary at the Statue of Unity in Ekta Nagar, Gujarat, with parades and cultural shows, reflecting the importance of his role in uniting the country after Independence.

Powerful Sardar Patel: A Legacy of Courage

The second milestone is the 75th anniversary of the Navajivan Trust campus building on Ashram Road, Ahmedabad. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel himself opened this building on his birthday, October 31, 1950. This building is a landmark because it housed the printing press and office that helped spread the ideas of Gandhi and Patel.

The Trust’s Deep Roots

Even though the building is turning 75, the Navajivan Trust’s story started much earlier. It began on September 7, 1919, when its first Gujarati journal, ‘Navajivan’, which means ‘new life,’ was first published under the guidance of Mahatma Gandhi. The Trust was set up to spread the message of self-rule, spinning and wearing khadi (hand-spun cloth), ending untouchability, and bringing unity among different groups.

A decade after it started, in 1929, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel joined the Trust as a trustee and became its first chairperson. He kept this important role until he passed away in December 1950. The Navajivan Trust has been dedicated to Gandhiji’s vision of spreading knowledge through affordable books and has strictly followed its rule of not accepting advertisements or donations, choosing to be self-reliant.

More Than a Publisher

For more than 106 years, Navajivan has been much more than just a publishing house. It has been a steady mirror reflecting India’s changing social, political, and cultural journey. The Trust has carried forward the legacy of India’s freedom struggle through countless books, journals, and printed works that continue to inspire and inform people today. The Navajivan Press became a symbol of a free press during the freedom movement. Even today, it keeps Gandhi’s ideal of sastu sahitya (affordable literature) alive by printing his writings in many languages.

Where History Meets Art

This exhibition is a lively conversation between the past and the present. Each artist spent time researching materials, stories, and little-known facts about themes like Navajivan and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Ahmedabad, and the lasting ideas of leadership, printing, the place itself, and the values they stood for. The artists were given the freedom to choose what spoke to them the most, whether emotionally, politically, or visually.

The result is a rich, multi-layered collection of artwork. It’s not just about what happened back then, but how those events and people still affect us today. The show features a wide range of art, from pictures in frames to large, interactive installations, offering visitors a deep and varied experience.

The Artists Who Made it Happen

The show features the works of many talented artists: Avani Varia, Bharvi Trivedi, Dipti Shukla, Gopal Parmar, Jayesh Shukla, Jigna Gaudana, Bansidhar Khatri, Mahendra Mistry, Milan Desai, Nilesh Suthar, Rakesh Patel, Roma Patel, Ronak Sopariwala, Samvedana Vaissya, and Sumedh Kumar Kishan. These artists from Navajivan Studios have brought their collective creative energy to this tribute.

An Invitation to Connect

This art exhibition is both a tribute to Sardar Vallabhbai Patel and an invitation. It’s a way to honour the great men and women who built independent India, and it’s a chance for you to see how their stories and ideals still live on in the books they wrote, the buildings they used, the streets they walked on, and, most importantly, in the hearts of people who keep dreaming and creating a better future.

For anyone who wants to know more, you can reach out to Himanshu Panchal on 9727410861.