Gandhi Memorial, Kanniyakumari

The Gandhi Memorial, often called Gandhi Mandapam, stands at Kanniyakumari near the southern tip of the peninsula, where the three seas meet. After Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated in 1948, an urn of his ashes was kept on this spot for public homage, and the memorial opened in 1963. Its design echoes the temples of central India, and the central tower is 79 feet tall, one foot for each year of Gandhi's life.

The building is planned so that on 2 October, Gandhi's birthday, sunlight falls straight onto the place where the ashes rested. The octagonal plan recalls a chhatri pavilion, and the white marble structure sits on a raised platform, with plain arches at the entrance and narrow windows that give a soft light inside. Bas-relief panels decorate the outside, the interior holds a statue of Gandhi and some historical objects, and the roof gives wide views over the sea.