MADAM BHIKAJI CAMA (1861-1936) was an Indian freedom fighter. Aa member of the Parsi community,  she is remembered for various activities including unfurling one of  thee earliest versions of a flag of Indian independence  at a socialist Congress in Stuttgart in 1907, several years before Gandhi returned to India to start his struggle to make India independent of the British.

 

 In 1960, Rustom Cama, who was related to Bikhaji Cama,  opened his 26 room luxury Cama Hotel, close to the River Sabarmati in Ahmedabad. With a delightful garden, it was the city’s first hotel offering deluxe accommodation.

 

The hotel was one of the earliest projects of the renowned Indian architect Charles Correa (1930-2015). He designed the hotel in 1958-59. Not too far away from the hotel is the Memorial Museum at Gandhi’s Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad.

 

I have read that  the  Cama Hotel has been modified over the years. So, although it is recognisable modernistic, some of what Correa designed has been changed. We visited the hotel, hoping to drink some coffee. Despite having placed the order, it never arrived, and we left thirsty. Nevertheless,  I was pleased to have entered a building designed by Correa. And I was fascinated by the fact that the hotel was established by a member of Madam Bhikaji Cama’s family.

 

I first became aware of Madam Cama when I was researching my book, “Indian Freedom Fighters in London (1905 – 1910), which is about some Indian revolutionaries, who were active several years before Gandhi came on the scene. [The book is available from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/INDIAN-FREEDOM-FIGHTERS-LONDON-1905-1910/dp/0244270716 ]