When Gandhi finally returned to India in 1915, he founded his first Ashram at Kochrab, a village near Ahmedabad, on the banks of the Sabarmati river. Two years later, it was shifted to a bigger plot of land and was named the Sabarmati Ashram.
The day began with a morning prayer at 4:20 a.m. The prayer was followed by meditation and recitation from the Gita and Ramayana. Then came the activities of the day. Spinning was compulsory, like a medicine; so also was toilet cleaning. The mid-day meal was taken at 11 a.m. and the last meal at 7:30 p.m.
The daily routine was: prayers, then kitchen work, gardening, spinning, carding and weaving, scavenging and sanitation, teaching, accounts or any other work assigned. After the evening prayers at 7 p.m. came dinner, and then rest at 9 p.m. Gandhi would personally check if every one was in bed by 9 p.m.
The ashram had cows and their sheds had to be kept clean. The inmates also had to work in the kitchen; the wheat had to be ground daily. Each morning fresh vegetables were brought from the fields of the ashram. Men also had to work in the kitchen.
The following eleven vows were to be observed by all ashramites: Truth, Non-violence, Celibacy, Control of the palate, Non-stealing, Non-possession, Physical labour, Use of Swadeshi goods, Fearlessness, Removal of untouchability, and Tolerance of all religions.
In 1930 Gandhi started from the Ashram for his historic Dandi March against the salt tax. He vowed not to return to the ashram until India became free. He never returned; India attained independence in 1947, and he was killed on the 30th of January, 1948.