The month-long event, organized by the Aditya Vikram Birla Group and the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), marks an effort to popularize Gandhian principles among youth.

"The exhibition is a beautiful way to connect to today's generation to whom Gandhi is nothing more than just a symbol of the state," said Tushar Gandhi, Gandhi's great-grandson and managing trustee of the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation.

"Gandhi's message is eternal. Only the form has been changed," he said.

The audio-visual interactive exhibition that began Saturday is another version of New Delhi's Eternal Gandhi Multimedia Museum. Both have been visualized and executed by Ranjit Makkuni, president of the Delhi-based research organization Sacred World Foundation.

The exhibition fuses the elements of a typical Indian village - handicrafts, spinning wheels, simple lifestyle - with images of the freedom struggle, giving the age-old combination a technological edge.

Waving a hand within a string-less laser harp brings forth notes of Gandhi's favorite prayer song "Vaishnava Janato".

Recognizing the tune, call centre employee Aditi Ranjan, 23, said: "I used to sing it mechanically in school and have hardly thought about it since then. It is a truly beautiful song."

A computer screen embedded inside a large steam engine takes visitors on a journey of Indian cities that were once traversed by Gandhi. The on-screen train can be navigated by the engine's steering wheel and levers.

Each station unfolds shots of Gandhi's activities in that city, replete with speeches and personal messages.

Rajiv Lochan, director of the National Gallery of Modern Art, said: "It is a pleasure to present to Mumbai a new media exhibition that is a synthesis of art encompassing the perennial wisdom of Gandhiji, utilizing new media as an art form.

"The multi-layered work sparkles in diverse dimensions and evokes different views. It envelops modern art form, technology, craft, cultural documentation with visions of development as creative interpretation."