Hmmn….after days of high drama, it finally took a liquor baron to bring back home the personal artifacts of Gandhi – a man who was against liquor and its consumption. Anyways the irony apart, millions of Indians were elated today as business tycoon Vijay Mallya put in a bid of $1.8 million through his representative Tony Bedi and won the five precious heritage items of Gandhi memorabilia.

Gandhi’s steel-rimmed spectacles, a pair of sandals, a Zenith pocket watch, an eating bowl and a plate went under the hammer, as scheduled, by Antiquorum Auctioneers in New York Thursday despite an outcry by Indians and mounting Indian government pressure not to go ahead with the auction. Many Indians felt that Gandhi was against materialism of any kind and an attempt to place a price on his items would be against the Gandhian spirit.

Responding to the outcry , James Otis, the Gandhi scholar and collector who put the items up for auction also had offered to donate them to India, in exchange for a promise of increased health care and aid for the poor — a deal that the Indian government rejected.

It will take a while however for the Gandhi memorabilia to come back home. The US justice department has asked the auction house to hold the lot for two weeks pending a resolution between the new owner and the US and Indian governments.

But for most Indians, the final decision of who eventually keeps the belongings doesn’t mean anything, as long as these humble, yet priceless belongings of Gandhi head back home.

Via : Indo Asian News Service