Gandhi's possessions to finally return home
3 hours ago
NEW YORK (AFP) — Mahatma Gandhi's meager possessions are to finally return home after a flamboyant Indian tycoon paid 1.8 million dollars to win a dramatic auction in New York.
Cheers erupted at Antiquorum Auctioneers when the hammer came down on the huge bid by liquor and airline baron Vijay Mallya.
"Basically he was bidding for the country," said Tony Bedi, who acted on behalf of Mallya to secure the revered independence leader's round glasses, worn leather sandals, pocket watch, plate and bowl.
Mallya "will take the items to India," Bedi said.
India had bitterly opposed the auction, insisting that Gandhi's belongings were part of the country's national heritage and that their sale was an insult to the memory of a man who rejected material wealth.
The owner, California-based pacifist James Otis, insisted the auction would proceed. With less than an hour to go, he astonished journalists outside the auction house by announcing that "in light of the controversy" he too wanted the sale stopped.
But he was too late and Antiquorum went ahead.
A fanfare of soft music and a slide show of black and white Gandhi photos introduced the bitterly controversial lot to a packed room.
Then Indian businessmen -- who had seen both their government and Otis himself fail to stop the sale -- leapt in, bidding frantically to prevent any foreigner from winning.
Within seconds, Antiquorum's opening price of 20,000 to 30,000 dollars for the five items rocketed to half a million dollars, and then kept climbing rapidly.
Asked afterward if the possessions of a man who embraced poverty were really worth 1.8 million dollars, white turbaned Bedi laughed: "I think they're worth six" million dollars.
There was still one more twist before Gandhi's passionate followers could breathe easy.
Otis had declared the auction to be illegal and his lawyer had warned of legal action if Antiquorum went ahead.
Antiquorum, which specialized in high-end watch sales, declared a two-week delay in delivering the goods to the auction's highest bidder to address legal questions.
Bedi acknowledged the delicate situation, saying: "Obviously there are some restrictions at the moment pending resolution whether this auction was legal."
But as if Gandhi's spirit of peace was now triumphant, even this potentially nasty legal problem was soon resolved.
Otis explained through his lawyer that his last-minute opposition to the auction had been because he suddenly feared that someone unsuitable, like a foreign dictator, would win.
Mallya's promise to repatriate the items resolved that worry.
"We intend to ratify the sale as we expect Vijay Mallya to keep his word," said Otis's lawyer Ravi Batra.
This must still be confirmed by Mallya, he added. "We don't want it in a private trophy case. We want them returned to the people of India."
However, Batra said that Otis had "every trust in the successful bidder."
Otis, a tall, curly haired documentary maker and longtime Gandhi enthusiast, seemed bewildered by events.
"I never intended the controversy that this has created," he lamented.
R.I.P Gandhi, is all I have to say. He was the inspiration to many people including my mother and I and as cheesy as it sounds, it's true. He freed the Indians from the cruel British rule and he taught humanity valuable things. Even though he died before I was born, I still say R.I.P Gandhi.
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