After German artefact dealer says he wants to sell Gandhi's memorabilia to whoever is willing to buy, Alisha Coelho goes online and finds thousands of items inspired by Gandhi
After German artefact dealer says he wants to sell Gandhi's memorabilia to whoever is willing to buy, Alisha Coelho goes u00a0online and finds thousands of items inspired by Gandhi
German artefact dealer Peter Ruhe may be undertaking the hunt for collectibles in the country on foot, but there's a flood of Gandhi memorabilia up for grabs online.
And while most of the items online may not rank highly in authenticity (the Mahatma might have never owned a stuffed duck), Gandhi items still top the charts in terms of celebrity collectibles.
For example, on eBay India, a search for Gandhi items returns over 2,500 hits that include items like stamp colour proofs priced at Rs 40,000 to notes and coins bearing Gandhi for Re 1.
The search on Amazon.com yields even higher results and a range of items, including infant jumpsuits, stuffed toys with Gandhi slogan T-shirts and even a white thong bearing part of Gandhi's famous saying, 'Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment'.
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Gandhi tops the popularity charts on eBay India with Shah Rukh Khan trailing behind with around 750 items.
Among the stamps collection on the Indian site, 'Gandhi' and 'Gandhi 1948' were among the top five keyword searches.
"Someone buys a stamp every 10 minutes and a coin every nine minutes," said Deepa Thomas, spokesperson for eBay India.
The most expensive Gandhi item currently on eBay is a negative sheet of Gandhi's first appearance before a microphone to announce the terms discussed with Viceroy Lord Irwin. It is up for nearly Rs 5 lakh.
However, Gandhi's great grandson Tushar is less than amused. "Vijay Mallya spent an enormous amount on getting Gandhi items back to India.
That money could have been put to much better use. Gandhi's values are of far more importance.
As for the online auctions, it's a business and so long as people are not getting duped about the collectible, there shouldn't be any problem," he said.
Buying Gandhi
Peter Ruhe's recently visited Sabarmati Ashram, where he admitted he wanted to sell Gandhi's heritage, even to McDonald's. Ruhe reportedly has several items of Gandhi memorabilia.
The Sabarmati Ashram Trust on Monday proclaimed that it was going to buy back Gandhi memorabilia and create a heritage site where people could view artifacts and purchase copies at a price.
In March, Vijay Mallya purchased Gandhi's round-rimmed spectacles, a pocket watch, sandals, a bowl and a thali, for Rs 9 crore.
A French tourism company in October bought Gandhi's home in Johannesburg The Kraal for a reported price of Rs 1.7 crore.
Most sought after collectible on Ebay
The first stamp issued on him just after his death that Jawaharlal Nehru personally inspected.
A set of thirty stamps of Rupees Ten Denomination were sold by a US based Indian Seller to a Madurai based Indian buyer for Rs. 1,32,000.
Two First Day Covers (FDC) of the above of the same set sold for Rs. 85,000 each. Buyers & sellers were from both India and America.
A Gandhi painting by artist Haku Shah sold for Rs. 1,50,000u00a0
A newspaper clipping containing Gandhi's image, printed in 1948, sold for Rs. 50,000
A photograph taken in 1931 by Bombay India Press fetched Rs. 45,000
A 1929 Gandhi paperweight created by Rene Lalique to mark his 60th birthday was sold for Rs. 36,000
A LP record containing Gandhi's Voice and his teachings sold for Rs. 30,000. The LP also had voices of Albert Einstein, Nehru and Krishna Menon.
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