Gandhi's handwritten notes auctioned for ₹16.2cr in Mumbai
What's the story
A rare collection of handwritten notes by Mahatma Gandhi has been sold for a whopping $1.69 million (around ₹16.2cr) at an auction in Mumbai, reported the BBC. The notes were written to his close associate and freedom fighter Anand T Hingorani between 1944 and 1946 and offer a personal glimpse into the life of the Indian independence leader. The auction set a record for the highest price paid for an Indian historical document at an auction, per auction house Saffronart.
Personal correspondence
Notes were later compiled into a book
The notes, later compiled into a book titled A Thought for the Day, served as a source of guidance, consolation, and encouragement for Hingorani after the death of his wife Vidya.
Dinesh Vazirani, co-founder of Saffronart, said the collection offered a rare glimpse of Gandhi "through the lens of a close, personal relationship."
Auction details
Other items in the auction
The auction, titled Gandhi: From the Collection of Anand T Hingorani, featured 86 lots including letters, manuscripts, photographs, and personal objects.
The manuscript sold at the auction addresses various themes such as truth, ahimsa (non-violence), brahmacharya (celibacy), non-possession, fearlessness, religious equality, and service.
Other items included Gandhi's notes on God and the Bhagavad Gita, his portable spinning wheel, and two letters about the spiritual discipline of spinning.