Friday, May 4, 2012

Kamal Morarka acquires Gandhi Memorabilia in UK Auction

Kamal Morarka, a businessman from Mumbai, has acquired 29 items of Mahatma Gandhi memorabilia at a recent auction in the UK. He is planning to bring the acquired items of the 'Father of Nation' to India.

Morarka announced on Friday that the purchase was done through Kamal Morarka Foundation for the Arts. The items were sold by Mullock's, a Shropshire-based auctioneer.

The industrialist was delighted to acquire the items of Gandhi. He said that he would have been happier if the government would have acquired those items.

He purchased the items paying more than 1 lakh pound. He said that it would not have been a big expenditure for the government if it would have spent Rs 80 to Rs 90 lakh to buy these items.

The memorabilia includes blades of grass and soil pigmented with blood of Mahatma Gandhi and retrieved from Birla House in Delhi, where he was assassinated in 1948, Gandhi's early pairs of iconic spectacles, the famous wooden 'charkha' (spinning wheel), a prayer book signed by Gandhi and several letters and other documents pertaining to Gandhi's life.

Morarka would like to display the items in a national museum in Delhi. He said that participating in the auction was not a commercial decision, but an emotional one to buy Gandhi's items. He intended to bring back to India the objects used by Gandhi.

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