The enduring appeal of Gandhi memorabilia 

Gandhi's sandals and pocket watch

Personal items of Mahatma Gandhi were auctioned for ₹13 crore ($1.8 million) on March 5, 2009. The bidder was Vijay Mallya. Hours before the auction was due to take place, James Otis, the seller, had tried to withdraw the items—including Gandhi's sandals, pocket watch and spectacles, plate and bowl. But the auction in New York went ahead.

Spinning wheel

Mahatma Gandhi's 'charkha' which he used in Yerwada Jail during the 'Quit India Movement' was auctioned in 2013 in UK for a whopping ₹1.04 crore (£1,10,000). The spinning wheel was used by Gandhi in Pune jail and was later gifted to American Free Methodist missionary Revd Floyd A Puffer for his work in colonial India.

Blood and ‘Will’

The ‘Will’ was sold by an unidentified vendor from outside India. The specimen of his blood was sold by the Indian descendants of a family Gandhi stayed with near Mumbai while recovering from an illness in the year 1924. Gandhi's last ‘Will’, which he wrote in Sabarmati Ashram, was sold for ₹18.92 lakh (£20,000).

Soil he fell on

A bottle containing some of the soil on which Mahatma Gandhi fell after being shot on January 30, 1948 was auctioned for ₹11.35 lakh (£12,000). A bystander, PP Nambiar, had collected the dirt and some blades of grass after the shooting.

Autographed letters

Two letters—one hand-written by Mahatma Gandhi and the other autographed by him —were auctioned in 2014. The hand-written letter dated August 10, 1935, was addressed to Bhujangilal Chhaya, a young relative of Gandhi's. The second letter was written by one of his assistants on October 5, 1935 in Gujarati but signed by Gandhi. The letters were sold at the price of ₹11.5 lakh and ₹9 lakh respectively.

Sandals of the Mahatma

A pair of sandals formerly owned by Mahatma Gandhi went under the hammer in Britain in 2013. Despite being in a bad state, Auction House Mullock's said the battered leather shoes were expected to fetch up to ₹14.19 lakh (15,000 Pounds) but went on to fetch ₹17.97 lakh (£19,000). The sandals had come from Juhu in Bombay, where he lived between 1917 and 1934.

Signed photograph

A signed vintage photo of Mahatma Gandhi, walking alongside Madan Mohan Malaviya, was sold at a US auction for ₹30.28 lakh ($41,806). Signed in fountain pen, “M K Gandhi,” the rare photo was taken after the second session of the Round Table Conference in London in September 1931. The photo dates to a period in which Gandhi, suffering from pain in his right thumb, opted to write with his left hand.

Johannesburg property

In 2009, Gandhi's former home in Johannesburg where he lived for three years, was set up for sale at a reserve price of ₹ 2.03 crore (£2,15,000). He lived at the Krall in the suburbs of Johannesburg with its architect Herman Kallenbach.

Correspondence

India bought a collection of letters and other documents relating to Mahatma Gandhi, which were set to be auctioned in London on July 10, 2012. The letters, photographs and other papers bought by the Indian Government belonged to Hermann Kallenbach, a German Jewish architect whom Mahatma Gandhi met in South Africa in 1904 and with whom he became close friends. Before Sotheby's could auction the collection, the Indian Government struck a deal to buy the archive for ₹7.96 crore ($1.1 million) from Kallenbach’s relatives.