DNA Edit: Royal mementos - PM’s gifts are auctioned and they attract footfalls

In 2017, Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj had some wonderful gifts for the Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed.

They were memorabilia from the 1971 War, including military equipment used by the joint Indo-Bangladesh forces, as well as a large number of artifacts and documents, historical photographs, archival audios, video clippings, maps and battle records.

In other words, a part of the modern history of a crucial period was gifted to a grateful nation. Included among other artefacts, was a pistol of 1971 vintage, which was officially presented to the prime minister by Swaraj. VIP memorabilia is a subject of recent vintage in India but, it nonetheless catches eyeballs.

These little objects of antiquity reflect on a time that has gone by or is in the process of passing away. That is why, the decision to auction gifts that Prime Minister Narendra Modi received in the last four-and-a-half years, has attracted a lot of attention.

The gifts, given to the Prime Minister by Indian and foreign visitors as a token of goodwill, went under the hammer in a two-day exercise. They are truly eclectic. From an Assamese japi gifted to the Prime Minister by the Srimanta Sankaradeva Sangh in 2016 to a Buddha figurine presented by Bihar’s road transport and water resources department in 2017; from a metal sculpture of a cow and a calf offered by the Palanpur Amul Cheese Plant to caps and pagris of various shapes and sizes.

The proceeds of the auction — organised by no less than the Ministry of Culture at the prestigious National Gallery of Modern Art - will be donated to the government flagship scheme `Namami Gange’. The items are priced between Rs 500 and Rs 30,000. They are expected to be sold off at an e-auction to be held between January 29-31.

The auction held so far has been full of pleasant surprises. A statue of Shivaji, base priced at Rs 1,000 went for Rs 22,000. Likewise, the then president Pranab Mukherjee on his 79th birthday in 2014, had unveiled some of the most ‘priceless’ exhibits in the grand Rashtrapati Bhavan — of course they were not for sale and not all of them were gifts either. But the lineup was truly distinguished, showcasing one of the greatest restorations ever in the Rashtrapati Bhavan under the aegis of the then president.

A painting by the famous Polish artist Feliks Topolski, which uncannily foreshadows Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, arm-chairs used by the first President, Rajendra Prasad, over 100 photographs and select art objects, all of it represented through the newly-constructed integrated facility of the Rashtrapati Bhavan’s Cultural Centre.

In 2009, then President Pratibha Patil was presented a rare collection of Gandhi memorabilia, including a bunch of letters written by the Mahatma in Urdu. These letters, advised followers like Khilafat leader Maulana Abdul Bari, about the future course of action. They were handed over to the President by NRI entrepreneurs, who had in turn procured them through an auction. India’s rich history and vast cultural mosaic provides the perfect background for such activities.