New Delhi: A number of Gandhi memorabilia have found their way to Internet auction sites after the recent storm over a move by London-based auction house Christie's to put a Mahatma letter under the hammer.
Internet auction sites quickly picked up on the idea and put hordes of Mahatma Gandhi memorabilia up on sale in an effort to exploit the huge commercial value of Gandhi memorabilia.
Internet auction site e-bay leads the pack, selling everything from Gandhi's picture postcards to T-shirts with Gandhi's picture printed on them to even coffee mugs with Gandhi's slogan.
The demand is huge too. For instance, Gandhi picture postcards are selling for a minimum of Rs 10 while leather watches with Gandhi's face embossed on the dial are being quoted at Rs 2 lakh. A buyer can choose anything depending on his or her interest and purchasing power.
Soon after Gandhi's assassination, Gandhi topi (cap) had become a craze for many Indians but lately, things like T-shirts with Gandhi's picture, coffee mugs with Gandhi's slogan have become popular.
So you have people selling everything from stamps to some really funny pictures of Gandhi's like him grinning while being escorted by two detectives in Folkestone are now receiving a number of queries from potential buyers. Even Rs 2 notes bearing Gandhi's pictures are now being sold for 100 times and more than its original value.
"Gandhi memorabilia have now become popular. I had bought 3000 sets of 1969 Gandhi stamps which are no longer available in India. I have now sold most of them online," says Amit Chowdhury, Stampex, a Kolkata-based group selling old stamps on Internet.
"The demand for Gandhi stamps comes from a number of other countries too and not just India," he adds. Chowdhury says it is not just the stamps which are in demand online, but also folders and articles related to Gandhi.
Up on sale is also an postcard with former US president Abraham Lincon and Mahatma Gandhi sourced from a philately exhibition in US Hyderabad, which the seller claims is original. Even the ordinary sheet of postal stamps with Gandhi's picture on them is selling for much higher than the market price. Besides them, one also has rare stamps with Gandhi's picture on sale.
(With PTI inputs)
Comments
0 comment