A wooden statue of Lord Hanuman gifted by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, a trishul presented by Himachal Pradesh CM Jairam Thakur, a javelin autographed by Commonwealth Games medallist Annu Rani and a chess set from Chennai’s Chess Olympics are among Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mementos and gifts set to be auctioned by the Ministry of Culture.
Around 1,000 such gifts and mementos presented to PM Modi by various personalities will go under the hammer as per tradition at an e-auction from September 17 to Gandhi Jayanti on October 2. The proceeds will go towards the Namami Gange project.
Currently, around 300 of these treasured items are on display at a special exhibition at the National Gallery of Modern Arts in the national capital.
A Javelin autographed by Commonwealth Games 2022 Bronze medallist Annu Rani is listed at a base price of Rs 2.50 lakh, while a swimming cap autographed by the Indian Men’s Paralympics team starts at Rs 1.50 lakh.
Bidding for the tee-shirt signed by CWG para athletes from the powerlifting team starts at Rs 5 lakh. A whole section, in fact, has been dedicated to para athletes.
The Ministry of Culture has also planned a visit by specially abled children to the museum to take inspiration from the sportspersons.
“We have decided to open the section for a special visit by specially abled children. There would be availability of sign language experts for them. This will act as a motivation for them,” said a senior official in the ministry.
The collection also includes a chess set from Chennai’s Chess Olympics gifted to the PM, bidding for which starts at Rs 55,000.
Among gifts by fellow politicians are wooden statue of Lord Hanuman and metal statue of Rani Laxmibai presented by Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath. It also includes a trishul from Himachal Pradesh CM Jairam Thakur, whose base price is set at Rs 1.51 lakh.
A statue of Goddess Mahalaxmi of Kohlapur gifted by NCP leader Ajit Pawar and statue of Rani Kamalpati gifted by Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan are also part of the auction.
Among the 300-odd mementos and gifts on display, around 70 were of religious importance like the statue of Lord Ram or that of Buddha or the model of the Golden Temple. Among paintings are the ones gifted by Madhubani artistes depicting the success of India’s vaccination drive and the Gond painting by Padamshri Bhajju Shyamji. Other canvases include those depicting the change brought by social welfare schemes such as Ayushman Bharat and Swachh Bharat.
An art work that stands out depicts Mahatma Gandhi as the Father of Nation and PM Modi as the son of the nation.
Models of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s statue placed at India Gate during Central Vista inauguration, model of Sardar Patel’s statue at the Statue of Unity, along with that of BR Ambedkar will also go under the hammer, along with a graphite miniature of Mahatma Gandhi.
“More than 1,000 items are up for auction and it is an honour to organise that for a noble cause. The proceeds of this auction will go to the Namami Gange Project,” said Dwaitya Gadanayak, DG, National Gallery of Modern Arts.
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