King Of Good Times Brings Gandhi Home.

It comes as a great relief for me that the drama over the auction of Gandhi’s memorabilia is finally over and hopefully this really will be the end, but the gut feeling is that more is yet to come. Who would have thought that even after almost six decades since his death, Gandhi will be able to make the headlines.

For me this auction and all the drama surrounding the whole episode is nothing but trampling of the very values that Gandhi tried to inculcate and the biggest irony is Gandhi’s family being thankful to a liquor baron Vijay Mallya. One of the vice and addiction that Gandhi always fought against and even today in the state of Gujarat, the state of Gandhi’s birth, liquor is still not permitted.

Vijay Mallya’s bid of 1.8 million pounds for Gandhi’s personal belonging is nothing but a preposterous and an extravagant expense in these times of recession. Gandhi’s soul would have been more at ease, if this amount would have been utilised for the causes that have been nearer to his heart. The war of words have already began between the Indian Government and Vijay Mallya, as Indian Government are claiming that Vijay Mallya acted on the their behalf, which of course is being denied by Vijay Mallya.

Everyone is talking about the sentiments that are attached to the items, but what use are these sentiments when Gandhi is only a statue to most which is cleaned and garlanded twice a year and for some is just a photo on the currency. Since years the name Gandhi has been used, exploited and sometimes abused by many for ulterior motives.

All said and done, I am very proud of the king of good times as he has brought Gandhi’s memorabilia back to India. Whether it was his personal decision or he was acting on the Indian Government’s behalf is another story altogether?

Now that Gandhi’s items are finally coming back to India, I hope with all my heart that his glasses will enable us to see his vision clearly, his pair of sandals will give us the strength to follow his path, his pocket watch will be a constant reminder of the difficult time he faced for us so that we can enjoy the good times and finally may his bowl and plate be a constant reminder to share whatever we have and be happy in it.