Gandhi's 'A Thought for the Day' archive fetches Rs 16.2 crore at auction
Mahatma Gandhi's 688 daily reflections, compiled as 'A Thought for the Day', sold for Rs 16.2 crore at a Saffronart auction, setting a world record.
A collection of 688 dated reflections written by Mahatma Gandhi for his close associate and disciple Anand T Hingorani was sold for Rs 16.20 crore at a Saffronart auction on Wednesday. The sale set a world record for an Indian historical document sold at auction.
The archive, compiled as a book titled 'A Thought for the Day', spans 23 months and offers an almost uninterrupted record of Gandhi's moral thought and personal guidance on themes such as truth, self-restraint and non-violence.
Hingorani first met Gandhi in 1930 and worked closely with him at Sabarmati Ashram. He participated in the Dandi March, the Civil Disobedience movement and the Quit India movement. He later became a publisher and custodian of Gandhi's writings, with his family preserving the archive across generations. Hingorani passed away in 1999.
The correspondence between Gandhi and Hingorani began after Gandhi reached out following the death of Hingorani's wife, Vidya. At the time, Hingorani was undergoing nature-cure treatment for deafness and had shared his loneliness and grief with Gandhi. What began as a personal exchange evolved into a collaborative project, with Gandhi authoring each reflection and Hingorani serving as recipient, organiser and transcriber.
"Gandhi is often remembered for his grand political movements but this document shines a light on the equal significance he placed on individual daily relationships," said Minal Vazirani, Co-founder and president of Saffronart.
The book was part of an 86-lot sale titled 'Gandhi: From the Collection of Anand T Hingorani', which featured letters, manuscripts, philatelic items and artefacts documenting India's freedom struggle and the personal exchanges between Gandhi and Hingorani.
Other highlights from the sale included 'Message on God', a set of three manuscript items on Gandhi's reflections on God and the Bhagavad Gita, which fetched Rs 1.68 crore; Gandhi's Peti Charkha and two letters on the spiritual discipline of spinning, which sold for Rs 1.02 crore; and a signed presentation photograph of Gandhi writing, which went for Rs 78 lakh.