Gandhi's possessions to return home

US: Mahatma Gandhi's meager possessions are to finally return home after a flamboyant Indian tycoon paid 1.8 million dollars Thursday to win a dramatic auction in New York.

Cheers erupted at Antiquorum Auctioneers when the hammer came down on the huge bid by liquor and airline baron Vijay Mallya.

"Basically he was bidding for the country," said Tony Bedi, who acted on behalf of Mallya to secure the revered independence leader's round glasses, worn leather sandals, pocket watch, plate and bowl.

Mallya "will take the items to India," Bedi said.

India had bitterly opposed the auction, insisting that Gandhi's belongings were part of the country's national heritage and that their sale was an insult to the memory of a man who rejected material wealth.

The owner, California-based pacifist James Otis, insisted the auction would proceed. With less than an hour to go, he astonished journalists outside the auction house by announcing that "in light of the controversy" he too wanted the sale stopped.

But he was too late and Antiquorum went ahead.

A fanfare of soft music and a slide show of black and white Gandhi photos introduced the bitterly controversial lot to a packed room.

Then Indian businessmen - who had seen both their government and Otis himself fail to stop the sale - leapt in, bidding frantically to prevent any foreigner from winning.

Within seconds, Antiquorum's opening price of 20,000 to 30,000 dollars for the five items rocketed to half a million dollars, and then kept climbing rapidly.

Asked afterward if the possessions of a man who embraced poverty were really worth 1.8 million dollars, white turbaned Bedi laughed: "I think they're worth six" million dollars.

There was still one more twist before Gandhi's passionate followers could breathe easy.

New York, Friday, AFP