A PINCH of soil and blood-stained blades of grass from the place where Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated in 1948 sold for £10,000 ($15,978.18) at an auction in London on Tuesday (April 17).
Among other Gandhi memorabilia going under the hammer were his characteristic round-rimmed glasses that fetched £34,000 ($54,325.73), more than twice the estimated price and the ‘charkha’ or the spinning wheel, which went for £26,000 ($41,543.21).
The identity of the buyers was not immediately known.
The soil and grass were kept inside a tiny glass-topped box in a small wooden casket, which had a letter of provenance by a soldier, PP Nambiar.
Other items that were sold at the “historical documents, autographs and ephemera” auction in England included autographed letters, a 10 inch, 78 rpm signed Columbia disc containing his spiritual message (£2,200/$3,514.48) and a typewritten letter to Sgt Poduwal in Rangoon (£3,000/$4,793.28).
