Gandhi memorabilia set to return

Until midnight,talks with Otis were still on and the government was bracing itself for the option to buy the items from the auction,scheduled between 3 am and 4 am India time Friday.

The articles on auction are a pair of Gandhis trademark circular metal-rimmed glasses,his sandals,a pocket watch and two utensils in which he is supposed to have eaten one of his last meals. The spectacles were given by Gandhi to a British army colonel while the pocket watch was gifted to his grand-niece Abha Gandhi.

Especially frustrating for the Indian government was the attitude of Otis,who refused to withdraw the absurd conditions he had put for handing over the items to India. One of the conditions was a specific commitment from New Delhi to allocate at least five per cent of its GDP on programmes for the poor,a demand that was rejected by the Government. Around midnight,however,Otis was said to have decided to call off the auction,but the auction house refused to play ball. The auction is going to happen as scheduled. It has not been put off, a spokesman for Antiquorum Auctioneers told The Indian Express.