E-auction of PM's gifts: Photo stand, silver Kalash fetch Rs 1 crore each

A silver 'kalash' and a photo stand with a picture of Narendra Modi, both gifted to him, fetched Rs 1 crore each at an e-auction organised by the Culture Ministry, according to the PM Mementos website.

The photo stand, which also had a message in Gujarati, had a base price of Rs 500, but sold for Rs 1,00,00,100 on www.pmmementos.gov.in, a site under the ministry.

The 'kalash' has a base price of Rs 18,000 and it sold for Rs 1,00,00,300, according to the site.

Both the items were auctioned off on Monday.

Other mementos that sold at a high price included a metallic sculpture of a cow feeding a calf. It received a bid of Rs 51 lakh against a base price of Rs 1,500.

Over 2,700 mementos, including shawls, pagris and jackets, will be auctioned on the site from September 14 till October 3. These are at the National Gallery of Modern Art here.

The base price range from Rs 200 to Rs 2.5 lakh.

The portrait of the prime minister on silk, which was gifted to him by couturier and owner of Seematti Textiles, Beena Kannan, is among the 2,700 items.

The auction is being held on an online portal designed by National Informatics Centre and is open to all.

Another portrait of Modi, done in the Pichhwai style, has a base price of Rs 2 lakh.

During the last auction, a wooden replica of a BMW was the most expensive memento to be sold. It fetched Rs 5 lakh.

The proceeds of the auction will be given to the Namami Gange programme of the government.