A black, standing idol of Kalyan Balaji; a painting of the Kathakali dance form by artist Ramya V. Menon; a metal bust of 12th century Lingayat social reformer Basavanna — these are among the mementos from south India gifted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and available on auction till October 31. This is the fifth edition of the e-auction of mementos gifted to the PM.
At the time of writing this report, 1,919 bids had been received for the 912 items featured in the ongoing auction, which began on October 2 and will conclude on October 31. The proceeds will go to the Union government’s Namami Gange project to rejuvenate the river Ganga, official sources said.
Also featured in the auction is a Kamadhenu crafted in the Kinnal style of Karnataka, depicting the mythological white cow with a female head, wings, and the tail of a peafowl. An idol of Balaji, the deity of Tirumala, encased in a wooden box and presented to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy, is also among items on display for bidding at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) here.
Included in the auction is headgear in vivid shades of gold, red, orange and purple in the Yakshagana theatre tradition seen in Udupi, Shimoga and western Chikmagalur districts of Karnataka, and Kasaragod district of Kerala. Another unique memento from Karnataka is a cradle from Kalaghatagi in Dharwad. This art form, which dates back several centuries, uses high quality teakwood carved without a single nail, and is painted vibrantly with natural vegetable dyes.
The first e-auction of mementos given to the PM was held in January 2019. In the previous four editions, over 7,000 items were put up for auction.
