<p>India has acquired an archive of letters and documents that throws fresh life into the personal life of Mahatma Gandhi including his much-talked-about friendship with German architect and body-builder Hermann Kallenbach. <br /><br /></p>.<p>The archive was to be auctioned by Sotheby’s, a multinational auctioneer of fine and decorative art, jewelery, and collectibles, on June 10.<br /><br />However, the government acquired the preserved letters and documents from Sotheby’s agreeing to pay $ 1.28 million to the multinational corporation against the purchase.<br /><br />“Gandhi-Kallanbach Archives have been withdrawn from the proposed Sotheby’s auction and sold to government of India,” Culture Minister Kumari Seilja said here on Tuesday.<br /><br />Popularly known as Gandhi-Kallenbach archives, the collection of the letter and documents relating to the icon of the non-violence, was in possession of Isa Sarid, the grandniece of Kallenbach.<br /><br />The Sarid family had quoted $ 5 million for the archives. “This offer was considered unacceptable by the Government of India. Finally, it was settled at GBP 8,25,250, which is equal to $ 1.28 million only,” Selja said, adding that the payment has been made to Sotheby’s under an agreement with the auctioneer and Sarid family.<br /><br />The archive will be housed in the National Archives of India here in the national capital, the Minister said.<br /><br />The archive contains a large number of unreported letters of Gandhi, including references to his early political campaigns and the illness of his wife Kasturba. There are several letters which throws a fresh light on the much-talked-about friendship between Gandhi and Kallenbach, who was considered very close to him during his stay in South Africa.<br /><br />According to Sotheby’s, the Gandhi-Kallenbach archive is a key biographical source for Gandhi and “richly informative of the important and occasionally misunderstood friendship between the two men.”</p>
<p>India has acquired an archive of letters and documents that throws fresh life into the personal life of Mahatma Gandhi including his much-talked-about friendship with German architect and body-builder Hermann Kallenbach. <br /><br /></p>.<p>The archive was to be auctioned by Sotheby’s, a multinational auctioneer of fine and decorative art, jewelery, and collectibles, on June 10.<br /><br />However, the government acquired the preserved letters and documents from Sotheby’s agreeing to pay $ 1.28 million to the multinational corporation against the purchase.<br /><br />“Gandhi-Kallanbach Archives have been withdrawn from the proposed Sotheby’s auction and sold to government of India,” Culture Minister Kumari Seilja said here on Tuesday.<br /><br />Popularly known as Gandhi-Kallenbach archives, the collection of the letter and documents relating to the icon of the non-violence, was in possession of Isa Sarid, the grandniece of Kallenbach.<br /><br />The Sarid family had quoted $ 5 million for the archives. “This offer was considered unacceptable by the Government of India. Finally, it was settled at GBP 8,25,250, which is equal to $ 1.28 million only,” Selja said, adding that the payment has been made to Sotheby’s under an agreement with the auctioneer and Sarid family.<br /><br />The archive will be housed in the National Archives of India here in the national capital, the Minister said.<br /><br />The archive contains a large number of unreported letters of Gandhi, including references to his early political campaigns and the illness of his wife Kasturba. There are several letters which throws a fresh light on the much-talked-about friendship between Gandhi and Kallenbach, who was considered very close to him during his stay in South Africa.<br /><br />According to Sotheby’s, the Gandhi-Kallenbach archive is a key biographical source for Gandhi and “richly informative of the important and occasionally misunderstood friendship between the two men.”</p>
