Battling for Bapu

A billion people heaved a collective sigh of relief on Friday morning, when news came in that one of their countrymen had bought personal belongings of their "Father of the nation", Mahatma Gandhi, that had come up for an international auction in New York.
The same folks were earlier seething over the possibility of a foreigner buying the memorabilia of a man who almost single-handedly freed them from foreign rule. Among the things up for auction were Bapu's trademark round glasses, his chappals, his famous pocketwatch and a mug and bowl. All these had, somehow,(the media has done a pathetic job of digging up and reporting on how) ended up with an LA-based documentary film-maker James Otis, who had put them up for auction through Antiquorum, a NY auctioneer.
Seeing the national outrage, a hitherto clueless government scrambled to prevent the auction. First, it tried to negotiate with James Otis. He said he would donate the contented items to the government if it would assure allocation of 5 per cent of the GDP to improve the condition of India's poor. Not acceptable, said a junior minister at a press conference, seemingly less outraged by the suggestion and more frustrated by the government's inability to stop an auction that could bring it unprecedented embarrassment just before facing a re-election.
They then brought in an injunction from the Delhi High Court staying the auction of the items. This was overruled by the US Dept of Justice which said the auction could go ahead. Even James Otis' own request to stop the auction was rejected by the auctioneers. Everyone called everyone else greedy and hypocrite and so on.
In the end, India's flamboyant liquor baron, Vijay Mallya, bought all the items for 1.8 million US dollars and pledged to donate them to the government.
Three cheers to Mallya, the Kingfisher owner who lives life kingsize.
Reviled by puritans so far for selling booze, envied by hedonists for flying around with top models in his private jet and generally looked down by other business tycoons for public display of his wealth, Mallya has--with one fell swoop--become a hero in the eyes of so many Indians for this gesture.
The striking irony is that the ascetic Bapu never attached any value to personal possessions and he waged a war against alcohol all his life. Nevertheless, Mallya must be surely singing the Kingfisher signature tune: Oo la la la e o....O la laa la le o.