Gandhi’s 688 handwritten notes sell for Rs 16.20 crore; Saffronart auction sets record

New Delhi: A collection of 688 handwritten reflections by Mahatma Gandhi on truth, ahimsa, service and other subjects has been sold for Rs 16.20 crore at a Saffronart auction, setting a world record for an Indian historical document sold at auction.

The reflections were written for Gandhi’s close associate and freedom fighter Anand T Hingorani over a period of two years following the death of Hingorani’s wife, Vidya.

The daily handwritten messages of guidance, reflection and encouragement were later compiled into a book titled A Thought for the Day. They are considered among the most intimate surviving records of correspondence between Gandhi and Hingorani.

The auction, titled Gandhi: From the Collection of Anand T Hingorani, featured 86 lots comprising letters, manuscripts, photographs and personal objects associated with Gandhi.

Reflections on faith, duty and service

According to Saffronart, the manuscript covers a wide range of themes, including truth, ahimsa, brahmacharya, non-possession, fearlessness, religious equality, the removal of untouchability, prayer, Ramanama, service, labour, hunger, duty and Swaraj.

It also explores moral responsibility, silence, conscience, non-attachment, self-realisation and the search for God.

Beyond Gandhi’s public role in India’s freedom movement, the collection offers a glimpse into his personal relationships and the guidance he gave to those close to him.

The writings reveal Gandhi as someone who offered "counsel, consolation, discipline, and affection" to his associates, according to the auction house.

Dinesh Vazirani, co-founder of Saffronart, said the collection provided a rare opportunity to view one of the most significant figures in Indian history through the lens of a close personal relationship.

He said the exceptional response to Lot 80, comprising Gandhi’s reflections written for Hingorani, underlined its rarity and historical significance.

Other Gandhi memorabilia

Another notable lot, Message on God, comprising three related manuscripts and correspondence items featuring Gandhi’s reflections on God and the Bhagavad Gita, sold for Rs 1.68 crore.

Gandhi’s peti charkha, or box spinning wheel, along with two letters on the spiritual discipline of spinning, fetched Rs 1.02 crore. The lot had been estimated at Rs 50-70 lakh.

A signed presentation photograph of Gandhi writing sold for Rs 78 lakh, while a collection of his letters, telegrams and postcards relating to economic independence fetched Rs 57.60 lakh.

Preserved by the Hingorani family across generations, the collection spans more than two decades of Gandhi’s life and brings together personal correspondence, handwritten reflections, photographs and objects.

Together, the materials document not only key moments in India’s freedom struggle but also the friendship, mentorship and deeply personal exchanges between Gandhi and Hingorani.