Not many public figures remain instantly distinguished by billions around the world. Only key historical people like Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, and Mohandas Gandhi, among a few have this evocative gift—a power of sorts that transports people to their era and corner in history when their words and deeds were most significant. Known as the Father of the Indian nation, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (or Mahatma as he is known throughout the world) fits this profile perfectly. It’s easy to see why his old possessions gather so much attention and increased importance as years go by. A significant symbol of his non-violent movement, Gandhi’s Spinning wheel has sold for about $180,000 just recently at an auction. But why does such an old artifact hold great value?
1. It belonged to Gandhi. Old possessions of the famed Indian Independence hero always exceed expectations of auctioneers who put his things up for bidding. The Gandhi spinning wheel, for instance, had a guide price of only $96,000 and ended up selling for almost twice its expected monetary value.
2. It’s a mechanical marvel. Gandhi’s spinning wheel is an industrial marvel in its own right. It folds into a portable bundle about the size of a regular typewriter. Unfolded, it is operated by simply turning a crank that runs the wheels and the spindle.
3. Gandhi used it as a meditative medium. The Indian icon spent time on the spinning wheel on a daily basis, as a meditative exercise.
4. Finally, it symbolizes a number of values Gandhi holds dear, including:
• Simplicity – He urged Indians to boycott foreign clothes and British textile imports and encouraged policies that promoted hand weaving and spinning of cloth—policies that were the very heart of the country’s independence movement
• Economic Freedom – It was a tool that helped Gandhi show the way toward a more prosperous India; and
• Peace – His teachings refer to the chakra (spinning wheel) as a non-violent tool to prevent the impingement of India’s beloved handloom industry.
1. It belonged to Gandhi. Old possessions of the famed Indian Independence hero always exceed expectations of auctioneers who put his things up for bidding. The Gandhi spinning wheel, for instance, had a guide price of only $96,000 and ended up selling for almost twice its expected monetary value.
2. It’s a mechanical marvel. Gandhi’s spinning wheel is an industrial marvel in its own right. It folds into a portable bundle about the size of a regular typewriter. Unfolded, it is operated by simply turning a crank that runs the wheels and the spindle.
3. Gandhi used it as a meditative medium. The Indian icon spent time on the spinning wheel on a daily basis, as a meditative exercise.
4. Finally, it symbolizes a number of values Gandhi holds dear, including:
• Simplicity – He urged Indians to boycott foreign clothes and British textile imports and encouraged policies that promoted hand weaving and spinning of cloth—policies that were the very heart of the country’s independence movement
• Economic Freedom – It was a tool that helped Gandhi show the way toward a more prosperous India; and
• Peace – His teachings refer to the chakra (spinning wheel) as a non-violent tool to prevent the impingement of India’s beloved handloom industry.
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