Andrologist, CA, trader: Meet the collectors of PM mementos

Jain is among several dedicated bidders for such mementos, who, beyond the obvious allure of the souvenirs, are drawn by a desire to contribute monetarily to a public good — the cleaning of the Ganga.

Jain, in fact, has paid Rs 3 lakh to acquire 17 objects from the auctions of Prime Minister’s mementos since 2019.

He says the most expensive item among them till date is the Vishnu idol, at Rs 1.75 lakh. Jain says he thought of making a contribution after learning that proceeds of the online sale would go towards the Namami Gange Programme. He created the permanent display at the Jeevan Memorial Hospital in Raipur, which friends often visit.

Also among the successful bidders in the e-auction last year was K Ranganath Achar, a chartered accountant from Udupi in Karnataka, who bought a portrait of Lord Kartikeya. Achar says he has encouraged many others to do so, since he finds the idea to use the proceeds of the auction for cleaning the river unique.

Lucknow-based chartered accountant Ashish Verma, too, has a huge collection of such gifts. Verma has so far bought 14 items for around Rs 2 lakh during the online sale of gifts, including idols of Lord Krishna and Bharatmata, an emblem of the Padmanabhaswamy temple, a photo frame and a pen stand.

Surendra Jain from Maharashtra’s Bhiwandi, a textile manufacturer, was able to get hold of a photograph of the Prime Minister with the late Japanese PM Shinzo Abe after 11 rounds of bidding — and at around three times the base price. Jain says he gifts these souvenirs to friends and relatives on special occasions. “Although there are numerous gifts available in the market, the value of the items coming from the Prime Minister’s collection is significant,” he says. “The certificate that comes along with the gift — of having contributed to the Namami Ganga Mission — gives a proud feeling to ordinary people like us.”

His initial experience was not good but the quick feedback left him impressed with the “accountability of the e-auction process”. Jain said that the glass of the photo frame he received was found broken in the transportation process. But once he gave feedback, the department concerned quickly admitted its mistake, and gave him an option of either refunding the money, or sending a representative to repair the item. He chose the latter option.

On Saturday, over 1,200 mementos gifted to the Prime Minister will be put up for the next round of such auctions on the website pmmementos.gov.in, to raise funds for the Namami Gange Mission.

The auction, which happens to on be the PM’s birthday, goes on till October 2, during which the objects will be on display at Delhi’s National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA).

Officials say the highlight this time are the memorabilia of winners of the last Paralympics and Deaflympic games, besides a model of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’ statue, presented by sculptor Arun Yogiraj to the PM. This year, special visits of divyangjan will also be organised to NGMA during the exhibition, while a special audio guide has also been put up for the visually impaired, they add.