NEW DELHI: A 'decorative mace', 'peacock' (wooden frame), idols of Sita, Ram, Laxman with Hanuman placed on a silver pedestal, 'Elephant' (gold embellished miniature sculpture), and brass statue of Goddess Laxmi with garland are gaining maximum traction among nearly 1,348 mementos that were put up at online auction initiated by the culture ministry last month.
The memorabilia up for sale were presented to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The auction is open till October 7.
According to information available on the portal -- https://pmmementos.gov.in -- on the top of the 'most participated' category was 'decorative mace' (a metallic article) for which 52 bids were quoted till 5 pm on Friday.
The base price for the mace is Rs 2,500. However, the highest quoted price for it was Rs 1.01 lakh. An intricately carved wooden frame with engraved peacock made in pure gold has received 44 bids and the highest price offered for it was Rs 51,200 and the base price is Rs 2,000.
The idols of Sita, Ram, Laxman with Hanuman placed on a silver pedestal was the third most participated souvenir with 41 quotes followed by 'Elephant' (gold embellished miniature sculpture) and brass statue of Goddess Laxmi for which the numbers of bids were 37 and 36 submissions respectively.
The maximum bid for idols of Sita, Ram, Laxman with Hanuman was Rs 25,500 and 'Elephant' it was Rs 51,000. The highest offering for the statue of Goddess Laxmi was Rs 53,000 till Friday evening while the starting price for all three mementos is Rs 3,000.
Several sport gears used by the winners of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games are also up for auction. The javelin autographed by Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra, one of the highest valued items, has received six bids with the highest quote being Rs 100, 10,500.