Gandhi's charkha sold for 110,000 pounds at UK auction

November 6, 2013

Gandhis_charkha

London, Nov 6: Mahatma Gandhi's over eight-decade old 'charkha', one of his most prized possessions that he used in Yerwada Jail during the 'Quit India Movement', was today auctioned in the UK for a whopping 110,000 pounds, nearly double the expected price.

Gandhi's last will also sold for 20,000 pounds at the specialist sale of historical documents and artefacts by the Mullock's Auction house in Shropshire.

"Gandhi's charkha (spinning wheel) was sold for 110,000 pounds at the auction while his last will fetched 20,000 pounds," Michael Morris, a Mullock's official, told PTI. The auction house refused to name the buyer.

Made of Indian teak, the charkha with a minimum bid of 60,000 pounds, was used by Gandhi while he was in the prison in Pune and was later gifted by him to American Free Methodist missionary Revd Floyd A Puffer in 1935.

The American was a pioneer in Indian educational and industrial cooperatives. He invented a bamboo plow that was later adopted by Gandhi.

Puffer and his wife worked as missionaries in India and in 1935 displayed Gandhi's spinning wheel at a number of talks and events.

Later, Puffer presented the charkha to fellow missionary Reverend Dr Frank J Kline in 1965. It has since passed through Kline's family to the present owner by descent.

One of the earliest known references to the charkha is an article in the December 1931 issue of the monthly Popular Science.

Gandhi's will was written in Gujarati at the Sabarmati Ashram and it supersedes the will dated 1921 that was sold at an earlier auction by Mullock's.

The later will provides a historic insight into Gandhi's thinking and his speculation for the future.

Mullock's has put under the hammer over 60 of Gandhi's most prized possessions, including the charkha, important documents, photographs and books.

The auction house's specialist Richard Westwood Brookes said: "The charkha is one of Gandhi's most prized possessions as he devised the workings of it himself. The charkha was used by him in Yerwada Jail whilst fighting for the rights and independence of India. It has impeccable provenance and is unquestionably the most important Gandhi artefact we have ever had for sale.

"The charkha was the physical embodiment and symbol of Mahatma Gandhi, he once said: 'In my dream, in my sleep, while eating, I think of the spinning wheel. The spinning wheel is my sword. To me it is the symbol of India's liberty," Brookes said highlighting the importance of the sale.

"The origins and operation of the Yerwada portable charkha are described in the American monthly Popular Science (December 1931): 'Mahatma Gandhi ... has devised a portable spinning wheel that folds into a bundle about the size of a portable typewriter and has a handle for carrying," Mullock's website said in its description of the sale item.

"When unfolded for use it is operated by turning a small crank which runs the two wheels and spindle of the device. Gandhi worked out the details of this machine it is reported while he was confined to the Yerwada jail in India. He often mentioned that his daily spinning was a form of meditation," it said.

Gandhi spent several years in Yerwada Jail during India's freedom struggle notably in 1932 and later in 1942 during the Quit India movement along with many other freedom fighters.

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Agencies
March 3,2020

Facebook on Monday launched a new consumer marketing campaign in India titled 'More Together'. India is the first country in the Asia Pacific region where such a campaign is being rolled out.

It is also the first time that Facebook is rolling out a 'high decibel campaign of this stature in India', the company said in a statement.

It is also the first time that Facebook is rolling out a 'high decibel campaign of this stature in India', the company said in a statement.

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The campaign would have multiple campaigns over the next few weeks in eight languages and the one will be set in the context of Holi.

Facebook in 2019 introduced a new company logo to further distinguish the company from the Facebook app.

The company recently announced the appointment of Avinash Pant as the Marketing Director for India operations, to drive the consumer marketing efforts across the family of apps.

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News Network
May 30,2020

May 30: Patients undergoing surgery after contracting the novel coronavirus are at an increased risk of postoperative death, according to a new study published in The Lancet journal which may lead to better treatment guidelines for COVID-19.

In the study, the scientists, including those from the University of Birmingham in the UK, examined data from 1,128 patients from 235 hospitals from a total of 24 countries.

Among COVID-19 patients who underwent surgery, they said the death rates approach those of the sickest patients admitted to intensive care after contracting the virus.

The scientists noted that SARS-CoV-2 infected patients who undergo surgery, experience substantially worse postoperative outcomes than would be expected for similar patients who do not have the infection.

According to the study, the 30-day mortality among these patients was nearly 24 per cent.

The researchers noted that mortality was disproportionately high across all subgroups, including those who underwent elective surgery (18.9 per cent), and emergency surgery (25.6 per cent).

Those who underwent minor surgery, such as appendicectomy or hernia repair (16.3 per cent), and major surgery such as hip surgery or for colon cancer also had higher mortality rates (26.9 per cent), the study said.

According to the study, the mortality rates were higher in men versus women, and in patients aged 70 years or over versus those aged under 70 years.

The scientists said in addition to age and sex, risk factors for postoperative death also included having severe pre-existing medical problems, undergoing cancer surgery, undergoing major procedures, and undergoing emergency surgery.

"We would normally expect mortality for patients having minor or elective surgery to be under 1 per cent, but our study suggests that in SARS-CoV-2 patients these mortality rates are much higher in both minor surgery (16.3%) and elective surgery (18.9%)," said study co-author Aneel Bhangu from the University of Birmingham.

Bhangu said these mortality rates are greater than those reported for even the highest-risk patients before the pandemic.

Citing an example from the 2019 UK National Emergency Laparotomy Audit report, he said the 30-day mortality was 16.9 per cent in the highest-risk patients.

Based on an earlier study across 58 countries, Bhangu said the 30-day mortality was 14.9 per cent in patients undergoing high-risk emergency surgery.

"We recommend that thresholds for surgery during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic should be raised compared to normal practice," he said.

"For example, men aged 70 years and over undergoing emergency surgery are at particularly high risk of mortality, so these patients may benefit from their procedures being postponed," Bhangu added.

The study also noted that patients undergoing surgery are a vulnerable group at risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure in hospital.

It noted that the patients may also be particularly susceptible to subsequent pulmonary complications, due to inflammatory and immunosuppressive responses to surgery and mechanical ventilation.

The scientists found that overall in the 30 days following surgery 51 per cent of patients developed a pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or required unexpected ventilation.

Nearly 82 per cent of the patients who died had experienced pulmonary complications, the researchers said.

"Worldwide an estimated 28.4 million elective operations were cancelled due to disruption caused by COVID-19," said co-author Dmitri Nepogodiev from the University of Birmingham.

"Our data suggests that it was the right decision to postpone operations at a time when patients were at risk of being infected with SARS-CoV-2 in hospital," Nepogodiev said.

According to the researchers, there's now an urgent need for investment by governments and health providers in to measures which ensure that as surgery restarts patient safety is prioritised.

They said this includes the provision of adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), establishment of pathways for rapid preoperative SARS-CoV-2 testing, and consideration of the role of dedicated 'cold' surgical centres.

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News Network
January 27,2020

Mumbai, Jan 27: The country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Monday said it has increased prices of select models by up to Rs 10,000 with immediate effect to offset the impact of rising input costs.

The price change varies across models and ranges up to 4.7 per cent (ex-showroom Delhi) and are effective from January, 27 2020, MSI said in a statement.

The price of entry level model Alto range has gone up in the range of Rs 9,000-6,000, S-Presso between Rs 1,500 to 8,000, WagonR between Rs 1,500 and Rs 4,000.

The company has also increased the price of its multi purpose vehicle Ertiga between Rs 4,000-10,000, Baleno by Rs 3,000 to 8,000 and XL6 by up to Rs 5,000 (all prices ex-showroom Delhi).

Currently, the company sells a range of vehicles starting from entry-level small car Alto to premium multi purpose vehicle XL6 with price ranging from Rs 2.89 lakh to Rs 11.47 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

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