Art auction raises 42.5 lakh for Kerala's disaster relief fund
Mumbai, Aug 31 : A sum of Rs 42.5 lakh was raised for relief work in flood-hit Kerala in a day-long online fundraiser auction by Mumbai-based art auction house Saffronart.
An official statement from Saffronart said the fund raised through the auction will be donated to the Kerala Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund.
The no-reserve online sale, having no buyer's premium, saw "Indians from around the world coming together to bid generously on the 32 featured artworks by leading Indian modern and contemporary artists", the statement said.
It was open to everyone from first-time bidders and serious collectors.
All the 32 lots on offer were sold in the auction, which was led by master painter Ram Kumar's 2007 untitled work, which sold for Rs 7 lakh.
Other sold artworks include Dhananjay Singh's "Untitled" (2011) and Thota Vaikuntam's "Untitled" (2017), which sold for Rs 5-6 lakh each.
"K.G. Subramanyan's Untitled was among the top 10 lots sold, along with works by Manjit Bawa, Riyas Komu, Sujata Bajaj and G R Iranna," the statement said.
In a previous statement, Saffronart's CEO Dinesh Vazirani had invited people to "open their hearts and give generously towards the cause".
The auction house had also said it has a long-standing relationship with Kerala, which is home to many of India's leading modern and contemporary artists.
Mentioning that they are feeling humbled by the sale response, Vazirani said the auction house is "grateful to have the opportunity to do their part to assist relief efforts in the face of this calamity".
The 24-hour online auction was held on storyltd.com and concluded on Thursday evening.
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Vijay''s TVK wins an impressive 108 seats in TN polls
Chennai (PTI): Vijay-led TVK secured an impressive 108 seats trouncing the incumbent DMK led by M K Stalin which finished with only 59 seats in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections held on April 23, as per the final tally of the ECI on Tuesday.
The opposition AIADMK won 47 seats while its allies the PMK obtained 4 and the BJP and AMMK clinched one seat each respectively in the election, according to the data available on the Election commission of India's website.
The DMK's allies - the Congress managed to win 5 seats, the IUML, CPI, CPI (M), and VCK: 2 each and DMDK secured one seat, among a total of 234 Assembly constituencies in the state.
The votes were taken up for counting on May 4 and the final tally was announced on Tuesday.
Actor-politician Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam on Monday created a record of sorts in the electoral history of Tamil Nadu and emerged as the single largest party by delivering a shock defeat to DMK and its president Stalin in his Kolathur constituency, while the AIADMK was pushed to a distant third spot.
Vijay won from both Perambur and Tiruchirappalli East constituencies.
The TVK has clocked nearly 35 per cent (34.92) vote share in its debut polls.
This will be the first time in Tamil Nadu that a party will assume power a little over two years after its founding in February 2024.
