Auction of 'Shalu' fetches Rs 7.50 lakh

KOLHAPUR: The annual auction of Shalu, a rich variety of sari, at Mahalaxmi Temple on Sunday fetched Rs 7.50 lakh, as against last year's Rs 3.21 lakh.
This year's price was the highest amount quoted for the rich fabric in the last five year. Since 2008, the Shalu started arriving from Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh and has been auctioned.
A former member of the legislative assembly and industrialist from Ichalkaranji, Ashok Jambhale, quoted the highest price of Rs 7.50 lakh for the Shalu, which was not challenged further.
The auction was conducted by acting secretary of the Paschim Maharashtra Devsthan Samiti Sanjay Pawar in presence of panel member Samiti Pramod Patil and special executive officer S D Patil, sources said.
Among Sunday's bidding for the cloth were Nikhil Chavan, Ranjit Patil, Ramchandra Bhogan, Dilawar Shaikh and Ram Adake.
Jambhale initialy quoted Rs 2 lakh for the Shalu, but it was later raised. Patil and Bhogan continued till some rounds, but Shaikh quoted Rs 7.25 lakh and others decided to withdraw from the process. However, when Jambhale raised the bid by another Rs 25,000, Shaikh withdrew from the process. Following this, the Shalu was officially given to Jambhale and his family. The amount earned from the auction process would be deposited in the temple's coffers.
Jambhale said, "My family is an ardent follower of Mahalaxmi; hence I decided to continue bid. I will gift it to my mother."
The Shalu in 2008 was auctioned for Rs 8,000.
The auction of the cloth has become quite popular over the years and people from distant places bid for it. This year, the process started at 10 am and continued for two hours. The officials had quoted the base price of its at Rs 1.75 lakh. The original price, quoted by the officials, is Rs 85,120.
Faith has it that Mahalaxmi is the wife of Tirupati Balaji, Since 2008, Balaji temple officials started sending a Shalu to Mahalaxmi in Kolhapur city during Dussehra every year. The priest wrap the deity in the sari on Dussehra and it is auctioned sometime after Diwali.