New Delhi: Financial wizards they may be. But when it comes to art, Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia were literally brushed aside by socialite Tina Ambani and corporate bigwig Ratan Tata.
Tina Ambani, yesteryear actor and wife of industrialist Anil Ambani, and Tata group chief Ratan Tata's paintings fetched a much higher value in an art auction than those by the two economist-politicians on Friday.
Conducted by auction house Christie's for NGO Khushii, the marathon auction lasted four hours and had 121 works by celebrated artists along with India's who's who.
It was Jogen Chawdhury and Tina Ambani's 'Yellow Saree' that fetched the highest price of Rs 95 lakh from ITC's Executive Director Habib Rehman.
"An abstract painting" by Laxman Shrestha and Ratan Tata fetched the second highest price with a bid of Rs 70 lakh.
Chidambaram, who teamed up with celebrated artist Anjolie Ela Menon, finished third with a price of Rs 60 lakh, while the painting by Ahluwalia and Krishna Khanna raked in the fifth highest bid of Rs 42 lakh.
"I knew it was going to be a success with full participation of eminent personalities like Ratan Tata and Chidambaram," Khushii trustee Aman Nath said.
The auction is likely to fetch above Rs 15 crore, which Nath said, would be used solely for charity.
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