The Surabhi Foundation, founded by Siddharth Kak organised its first fundraising auction, Passionately Indian, to raise funds for the Living Heritage Centre at Kharghar in Navi Mumbai. The Surabhi Foundation has been awarded five acres of land by the Government of Maharashtra to create the first ever Living Heritage Centre where you can experience the culture and history of India in entertaining and interactive ways.
Bollywood’s superstar, Shah Rukh Khan was the guest of honor. He spoke on what being “Passionately Indian” means to him and also co-conducted the auction in his inimitable style, peppered with witty comments and entertaining anecdotes. In the midst of the auction, King Khan even performed some of his famous filmy dialogues for the guests, keeping them in good spirits. He spoke about his connect with Indian heritage and culture, through his children.
Seen at this Fundraiser were Pam Chopra, Shobhaa De, Sajjan Jindal, Renuka Shahane, Anup and Medha Jalota, Pheroza Godrej, Tabu and Richard Rothman, Aarti and Kailash Surendranath, Sameer Mondal, Arzan and Khushnuma Khambata, Dr Roopa Patel, Kiran Datwani, Mallika Advani, Aditya Kilachand, Adi Jehangir, Tarini Jindal, Madhur Bajaj, Mitali Kakkar, Nisha Jamwval and Bijal Meswani.
Among the artifacts and services that were auctioned were:
* Paintings by National art treasure level artists like Nandlal Bose and Sailoz Mookherjee
* Paintings by modern & contemporary artists like Satish Gujral, Samir Mondal, Shuvaprassana etc
* Limited edition wall carpet by Manjit Bawa and Thota Vaikuntham
* Exclusive jewellery by Rose, Orra, Dedhia Jewellers and Ceres
* Luxury gifts from Ravissant, Frazer & Haws and Lladro
* A trip to a World Heritage site in a private jet plus Royal holidays
* Limited edition books published over seven decades ago like the Golden Book of Tagore
* Traditional crafts like stone sculpture, terracotta art, Kantha, Nathdwara paintings
* Treasured saffron from Kashmir
* Exquisite Kanjeevaram saree by Sabysachi and a Parsi Gara by Naju Daver
* A litho stone used in the Raja Ravi Varma Malavli press
* Royal Stay at Umaid Bhawan Palace
* Ritu Kumar silk wall hanging
* Athlete PT Usha’s jersey
* The First Woman to Scale The Mount Everest, Bachendri Pal’s Oxygen Mask
Too bad a date with Shah Rukh was not the list. We think that would have broken all bidding records. Tee hee!