Mumbai, Aug 18 (PTI) An autographed baton of conductor Zubin Mehta, a tabla set signed by Zakir Hussain and a self-portrait of Dr Homi Jehangir Bhabha will be among the rare items at an auction by the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) here on Saturday.

The proceeds of the auction, "An Evening with the Maestro", by NCPA will go towards education of "the promising and the underserved", as well as procuring musical instruments for the Symphony Orchestra of India.

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The auction will feature among other items a cricket bat signed by the Indian team that toured South Africa in 2015, a French parasol frame bearing the insignia of Dr Bhabha, and a portrait of Dr CV Raman painted by Bhabha.

The starting bid for Zubin Mehta's baton, Zakir Hussain's tabla set and the cricket bat has been placed at Rs 10 lakh each.

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The French parasol frame and and Dr Bhabha's Montblanc Meisterstück 149 will be up for auction at a starting bid of Rs one lakh each.

Testament to the versatility of Dr Bhabha, his 1928 oil on canvas self-portrait and a pastel and granite on paper portrait of Dr Raman will go under the hammer at the starting price of Rs five lakh and Rs three lakh, respectively.

KN Suntook, chairman NCPA, said that the auction will help NCPA support its efforts towards performing arts in India.

"To maintain an organisation like the NCPA, which presents five major genres and all at peak levels, is expensive but if artistic values are respected, the bill is quite substantial and certainly not made up through box office.

"The NCPA has also invested in education by laying out considerable funds so that the very best musicians from the Russian school of music not only play in the orchestra but also teach in their inimitable method. This investment is already bearing fruit but it is a continuous process. All these endeavours that contribute to the NCPA's renown as a premier centre for the arts need support which we hope you will lend," Suntook said in a statement.

Also up for auction will be two tickets to the world premiere of the triple concerto by tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, acclaimed sitarist Niladri Kumar and renowned flautist Rakesh Chaurasia in Mumbai followed by a dinner with the trio. The starting bid for this experience is Rs three lakh.

Classical music fans can also bid to have dinner with Hussain, Kumar and Chaurasia on November 30 during the Symphony Orchestra of India's UK tour along with two tickets to the concert in London. The starting bid for this opportunity is Rs three lakh.

Indian music enthusiasts will also be able to win a special performance by musicians of the SOI at any location of their choice in Mumbai. The bid for the musical performance will begin at Rs three lakh. PTI

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)