The sword of Tippu Sultan: Re-sale fetches double price

12.05.10 : Tippu died fighting in Sriranga patna in 1799 but his historic sword with a tiger sketched on its hold was on sale at Sotheby’s in London, when Vijay Mallya, a beer baron from Bangalore, purchased it for Rs.1.5 crores and displayed his patriotic (!) fervour in a publicity stunt. But this time, he sold it for Rs.3.4 crores without any press meet or publicity Mallya had bought the sword from British Museum in London. The auctioneers Sotheby’s in London have, however, expressed satisfaction that the long and sharp sword, not used in a TV film of Tippu by Sanjay Khan some years ago, was sold for a fairly high price. But the question is neither Tippu’s descendants, nor any Indian museum, benefited by Vijay Mallya’s deals as a patriot. What made him sell it? Why did he buy it in the first place?