A handwritten letter penned by late Apple co-founder Steve Job's highlighting his wish to visit Indian for the Kumbh Mela was recently auctioned for a whopping $500,312 ( ₹4.32 crore).
The letter written in 1974, a day before Jobs turned 19 was addressed to his childhood friend Tim Brown. In the letter, he reflects on Zen Buddhism and shares his desire to visit India for the Kumbh Mela.
"Tim, I have read your letter many times. I do not know what to say. Many mornings have come and gone. People have come and gone. I have loved and I have cried many times. Somehow, though, beneath it all it doesn't change -- do you understand?" he asks, sharing his state of mind.
Was living on a farm
He said he wrote the letter while living on a farm in the mountains. "I am now living on a farm in the mountains between Los Gatos and Santa Cruz. I wish to go to India for the Kumba Mela, which starts in April. I will be leaving sometime in March, not really certain yet," he said, revealing his plans to attend the spiritual gathering.
"If you desire, and I am still here when you arrive, we can come up here in the mountains together and you can tell me your thoughts and feelings, which I did not fully understand from your letter," he implored his friend.
{{/usCountry}}"If you desire, and I am still here when you arrive, we can come up here in the mountains together and you can tell me your thoughts and feelings, which I did not fully understand from your letter," he implored his friend.
{{/usCountry}}"There is a fire in the other room and I am getting cold here. I will end by saying I do not even know where to begin." he wrote "Shanti, Steve Jobs."
(Also read: Steve Jobs’ wife falls ill at Mahakumbh: ‘Never been to such a crowded place')
Steve Jobs' time in India
According to a report by NDTV, Jobs had planned to visit Neem Karoli Baba's ashram in Uttarakhand during his India visit but he found out that the sage had died the previous year.
He stayed at the Kainchi Dham ashram to draw solace from Baba's teachings. He returned to US after spending around seven months in India ."My head had been shaved, I was wearing Indian cotton robes, and my skin had turned a deep, chocolate brown-red from the Sun," he said about his appearance when he returned home which even shocked his parents.