The only Gandhian relic retained in the home though is a prayer stool. 'We found it in the attic and although there is no firm evidence, it is believed that Gandhi used it during his meditation.'

As Ball was keen on preserving the heritage of the home, she contacted Stephen Gelb, director of the Centre for Indian Studies at Wits University, to find a suitable buyer.

Gelb told IANS that initiatives to find buyers among the local Indian community had initially drawn little interest. But after media interest from places as far afield as Britain and Canada, a number of people had come forward, including an unidentified Malaysian businessman who is a Gandhian as well.

Kirti Menon, a great-granddaughter of Gandhi who lives here, has also launched an initiative to get locals to buy the house.

'I wish I had the required 2.5 million rands to buy it immediately,' Menon told IANS.

'When I visited the house and Mrs Ball told me that my grandmother had once visited and sat there, I got all soppy. I said I would need a few days to develop a strategy to buy the house,' Menon said.