Vientiane (Laos), Nov 07: In a move to promote
Indian textiles and paintings in garment-exporting Laos, Prime
Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today inaugurated the first such
exhibition of Bihar's Madhubani paintings here, ahead of the
setting up of an India-sponsored museum of traditional
textiles from six south east Asian countries in Cambodia.
Organised by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations
(ICCR), the exhibition has paintings created by anonymous men
and women from Mithila in Bihar where they have practiced the
art tradition for hundreds of years.
"Art is a happy medium for bringing people close to each
other and promoting understanding" in south east Asia and the
far east where textiles and finished garments have been a
major source for exports, Vajpayee, also a poet, told
reporters at the inauguration.
Lauding the ICCR, he said Madhubani paintings, which
have preserved centuries of mythological stories through art,
"identify with the simple living of the rural folk."
Bureau Repot
