Vientiane (Laos): In a move to promote Indian textiles and paintings in garment- exporting Laos, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on November 7 inaugurated the first such exhibition of Bihar's Madhubani paintings in Laos, 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.

"While driving through your city, I have been struck by the evidence of the shared history and cultural heritage between India and Laos. Your (Buddhist) stupas and pagodas remind us that Buddhism is a symbol of our common past. The Ramayana is also the common heritage of our entire region, and each of our cultures has found unique ways of depicting it," Vajpayee said.

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".

External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha, who is accompanying the Prime Minister, said though Madhubani paintings are done in paper in their original form, artistes have used walls and floors in their mud houses in villages as their canvas.

These paintings represent the joy of living, images of divine power and fertility and a portrayal of modes to counter the evil as per the Madhubani traditions. The art has been passed on from generation to generation for hundreds of years.

Vajpayee also visited the Buddhist temple of Sisakit where more than 450 large and over 10,000 small Buddha statues belonging to the 5th and 6th Century have been preserved.

Earlier, the Prime Minister met Laos President Khamtay Siphandone, who is also the chief of the ruling Lao People's Revolutionary Party.

Officials said the two leaders exchanged views on bilateral co-operation and India's assistance in various sectors including defence.

Vajpayee also laid a wreath at the Monument of Unknown Solders.

ICCR chief Suryakanti Tripathi said the museum of traditional Asian textiles, which would be established in the famous Angkor Vat city of Seam Reap in Cambodia, would be part of the efforts to promote Ganga-Mekong co-operation. It would have a host of exhibits from India, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar.

Tripathi said Vajpayee, during his visit to Cambodia in April this year, had announced a million-Dollar contribution by India for the museum. The Cambodian authorities would provide a piece of land for it in Siem Reap.

Indian master weavers and craftsmen would impart training at the museum on fashion designing and textile making.

ICCR, Tripathi said, would also contribute towards setting up computer kiosks in Cambodia and Laos for the common people.

PTI