Guwahati

The Assam government is likely to sign an agreement with the British Museum on Sunday for borrowing silk textile 'Vrindavani Vastra', created by Vaishnava saint Srimanta Sankardeva in the 16th century, for display in the state in 2027, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

This would be the first time that a portion of the textile will be on display in the state after it was taken away over at least a century ago, with fragments ending up as artefacts in museums across the world, he said.

In a video message on Facebook before flying to London from New Delhi, Sarma said, "Tomorrow, we have a meeting with the British Museum. We are likely to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with them to bring the Vrindavani Vastra in 2027."

He said the JSW group of companies has been playing the leading role in facilitating this "homecoming" of the tapestry that displays tales from Lord Krishna's life in the hand-woven silk piece.

"The mother of Sajjan Jindal (of JSW group) is from Assam. He has no business interest in the state. Their group took the initiative of putting us in contact with the British Museum and are also taking the responsibility of building a museum of international standards in Guwahati to display the Vrindavani Vastra," Sarma said.

He said the Indian High Commissioner to the UK is involved in the process and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also remaining updated.

Sarma said the government has already allotted land in Khanapara area of Guwahati to JSW group for establishing the museum. The company will build the museum, but it will be owned by the state government.

The new state-of-the-art museum will facilitate the display of more such rare artefacts borrowed from museums across the world, he added.

"The Vrindavani Vastra will be displayed in Guwahati and we will also try to display it in other cities of India so that more people become aware of it," the chief minister said.

The piece of textile was routed out of Assam through Tibet, with major fragments of it ending up in display in London and Paris museums, with some parts also in Boston and Los Angeles museums, Sarma said.

He said that it will be the first time that the Vrindavani Vastra will be brought to Assam in at least over a century, with many generations of Assamese people missing on the opportunity to view it first-hand.

Later, in an X post, he said, "Vrindavani Vastra is a timeless masterpiece, woven with devotion and the spirit of Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev, a sacred textile that brings Vaishnava culture alive through its divine craftsmanship. Our government has begun the process to bring this historic treasure back to Assam, where it truly belongs."

The Vrindavani Vastra was created under the guidance of Srimanta Sankardeva, depicting scenes from the life of Lord Krishna, at the request of Koch king Nara Narayan and also has a part of a poem written by him.

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The exhibit, acquired in 1904 from Tibet by the British Museum, is nine-and-half-metres-long and is made up of several pieces of silk drapes and originally featured 15 separate pieces that were later assembled.