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Nevada (US), Dec 5 (ANI): Hindus have applauded British Museum (BM) in London for its sizeable collection of Hindu art and artifacts.

Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, commended the Museum for providing opportunity to the world to further explore Hinduism and its concepts. BM has developed a touring exhibition titled “India: the Art of the Temple” in collaboration with Victoria and Albert Museum, which was on display at Shanghai Museum in China from August four to November 15 this year.

Various Hinduism focused sculptures in BM’s collection include: Chamunda, Garuda, Harihara, Vishnu, Shiva, Durga, Saptamatrika, Shiva-Parvati and their children, Hindu temple, Shakti-Ganesha, Shivalinga, Brahma, Varaha with Bhu, Skanda, Vishnu with Bhu and Shri, Shiva as Lingodbhava, Narasimha, Vishnu on naga throne, Ganesha on his rat vehicle, Umamaheshvara, Sarasvati, Hindu goddess, Lakulisha, Nataraja, dvarpala of Hindu temple, Dakshinamurti, Surya, Kichijoten, ratha model, Matsya, etc.

It also has gold Ramatanka charm, Tantric yantra, bell with bull finial, Hindu temple doorjamb, carved and painted figure of Vishnu riding Garuda, copper plate with ten-armed figure of the Shiva, painting of king worshipping Krishna, etc.

Books titled Hindu Art, Hindu Myths, Hindu Visions of the Sacred; Siva book and DVD; painting of Shiva and Parvati seated on terrace, etc., have also been brought out by BM for sale.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, said that art had a long and rich tradition in Hinduism and ancient Sanskrit literature talked about religious paintings of deities on wood or cloth.

Rajan Zed urged major art museums of the world, including Musee du Louvre and Musee d’Orsay of Paris, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Los Angeles Getty Center, Uffizi Gallery of Florence (Italy), Art Institute of Chicago, Tate Modern of London, Prado Museum of Madrid, National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, etc., to acquire more Hindu art in their collections and frequently organize Hindu art focused exhibitions, thus sharing the rich Hindu art heritage with the rest of the world.

Founded in 1753, BM’s collection includes about eight million objects with oldest being a stone chopping tool nearly two million years old. Housed in a building of the size of nine football pitches, it gets about six million visitors annually. Robert Neil MacGregor is the Director, while Niall FitzGerald is Chair of Board of Trustees, where Professor Nobel laureate Amartya Sen is a Board Member.

Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal. (ANI)