Smithsonian showcasing Shiva & Parvati

Smithsonain Museum showcasing Hindu deities
Smithsonain Museum showcasing Hindu deities

WASHINGTON DC: The Smithsonian, “world’s largest museum and research complex” in Washington DC, is displaying three iconic Hindu Chola bronzes till early 2017.

These among others include Shiva Nataraja (ca. 990), Shiva Vinadhara (ca 950) and Parvati (10th century) at Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.

Founded in 1846, Smithsonian; consisting of 19 museums and galleries, the National Zoological Park and nine research facilities; has about 138 million objects/artifacts. In 2015, about 28 million people visited Smithsonian. David J. Skorton is the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.

Commending Smithsonian for showcasing Hindu artifacts, Rajan Zed, 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.

He 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 frequently organize exhibitions with focus on Hindu arts and culture, thus sharing the rich Hindu art heritage with the rest of the world.

Neela Pandya