After relentless efforts by the Assam government, a Museum in London has agreed to send the 16th century Vrindavani Vastra that originated in Assam, to be displayed in Assam. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced in a press conference on 30 August that the Victoria and Albert Museum has written to the state government indicating intention to loan the fabric to India, provided the government can fulfil the conditions for the arrangement.
Vrindavani Vastra is a large piece of Muga silk fabric woven by Assamese weavers led by Mathuradas Burha Aata, the first Satradhikar (chief) of Barpeta Satra in Barpeta. The fabric depicts the life of Lord Krishna during his childhood days in Vrindavan. The designs woven onto the fabric were guided by Srimanta Sankardeva, the saint-scholar who introduced Vaishnavism and the Bhakti movement in Assam in 16th century.
The Vastra was woven between 1567 and 1569 to be gifted to Koch King Nara Narayan, the last ruler of the undivided Koch dynasty. Notably, Nara Narayan had sheltered Sankardeva after the Vaishnav saint was targeted by the Ahom kingdom on the instigation of Brahmin priests in the state.
A large piece of the Vastra is currently owned by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, while another piece is owned by Musee Guimet (the Guimet Museum) in Paris. However, the Vastra was not directly picked by the Europeans from Assam. It was first taken to Bhutan from Cooch Behar, and then to Tibet, from where European merchants took it to Europe.
During that period, several more similar clothes were woven, and many of them are currently preserved at various museums across the world. One such piece is present at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, while another piece was put up for auction by the auction house of Christie’s in New York. However, the pieces kept at London and Paris are considered to be made under the guidance of Sankardeva himself, while others were woven later.
The Vrindavani Vastra at Victoria and Albert Museum was displayed for public viewing, but now it has been removed to a restricted area. This has been done to protect the aging delicate fabric. Now, one needs to take prior appointment to view the fabric by contacting the museum beforehand. The over 450 years old fabric needs to be kept in 24×7 climate-controlled environment to prevent in any damage.
Assam government has been attempting to arrange displays of these two pieces of fabric in Assam, but has not been successful so far. Assam’s hot and humid climate has been a major concern for the museum for its display in the state, as any contact with moisture will cause great damage to the fabric.
But now, after renewed efforts by the Himanta Biswa Sarma government, the museum in London has said that they are willing it to send it to Assam for a period of 18 months, after which it will have to be returned. However, the museum has set certain conditions, and if they are fulfilled to their satisfaction, the fabric will be sent to Assam in the year 2027.
The museum said that transfer will take place through JSW Foundation, an organisation specialising in preservation of arts and crafts. The foundation is run by JSW Group of the Jindal family.
The Victoria and Albert Museum will also arrange for digital live view of the Vastra in Assam from this year itself. The museum said that a new museum will have to be built in Assam to house the Vastra. It will have to be built as per their specifications, so that it is fit to keep the Vastra for 18 months. Representatives of the museum London visited two existing museums in Guwahati, the Sankardev Kalakshetra Museum and the Assam State Museum, and concluded that both are not suitable to protect the delicate fabric.
If a suitable museum is built, they will send the fabric to India to be displayed in Guwahati and Mumbai, the UK museum said in their letter to Assam CM. They said, “we are actively working towards the loan of the textile to both CSMVS (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya) in Mumbai and to Assam in 2027”.
Another condition is that the Union government of India will have to give a sovereign guarantee that the Vrindavani Vastra will be return to London after the contacted period of 18 months. The President of India will have to sign that guarantee.
Apart from these specific conditions, standards rules for touring exhibitions of museum artifacts will also apply to the arrangement.
To fulfil the condition of new museum, Assam government has allocated a plot of land belonging to Sericulture Department in Khanapara, near the Guwahati Science Museum. The museum will be built by JSW Group their own cost, as part of their CSR activity, and will gift it to Assam government.
The CM added that the state government is collaborating with Indian High Commissioner to UK for smooth transfer of the Vastra.
CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said that if this effort is successful, they will next attempt to bring the Vastra kept in Paris. He said that the Victoria and Albert Museum invited him to visit London in September for further discussions on the issue. However, due to BTAD elections, he will be visiting in October or November.
