Leading New Zealand museum holds exhibition on Hindu cultural icon “bindi”

Ashwin Krushna Dwitiya, Kaliyug Varsha 5112

From Our Correspondent

Pataka, a leading museum of New Zealand, is currently holding “Bindi – The Indian Dot” exhibition, which will continue till November 14.
 
Museum announcement says: “The bindi is arguably the most visually fascinating of all forms of body decoration and an inseparable part of the Indian woman’s identity.  Also known as ‘tika’, ‘pottu’, ‘sindoor’, ’tilak’, ’tilakam’ and ‘kumkum’, a bindi is usually an eye-catching round mark made on the forehead as adornment”.
 
Applauding Pataka for holding art exhibition related to Hindu cultural icon bindi, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, 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, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, 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 Hindu art focused exhibitions, thus sharing the rich Hindu art heritage with the rest of the world.
 
Bindi, a forehead adornment worn in South and Southeast Asia, is traditionally made of red/maroon vermilion, and is said to retain energy and strengthen concentration symbolizing auspiciousness. Oscar winner Hollywood star Julia Roberts (Pretty Woman) has sported bindi in the past.
 
Pataka Museum of Arts & Cultures in Porirua City, launched in 1998, is among New Zealand’s leading museums of Maori, Pacific and New Zealand contemporary art and receives over 165,000 visitors annually.  Bob Maysmor is the Curator.
 
Porirua City, north of Wellington, overlooks a stunning harbor and includes 54 kilometers of coastline, and claims Oscar winner Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings) among its residents. It has been named a finalist in the three categories in the 2010 International Awards for Liveable Communities. Nick Leggett is the Mayor.

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