Modi Gifts Sanjhi Art Panel to Biden

TOKYO, (ANI) – Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 24 gifted a Sanjhi Art panel to US President Joe Biden during his meeting with him in Tokyo.

Sanjhi Painting is art that originated out of the cult of Krishna and flourished in Uttar Pradesh.

It is in Vraj, or Vrindavan, the homeland of Lord Sri Krishna, that this art of Sanjhi painting reached its pinnacle. Traditionally motifs from Lord Krishna’s stories are created in stencils. These stencils are cut freehand using a scissor or a blade. The delicate Sanjhi is often held together by thin sheets of paper.

Rooted in the folk culture of the region, it was taken to its glory by the Vaishnava temples in the 15th and 16th centuries. Sanjhi came to be regarded as a highly refined art form practiced by the Brahmin priests. Presently, the art of Sanjhi painting is practiced by only a select few and remains a living tradition only in some of the temples of India. One of these temples where Sanjhi painting still survives is the Radharamana temple of Vrindavan.