Guwahati, Sept. 28: Assam BJP chief and MLA Ranjeet Kumar Dass said talks were on with the French government to bring the Vrindavani Vastra to Assam for exhibition.

He said the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) is discussing the matter with Guimet Museum in Paris, which has a piece of the ancient silk drape of the state.

The vastra is a unique drape, woven by skilled Assamese weavers in the 16th century under the supervision of medieval Vaishnavite saint, social reformer and creative genius Srimanta Xankardeb and his chief disciple Madhavdeb.

The vastra depicts scenes from Lord Krishna's childhood home of Vrindavan. It demonstrates the skilful weaving methods that developed during the medieval times.

Parts of the original vastra are owned by the Guimet Museum and British Museum in London.

Dass said the Centre has entrusted IGNCA with the responsibility to liaise with the authorities in France.

'IGNCA member secretary Sachchidanand Joshi and the head of the department (conservation) and associate professor (museology and conservation) Achal Pandya met the Guimet Museum authorities on September 13, after which the museum authorities on September 15 gave their nod to send the vastra to Assam for exhibition,' he said.

'However, the final decision will be taken at a meeting of the cultural affairs department of the French government on October 10,' said Dass, who took keen interest in bringing back the vastra to Assam when he was Speaker.

In December last year, he visited the Guimet Museum and requested its authorities to lend the vastra for exhibition in Assam.

The state government in this year's budget allocated Rs 2 crore to hold the exhibition of the vastra at Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra. State finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, while presenting the budget, had said, 'To revive the glory of Vrindavani Vastra we wish to bring it back from London's British Museum and Paris's Guimet Museum for exhibition in Assam.'

The state cultural affairs department will request the British Museum to lend the part of the vastra it has for the exhibition.

Thomas Richard Blurton, the head of the South Asian section in the department of Asia of the British Museum, during his visit to Tezpur in June last year had said if the Assam government could take responsibility of the safety and insurance of the vastra, the museum authorities would lend it to the state.

To borrow any item from the British Museum, one has to fulfil a set of conditions laid down by its authorities, like proper arrangements for moisture and temperature control and adequate lighting for the safety and preservation of the exhibits.