Bhubaneswar: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the Purvasha Folk and Tribal Art Museum set up at Barkul near Chilika through video-conferencing from the state secretariat here on Saturday.

Naveen was scheduled to inaugurate the museum at the project site itself. But he could not go there due to inclement weather. "If the weather had permitted, I would have been very happy to be at the site to inaugurate the folk and tribal museum at Barkul," he said.

Inaugurating the museum, the chief minister said it would play a significant role in promoting, protecting and projecting the great cultural heritage of the state at the global platform.

Barkul is a prominent tourist spot and it is expected that the museum will be an added attraction for the tourists visiting the place on the banks of the Chilika lake, billed as Asia's biggest brackish water lagoon.

Stating that the art is the manifestation of our finer sensibilities, Naveen said: "Art culminates from the core of human heart. It gives our inner self an identity. It is not about shape or colours, it is all about our dreams, struggle, pursuits and soul-searching that give a different meaning to our life."

He further said the state had a rich cultural and artistic heritage, experts and practitioners of various forms of art and crafts. The traditional, folk, classical and contemporary dance and music forms, and tribal dance and songs speak about the profound heritage and cultural identity of the state, he said.

The Society for Development of Rural Literature has been set up to promote the cultural heritage of the state. The museum will preserve, protect and also project the rich cultural heritage for the posterity. The society has also set up a documentation and research centre, and is organising folk carnival to showcase the state's inimitable culture.