Kalakshetra Foundation is part of great inheritance which many nations don’t have, says Nirmala Sitharaman

Rukmini Devi Arundale is the founder of Kalakshetra Foundation. (Kalakshetra official website)

Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently laid the foundation stone for the construction of extension block of Rukmini Devi Museum at the Kalakshetra foundation in Chennai.

Speaking at the ceremony, she said, “The Kalakshetra Foundation is part of a great inheritance which many countries do not have and long to have. These are institutions which speak of what she (Rukmini Devi Arundale) has done. You come and be here, just like charging your mobiles. Just come here, charge yourself and go back and see if you are worth serving your country or not. I am not saying to capture a few minutes. But the last time when I was here, I felt the same.”

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Who is Rukmini Devi Arundale?

Rukmini Devi Arundale is the founder of Kalakshetra Foundation.

Kalakshetra Foundation. (Supplied)

Paying rich encomiums to Arundale, Sitharaman said, “This time, I feel even more, looking at the wonderful collection which has been so beautifully curated by your own staff member.”

“Her (Rukmini Devi Arundale) collections speak of her taste, her collections speak for the India that she wanted to represent. It is only appropriate that you have thought of establishing a proper museum with all those personal artefacts which she has collected over decades of her life.”

“She (Rukmini Devi) stands out as a symbol of that kind of weaving tradition that India can be proud of. The way in which it has been preserved is really a sacred experience and to show it to you all. It’s sacred,” she said on the occasion, marking the 70th Annual Art Festival of foundation.

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