The seven-day workshop on art concluded here on Monday at Sanchi Buddhist-Indian Knowledge Studies University.

On the last day Sushmita Nandi, head of the Indian Painting Department, spoke on the subject of art and nationalism in the context of Guru Rabindranath Tagore.

Sushmita Nandi said that Tagore used to define the nation not by geographical boundaries but by value perception.

He said that in the early decades of the 20th century, Guru Ravindranath Tagore supported nationalism on the basis of culture, but in later decades when nationalism started to appear against humanism, he gave up the subject of nationalism.

Sushmita Nandi said that Guru Ravindranath Tagore was influenced by contemporary painters of his era, Ravi Varma, Mhatre, JP Ganguly. Tagore made people aware of Japanese painting. He said that Tagore, EVE Haval, AK Kumaraswamy, Okakora Kakuzo, Taisho, Sister Nivedita were also influenced by the art.

In this seven-day workshop, Santosh Priyadarshi told in a lecture on the theme 'Symbol in Sanchi's Toran Gates' that the Jataka tales have been engraved in these four Toran gates. Apart from this, other stories and local legends are also included in these archway gates.

Priyadarshi said that there are 550 Jataka stories of Lord Buddha, out of which 547 are obtained. Santosh Priyadarshi told that 84 thousand stupas were built by the great emperor Ashoka after taking initiation of Buddhism.

Priyadarshi also told the students about the importance of Sanchi and Vidisha that Vidisha (Sanchi) was located as the intersection of the main road connecting North and South India.

Santosh Priyadarshi told that Lord Buddha had announced in his life that neither his statue nor the picture should be made. But later his sculptures were also made and paintings. The statue of Buddha is first found in Gandhara art. Similarly, in Mathura art beautiful statues of Buddha were also made on sandstone.