Maharashtra BJP leader Ashish Shelar on 10th July urged the Union textile ministry to acquire late costume designer Bhanu Athaiya’s collection, which is due to be auctioned, and display the same at the upcoming textile museum. He made the appeal in a letter written to the newly-appointed union textile minister, Piyush Goyal. In his letter, Shelar wrote: “More than 200 saris and fabrics from Athaiya’s collection are slated to be auctioned. The rich legacy of Maharashtra and Indian culture, once auctioned, may end up in foreign museums or private hands and will be lost to generations from public viewing…. The textile ministry should acquire and display it at the NIFT sub-section of the textile museum coming up in Mumbai. It can be named after Athaiya.”
India’s first Oscar winner, Bhanu Athaiya, died of a prolonged illness in October last year at the age of 91. She had won the Academy award for the 1983 film Gandhi.