Modi, Jaitley lend support to art auction

New Delhi, Jan 7 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley have supported an art auction along with prominent celebrities like M.C. Mary Kom, Shah Rukh Khan and Pandit Birju Maharaj, organisers said Wednesday.

The auction "India on Canvas" has brought together eminent personalities from different walks of life, along with well-known artists, to produce canvases that will be auctioned for Khushii, an NGO that works for the upliftment of poor and destitute communities.

The auction will feature two types of works: collaboration and endorsement.

In the collaborative work, artists have worked along with the other personality where as in endorsement prominent names like Modi and Jaitley have endorsed the artwork.

"The prime minister has added a few brush strokes to endorse the art work. Others celebrities have endorsed the work so that it fetches good amount," organisers said.

A letter from the prime minister to the organisers (a copy of which is with IANS) said: "Khushii's efforts to provide education to under privileged children are indeed praise worthy. I also appreciate the organisation's initiative to provide health care and mid-day meals to the students."

Modi's painting "Om Namo Shivay", in collaboration with artist Satish Gupta, is a tribute to Lord Shiva and is a melange of sculpture and painting on a single canvas.

The fourth-edition of the auction will take place Jan 15.