Patna, Nov 2 - Mauritius has invited two experts of the famous Madhubani paintings of Bihar to train its artists and art teachers at a workshop beginning Nov 4, an official said here Monday.

Rabindra Nath Tagore Institute under the Youth, Sports, Art and Culture Ministry of Mauritius invited the two experts - noted art designer Amitabh Pandey and Madhubani painter Raj Kumar, son of internationally known Madhubani painter late Yashoda Devi.

Mauritius artists and art teachers will be trained at a 16-day workshop.

"Mauritius has invited two experts of famous Madhubani painting from Bihar to train its artists and art teachers," an official of art and culture department said.

For ages, rural people, mostly women, of Mithila in Bihar have developed their tradition of art, popularly known as Madhubani paintings - named after Madhubani district. This painting tradition dates back to the seventh century AD.

Traditionally, Madhubani paintings were made on the eve of certain religious festivals and weddings. In the last few decades, master painters have popularised Madhubani paintings the world over.

The famous Madhubani paintings are now an exclusive brand as they have been registered under the provisions of Global Indications (GI) Act for patenting.

Mauritius has strong cultural ties with Bihar as the Indian state is the land of the ancestors of a large number of people of Mauritius.

Last year, Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam visited Bihar and stressed on developing closer cultural ties with India.

Ramgoolam had touched the ground after alighting from the aircraft here, and quickly smeared some mud on his forehead.

His grandfather Mohit Ramgoolam was one of the hundreds of labourers forcibly taken by the British from Bihar to work in Mauritius sugarcane plantations in 1871. About 60 percent of the 1.2 million population of Mauritius is of Indian origin, a large number of them from Bihar with Bhojpuri as their mother tongue. (IANS)