India, May 20 -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was presented with a painting depicting the ghats of Varanasi after arriving in Rome during the final leg of his five-nation tour.

He added that Tomassetti's association with Indian traditions spans over four decades. According to the Prime Minister, the artist began his journey in the 1980s as an illustrator of books on Vedic culture and later dedicated years to large-scale works inspired by the Mahabharata, producing 23 major paintings between 2008 and 2013.

Born in Italy in 1955, Giampaolo Tomassetti worked as an illustrator in Florence in the early 1980s, focusing on publications related to ancient Vedic traditions. His early work was influenced by neo-Renaissance techniques, whic...