"Madhubani Mela" for skill development of Madhubani painters- First project in Bihar, at a cost of Rs 50 lakh

PATNA: The first-of-its-kind 'Madhubani Mela', a festival to showcase the rich cultural heritage of Mithila paintings, was organized at a remote village, Simri, in Madhubani district from Oct 5-7, which involved about 300 painters from Simri,Satgarha, Givahi, Chichri and Kanungo villages under Rajnagar block. As many as160 artists put up their works for exhibition at 30 stalls. More than 6,000 people from nearby areas attended the mela.Sunita Sanghvi, adviser, Planning Commission, inaugurated the programme. She was accompanied by Jeevan Sharma, deputy secretary of the Planning Commission, and the director, labour resources department, government of Bihar.

 This project was financed by the Planning Commission as a part of the programme of National Council on Skill Development Mission involving 18 departments of the Government of India to upgrade the skills of artists in rural areas. The Council has set a target of creating 500 million skilled persons by 2022. 

Appreciating the talent of Bihari artists,  a Manav Vikas Mission was constituted in Bihar under the chairmanship of chief minister way back in 2010. The state department of labour resources is the nodal department for it. Bihar has initiated a new 'special training scheme' for rural youth for employment generation in rural areas. 

A Kolkata-based agency, Banglanatakdotcom, has been entrusted with task of training painters for skill upgradation," .

A Bihar Knowledge Centre has been established as a key interface between students and industry, thereby creating job opportunities for the talent of Bihar, said an official. At Industrial Training Institute (ITI), Digha, Patna, a pilot project on skill training in tailoring has been started for the underprivileged section of the society on the request of Raymonds Limited.

A variety of cultural programmes were organized at Simri during the Mela period, in which artists presented variousdance forms like 'Patachitra' ( West Bengal), Turi (Purnia), Jhijhiyan (Madhubani), Chhau (Purulia), Bajasal (Kalahandi) and Bauki Fakri gaan (Nadia).