Bihar govt uses mural paintings to spread social message, beautify Patna

Bihar government in a unique initiative is spreading social messages through mural paintings.

In order to make people aware on various pressing issues, state government's energy department in an artistic manner painted several messages on government buildings and common public school.

Last year, the Patna Municipal Corporation did not only beautify the city by painting Madhubani paintings on all the government and non-government walls but it also prevented people from spitting and dirtying public places.

Similarly, this time Bihar government's Energy Department has engaged artists of the international arena to portray their success in providing electricity to every household through murals. The work has kick-started from Vidyut Bhawan in Patna which has been turned into a vibrant canvas.

Principal Secretary Energy, Pratyaya Amrit got inspired from a series of murals painted in Lodhi Estate in the national capital and later decided to beautify the energy department building here.

"Impressed by the artwork at the Lodhi Estate, we thought that if such paintings will be used in Bihar on an energy-specific subject, people could be made aware of this social issue. It took three months to materialize everything and finalize the theme,"

Amrit stated that generally, government buildings have a very dull look so in order to break this concept the idea of drawing mural paintings was taken by the state government.

"These paintings do not only inspire the people of our department but the people who pass by the building must find it attractive and interesting. A mural painting here shows a young boy and a young girl holding a sapling and a sparrow (goraiya) in their palms. It depicts how everything in this universe is connected through a medium of a single painting," he added.

"These paintings are really unique in Patna as they have been made by well-experienced international artists. These paintings are different as compared to other paintings. Each painting is symbolic and it conveys a message," said a member of department.

A set of the mural painting here depicts state government's ", Jeevan aur Hariyali" (water, life and greenery).

Most of the paintings have been drawn under the direction of Argentine artists Emmanuel Alaniz and Federica Maria based in Berlin and Abhijit Acharya from Kerala.

In one of the mural paintings, a woman is seen turning off the electric switch and at the same time, a man is conserving the traditional energy that is the burning lamp of clay with both hands. Another set, drawn on the largest wall conveys the journey from "darkness to light".

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These paintings have proved out to be appealing to the people of the energy department along with the general public.