As part of Regional Passport Office (RPO) Patna and Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Regional Office Patna’s commitment to get art and craft closer to common people of Bihar, for the first time both offices under Ministry of External Affairs have creatively collaborated with Delhi Public School (DPS) Patna and Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) in Bihar to promote visual art and khadi respectively.

2. Students of DPS Patna were assigned a project by Smt. Swadha Rizvi (an Indian Foreign Service Officer of 2011 batch) helming ICCR RO Patna and RPO Patna to make a calendar on the theme of ‘Patna through Ink & Paint’. The students, guided by the teachers and leadership of DPS Patna, explored the city with their curious and creative spirit. Sketches and paintings of 24 paintings depicting varied hues and facets of our beloved Patna’s landscape were transformed into an iconic desktop calendar.

3. Every month in the calendar carries paintings / sketches by 2 students by varied age groups (studying from 6 to 12 grades), with an artistic note penned very thoughtfully by the students. The art works captured by the students range from the beautiful Marin drive to historical buildings such as the General Post Office and Patna Sahib Gurudwara; modern buildings like AIIMS Patna, Bihar Museum; and mundane sights such as ongoing construction of Patna Metro and Kulhar Chai of Jagdeo Path. A student of 8th grade in her painting of Marine Drive emotes so evocatively, ‘…I aimed to portray the tranquil beauty of the Ganga riverfront. The gentle curve of the road, the soft reflections on the water, and the vast sky together create a refreshing and peaceful atmosphere’. Another student of grade 9, in his note on AIIMS Patna, touchingly acknowledges ‘the remarkable architecture representing the spirit of conservation and creation of human life…this is not merely a building but also a temple of hope and satisfaction for both, people of India and Bihar’.

4. These 24 paintings are being displayed in PSK Patna with the aim of connecting our passport applicants (approximately 1500 per day) with the vibrant imagination of our young artists and with the city through a different lens. “It was also to encourage our young talent,” said RPO and RD of ICCR Regional Office Patna Smt. Swadha Rizvi. The young artists were felicitated today by RPO and ICCR RO Director and other dignitaries with handcrafted mementos in the presence of their guardians, teachers and senior management of DPS Patna, including the Principal Sh. B Vinod. The exhibition will go on for a month.

5. KVIC stall, displaying its products for promotion of khadi within the premises of the PSK during working hours for our passport applicants for a month, was inaugurated by Dr.M.H.Mevati, Director of KVIC Bihar in the presence of Smt. Swadha Rizvi, RPO Patna. This initiative would expose applicants to a wide-range of eco-friendly, handcrafted products from khadi textiles to natural cosmetic products, handicrafts among others. Furthermore, “it seeks to directly connect common people of Bihar to rural artisans, women entrepreneurs and micro entrepreneurs aligned with national priorities of Atmanirbharta and vocal for local”, said RPO Patna.