SUCCESSFUL CONCLUSION OF THE FIVE-DAY LONG BUYER-SELLER MEET ON “HANDICRAFTS OF BIHAR” AT PATNA FROM 26TH TO 30TH SEPTEMBER, 2018

The five-day long joint Buyer-Seller Meet and Mahila Udyog Mela from 26^th to 30^th September, 2018 has concluded today.  The counter sales of Rs. 1.5 crores have been ensured in the Mahila Udyog Mela. On the other hand, the Buyer-Seller Meet has ensured the counter sale of Rs 50 lakhs during the five days event. However, the perspective of Buyer-Seller Meet was to promote the handicrafts of Bihar and create orders for them.

 The event was concluded by the Honourable Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare (Government of India), Sri Ashwini Choubey. He has expressed great pleasure on the occasion. The President of the Mahila Udyog Mela, Smt. Usha Jha has presided over the concluding session and Deputy Director of the Upendra Maharathi Shilp Anusandhan Sansthan (UMSAS) Mr. Ashok Kumar Sinha was the Special Guest.   

The Buyer-Seller Meet on “Handicrafts of Bihar” at Gyan Bhawan, Patna was held successfully in which more than Rupees seven crores of business is expected in future months by way of supply to various states and export to other countries. The current Buyer-Seller Meet is being implemented by Upendra Maharathi Shilp Anusandhan San  sthan consisting of 11 crafts spread in 15 craft-clusters across 10 districts of Bihar.

Most of the Buyers were well acquainted with the Madhubani painting but they had no idea about other crafts of Bihar. Hence, the Buyer-Seller Meet has opened new vistas for Buyers as they could know about various craft clusters of Bihar and they include Madhubani Painting, Sikki Craft, Sujani, Applique-Kasida, Wood Craft, Stone Craft, Manjusha Painting, Tikuli, Bamboo, Jute, Metal Craft, Block printing among others. There is representation from the Carpet Cluster of Kaimur also.

More than three dozen buyers participated in the five-day conclave and they include the buyers from Kolkata, Bhubaneshwar, Delhi, Gwalior, Jaipur, Pune, Mumbai, Varanasi, Lucknow, Bangaluru, Gurugram,  Jodhpur among others! The buyers are having their corporate clients spread nationally and internationally. They have directly interacted with sellers and have also discussed with the officials of the Industries department which include the Principal Secretary Mr. S. Siddharth, Director Mr. Pankaj Kumar Singh and Deputy Director of the Upendra Maharathi Shilp Anusandhan Sansthan (UMSAS) Mr. Ashok Kumar Sinha about the prospects of marketing of Handicraft products of Bihar.

Pankaj Kumar Bhandari from Jodhpur Rajasthan commented that the products (to be exported) must be handy so that they can be easily exported!

Mr. Sanjay Nanda from Nizammuddin, New Delhi commented, “We don’t need expensive products but we need great volume but products must have minimum pricing so that we can place order in a bulk. “The Colour combination and the quality need to be understood by the local artisans because clients of different countries have varied taste for colours along with the standard quality,” according to Bobby Ranjana, from Gurugram. Alka Bharti (from Shahpur Jat, Delhi) is looking after premium products and hence she wants that the respective artisans of Madhubani Painting, Tikuli and Manjusha must adapt the fineness and the neatness of the high-end clients.

 “I am really very happy to see all the kind of products, what is expected in this event ………. I could place very good order from my (International) Buyers….,” admitted by Dhanasekeran from Bangaluru. Shristi Gupta from Noida talked about the grooming of artisans and having leadership quality to promote them in national and international events.

The Buyer-Seller Meet has created an opportunity for the craftsmen of Bihar. Most of the stalls represented the Self-Help-Group of respective craft-wise clusters in the Buyer-Seller Meet. The artisan-entrepreneurs, who represented as sellers, are masters in their own trade as most of them are state awardees or have represented Bihar in various workshops, seminars, trade fairs, and Melas of India and abroad. The live demonstration of Tikuli, Wood Craft, Metal Craft and Terracotta hav attracted maximum audience during the five discourse of Buyer-Seller Meet.

WOMEN ARTISANS CUM ENTREPRENEURS IN HANDICRAFTS: THEY HAVE EMERGED AS THE CULTURAL AMBASSADORS OF BIHAR

The ongoing Buyer-Seller Meet on ‘Handicrafts of Bihar’ in Gyan Bhawan, Patna; under aegis of Upendra Maharathi Shilp Anusandhan Sansthan (UMSAS), from September 26 to 30, 2018; has opened new vistas for artisans of Bihar who are representing various craft clusters of Bihar and they include Madhubani Painting, Sikki Craft, Sujani, Applique-Kasida, Wood Craft, Stone Craft, Manjusha Painting, Tikuli, Bamboo, Jute, Metal Craft, Block printing among others. There is representation from the Carpet Cluster of Kaimur also.

[BUYER-SELLER STALLS]

All the artisans from different crafts have opened the stalls in the Buyer-Seller Meet and are having direct interaction with Buyers, who have come from various towns and cities of India, representing diverse handicrafts of Bihar. But the most significant aspect of the Buyer-Seller Meet is the prominence of “Women Artists cum Entrepreneurs in Handicrafts”, who are dominating the whole show with their skill, business sense and mobility.

The current Buyer-Seller Meet is part of the IDPH (Integrated Development and Promotion of Handicrafts) Scheme under DC Handicrafts (Government of India) and is being implemented by UMSAS consisting of 11 crafts spread in 15 craft-clusters across 10 districts of Bihar. Incidentally, this scheme has created an opportunity for the empowerment of women (like Madhubani Painting, Sikki, Sujani, Applique, Manjusha) and for the emancipation of the artisans (Stone, Wood craft), who are also hailing from the down-trodden section of the society. Most of the stalls represented the Self-Help-Group of respective craft-wise clusters.

The women entrepreneurs of Madhubani Painting have come all the way from villages of Jitwarpur, Ranti (both are hub of the painting near the Madhubani town) and Darbhanga Town and they represent five stalls.  Some of the names include Veena Dutta, Rani Dutta, Bindu Jha among others. 

[ALL MADHUBANI PAINTINGS]

The Sikki artists of Madhubani are representing from all the prominent town and villages of Rampur, Raiyam and Madhepur across blocks of Pandaul, Jhanjharpur and Madhepur and they are Munni Devi, Sudhira Devi, Rama Devi (all Raiyam) and Renu Devi (Madhepur) among others.

Sujani clusters of Bhusra (Gayaghat of Muzaffarpur) is represented by Sanju Devi and Pinki Bhusra women are represented by two stalls. Whereas, Sujni Cluster of Danapur, Patna is represented with three stalls under the able guidance of Mala Gupta along with Rekha Devi and Asha Devi respectively.

The Applique-Kasida cluster of Arrah have been represented by a stall of Ruma Verma and associated by Chandrakanti Devi, Neelam Bharti and Kajal Srivastava. Rashmi of Patna is also having a stall in the meet.

Smt. Ulupi Jha and Anjana Kumari from Bhagalpur are also representing their stalls on Manjusha Painting. Similarly, Gitanjali and others are also busy with their special innovations in Tikuli Painting. There are five Tikuli Stalls and all are manned by women.

Divya Rani Singh of Patna, the leading entrepreneur in Jute craft has also opened a stall here. The Block Printing expert Sunita Prakash of Patna, another leading name is also busy with her innovation. Rambha Jha, another upcoming entrepreneur has also attracted the attention of Buyers from the outside state.

Most of the lady entrepreneurs are masters in their own trade as most of them are state awardees or have represented Bihar in various workshops, seminars, trade fairs, and Melas of India and abroad. During the Base Line Survey conducted on November 27 & 28; 2018 at Raiyam village of Madhubani, I had found that more than five ladies had gone out of the village to train others on Sikki Art and they include: - Indrakala Devi, Radha Devi, Munni Devi, Sudhira Devi, Runa Devi, Sudha Devi, Sushila Devi respectively. Raiyam lady artists have become brand ambassadors of Sikki Art in the State and beyond.

It is not only the Sikki lady artists but “Women Artisans of various crafts have emerged as the Cultural Ambassadors of Bihar”.