Mural paintings on walls of Patna draw attention to social issues

In what can be called a unique initiative, the government of Bihar has started spreading social messages through mural paintings. The initiative is undertaken by the government to spread awareness about multiple important issues among the people. The state government's energy department has painted various messages on government buildings and common public schools of the state.

In 2018, the Patna Municipal Corporation had taken an initiative to beautify the city with Madhubani paintings on all government and non-government walls. This move had prevented passers-by from spitting and dirtying the walls and public places. This time around, the Bihar government's Energy Department has invited artists from the international arena to portray the department's success in providing electricity to every household through murals.

The work has commenced with Vidyut Bhawan in Patna being turned into a vibrant canvas. The idea came to the Principal Secretary Energy, Pratyaya Amrit who got inspired by a series of mural paintings painted at Lodhi Estate in Delhi.

"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," 
said Amrit adding that government buildings usually carry a dull look. To get rid of the concept of dull-looking government buildings, the state government came up with the idea of mural painting.

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Paintings were drawn under the direction of Argentine artists

"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 speaking to a news agency. 

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

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

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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 painting that has been drawn on the largest wall highlights the journey from "darkness to light".  

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(With inputs from ANI)