Artists and Performances

But the coup de grace was that the in charge dean of faculty Shivaji Pannikker was suspended by University authorities, for showing solidarity and support with his student and protesting against the vandalism by the Hindu fundamentalists and self proclaimed contractors of religious sentiments.

"Designer clothes have replaced the traditional clothes of three effigies this year to make them more attractive to young people," Ashok Sudhakar, the man behind the new look, told IANS here Saturday.

Sudhakar and his team of eight artisans had a challenging task stitching the clothes. "We took help of computers to design the clothes for the three effigies," he said.

Each Goddess Durga idol requires at least 50,000 Tulsi beads and five kilograms of incense sticks. It takes about a month to complete a life-size idol. Like every year, the demand for Durga idols has risen this year too. We too want to provide our customers with new and innovative Durga idols," said Shiv Kumar Pandit, an artisan .

Along with conventional Durga idols generally made of clay, bamboo, straw, iron, paper-mache and sand, these artists are dexterously adorning the idols of the goddesses of beauty, and courage using Tulsi beads and incense sticks.

"A lot of hard work goes in when you try something new like Durga idol of Tulsi beads or Durga idol with incense sticks. People are surprised to see these idols", says Chandan Kumar, an idol maker.

In the eastern parts of the country, the Durga Puja festival commences from Wednesday (Oct.17), whereas the Navaratri festival commenced elsewhere last week on Friday (Oct.12).

With actress Nilima Azeem as the emcee, the event at Patna's Sri Krishna Memorial Hall started with a group dance by the children of Ninad that was soon followed by a performance by the noted classical singer Ustad Masqur Ali.

The main attraction, however, was the famed Kathak dancer and musician Birju Maharaj who exhibited his art in various forms including dance, songs, choreography, and as an instrument player. He was accompanied by Akram Khan on Tabla, Ghulam Warsi on Sarangi, Rakesh Prassan on Sarod, and dancers and singers Romen Dekka, Mahua Shankar, Mamta Maharaj, Deepak Maharaj, Pallavi, Sanjeev and Raghav.

State Art and Culture Minister Janata Dal (U), in his closing speech, thanked the artists and the organizers of the event saying the two-day event certainly lived up the expectations of the people and brought back fond memories of the '60s and '70s when such events were common in Patna during each Dussehra and Diwali.

"The cultural environment had ceased to exist in Patna in the last few years but with this event, Bihar is once again showing that it was serious about reviving its lost glories," Birju Maharaj, who was born Brij Mohan Mishra, said.

The maestro also took a dig at the western music and its influence on the Indian culture saying such music were 'only fit for Ravan's darbar' and had no positive effects on today's youths.

Dozens of attractive models walked the ramp in what turned out to be the biggest draw at the fair.

"We are organizing various arts and craft competition to encourage Bihar's youths to come forward and show their talents. One can never know where the next supermodel would come from," said the fair organizer Shabbir Ahmed.

Other attractions included stalls of acclaimed Saharanpur furniture, biscuits from Bangladesh, and dresses from Thailand.

With food stalls all around the fair campus, men and women of all ages were seen enjoying the fair till late night though many vendors complained of less than satisfactory sales of their products.

Amidst the presence of nearly three dozen artists, Das lamented the decline in interest in Hindi language books and magazines. "It's a shame that a lot of people don't read or understand our national language otherwise this magazine would be even more popular across the country than what it is already," Das said.

He, however, expressed his satisfaction over the popularity of the magazine outside India. "The magazine has carved a special place among Indians living abroad and that, in turn, has popularized Indian art in those places," Das said.

Das also drew applause for a painting he did to attract youths into the field of art.

Veteran artists like Anil Kumar Sinha and Lucknow's Anju Sinha were also present on the occasion.

"Firangi Dulhaniya", the film shot extensively in foreign localtions and starring a petite, svelte Russian model, Tanya, is slated to release this month.

Addressing mediapersons here on Thursday, film director Ranjan Kumar Singh said, "It is for the first time that a "firangi" girl is acting on a Bhojpuri film."

The story revolves around conflict between two entirely different cultures. Bharat (Shiraz Khan), son of Thakur Raghunandan Singh (Surendra Pal), goes to London for higher studies and return home with a British girl, Tanya.

Three decades ago, Manoj Kumar's Purab Aur Pachim depicted the contrasting cultures of India and U.K. with dexterity. Over the years, several films have embarked on a similar route, but very few could leave that indelible impression.

About 150 artists of eight theatre groups from Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Rajasthan and West Bengal are participating in the Mahotsava.

The Mahotsava organised by Prangan, has been sponsored by North Central Zone Cultural Centre, Allahabad, East Zone Cultural Centre, Kolkata, Bihar Sangeet Natak Akademi, Patna and department of art, culture and youth affairs, government of Bihar.