Bhubaneswar: Odisha once again found a mention in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Mann ki Baat when he applauded an engineering student turned artist Bhagyashree Sahoo for her efforts to promote Pattachitra art.
Little did Bhagyashree realise that the passion which she cultivated during lockdown would find a catch the eye of the nation’s Prime Minister.
Speaking about the handicraft artisans and ‘Incredible India’ in the ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme, the Prime Minister said besides the governments “People are also making our art forms popular employing novel methods across the country.”
Soon after he informed the countrymen about the works of Bhagyashree of Rourkela, Odisha. “Although she is a student of engineering, in the past few months, she started learning the art of Pattchitra and has mastered it. But, did you know where she began painting – Soft Stones, on Soft Stones. On her way to college, Bhagyashree found these Soft Stones, she collected and cleaned them. Later, she painted these stones in Pattachitra style for two hours every day. After painting these stones, she started gifting them to her friends. During the lockdown, she started painting on bottles too. And now, she even conducts workshops on this art form.”
He went on to say, “A few days ago, on the birth anniversary of Subhash Babu, Bhagyashree paid him a unique tribute done on stone.”
Modi also wished her all the best for her future endeavours and inspired the youth by saying that “A lot new can be learnt and done through Art and Colours.”
Bhagyshree’s endeavour to reconnect to the roots during the lockdown won her the praise. Pursuing MTech in Metallurgy Engineering from a college in Dhenkanal, she plans to start her own art studio or may be even a start-up.
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