Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary. Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui
Patna, September 1: Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary has expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat after the Central Government approved the establishment of a new campus of the National School of Drama (NSD) in Bihar.
The Chief Minister said the decision would give Bihar’s rich theatre and performing arts traditions a new identity and open up fresh opportunities at the national level. He said Bihar had a rich cultural heritage and was the land of great personalities such as Kalidasa, Ramvriksha Benipuri and Bhikhari Thakur. The state also has a distinctive and glorious tradition of folk theatre and performing arts.
Choudhary said the establishment of an NSD campus in Bihar would provide young artists with better institutional opportunities for professional theatre training, stagecraft, performing arts and advanced research. It would reduce the need for talented artists to travel outside the state for training and help create better coordination between Bihar’s folk theatre traditions and contemporary theatre.
The Chief Minister said the Bihar Government had established the Bihar Sangeet Natak Akademi to protect, promote and coordinate the state’s theatre and performing arts. The NSD campus would further strengthen these efforts.
He said the state government was taking necessary steps to provide suitable land for the NSD campus and would bear 50 per cent of the approved construction cost as its state share. The government would extend all possible administrative support for the early establishment of the institution.
Choudhary said the NSD campus was not merely the creation of an institution but an investment in Bihar’s cultural heritage, young talent and the future of contemporary theatre. He expressed confidence that coordinated efforts by the Centre and the state government would firmly establish the institution and further strengthen Bihar’s position on India’s national theatre map.
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