About 90 students from several Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBV) in Medak district underwent training in the famous Madhubani art form of Bihar in a three-day workshop conducted recently.
A team of artists — led by Ambika Devi, an eminent Madhubani painter from Bihar — came all the way from the northern State to train the students. Collector D. Ronald Rose took personal interest in inviting the artist to come here and train the students.
Though the trainers were initially informed that they have to train 45 students selected from different KGBVs, that number increased to 90 as the students had shown immense enthusiasm to learn the art form.
Only three students — Godugu Aswini, K. Sushmitha, and S. Nagarani — from the KGBV at Gajwel mandal headquarters town were selected for the workshop. The rest sat outside the classroom and learnt the skill.
The trainers were immensely impressed with the great show put up by the students. “The trainers were initially reluctant to train so many students, but by the same evening, they changed their opinion after seeing their performance. They said that they have never came across such students so far,” said Anuradha, special officer, KVBV, Gajwel.
“The students quickly learnt how to paint, and exceeded our expectations. They can become good artists if trained properly,” she added.
However, after the training, the students are forced to practice their skills on a long notebook of white paper instead of hand-made paper, a practice followed by the artists.
“We can collect natural colours locally, but we are unable to get hand-made paper, brushes and catalogue as they are not available locally. We are ready to spare an hour a day if the required material is supplied to us,” the students told The Hindu .