Lok Sabha Question No. 128 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-11-29
Subject: Conservation of Folk Cultures of Bihar
Ministry: CULTURE
Asked by: Chandeshwar Prasad

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CULTURE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 128

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 29 TH  NOVEMBER, 2021

## CONSERVATION OF FOLK CULTURES OF BIHAR

## 128.   SHRI CHANDESHWAR PRASAD:

## Will the Minister of CULTURE be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  details  of  ancient  folk  cultures  being  conserved  in  Bihar  along  with  the details of the schemes being implemented for this purpose;
- (b)  the details of the places to which these folk cultures are related to;
- (c)  the amount of funds sanctioned/allocated for this purpose during the last three years; and
- (d)  the  details  of  measures  taken  being  taken  for  conservation  of  the  said  folk cultures?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF CULTURE, TOURISM AND DEVELOPMENT OF NORTH EASTERN REGION (SHRI G. KISHAN REDDY)

(a) & (b) To protect, preserve & promote various forms of folk art and ancient folk cultures  throughout  the  country  including  Bihar,  the  Government  of  India  has  set  up seven  Zonal  Cultural  Centres  (ZCCs)  with  headquarters  at  Patiala,  Nagpur,  Udaipur, Prayagraj, Kolkata, Dimapur and Thanjavur. Bihar is the member State of North Central Zone Cultural Centre (NCZCC), Prayagraj and Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC), Kolkata.

The names of prominent ancient folk cultures along with places to which they relate to, in the State of Bihar are as under:

|   Sl. No. | Name of Art Forms                                                                                                      | Places                |
|-----------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------|
|         1 | Kajri Dance, Chowpahara Dance, Lori Gayan, Chaitawath Chaith, Allah Songs (Veer Gatha), Tikuli Art, Madhubani Painting | Patna, Bihar          |
|         2 | Vidyapath Dance                                                                                                        | Araria, Bihar         |
|         3 | Sanjha Parati                                                                                                          | Darbhanga, Bihar      |
|         4 | Nirgun Songs & Godhana Geet, Dhrupad Dhamar                                                                            | East Champaran, Bihar |
|         5 | Sikki Kala & Bhitti Chitra Kala                                                                                        | Madhubani, Bihar      |
|         6 | Jharni                                                                                                                 | Hajipur, Bihar        |
|         7 | Bhojpuri Gayan                                                                                                         | Chhapra, Bihar        |
|         8 | Lok Gatha & Lok Natak                                                                                                  | Hulsa, Bihar          |
|         9 | Jhinjhia & Panwaria Sohar Khilona, Folk Songs (Bhojpuri) and Jat-Jatin                                                 | Magadh, Bihar         |
|        10 | Nardi Gayan                                                                                                            | Begusarai, Bihar      |

(c) No separate allocation of funds is being done art-wise. However, annual grant-inaid is provided to all the ZCCs for organizing various cultural activities/ programmes in their member States including Bihar. The grant-in-aid provided to the ZCCs during the last three years is as under:

(Rs. in lakh)

| Sl. No.   | Year    |   Amount |
|-----------|---------|----------|
| i.        | 2018-19 |  5952.69 |
| ii.       | 2019-20 |  5732.95 |
| iii.      | 2020-21 |  4009.38 |

(d) There  is  no  dedicated  scheme  to  preserve  these  particular  folk  art  forms. However, these ZCCs organize various cultural activities and programmes all over the country on regular basis for which annual grant-in-aid is provided to them. In this regard, a number of schemes viz. Award to Young Talented Artists, Guru Shishya Parampara, Theatre Rejuvenation, Research & Documentation, Shilpgram, OCTAVE and National Cultural Exchange Programme (NCEP) are being implemented by these ZCCs.