October 31, 2019
Bangla Govt to promote Bankura handicrafts globally
The State Government has decided to promote the famous terracotta (burnt earth) handicrafts of Bankura district more widely.
Bankura is famous for its terracotta work, the most famous objects being the red (and sometimes brown) horses, which come in various sizes.
This art form is also part of the Rural Craft Hub, a joint project of the Bangla Government and UNESCO. Panchmura has been made the rural craft hub for terracotta work.
The new idea is a pen drive placed inside a terracotta artefact. But this is not just an empty pen drive. It contains videos of the famous tourist spots of the State.
Thus, this novel idea for a utility product as against a simple showpiece (just an artefact), said an official of the Tourism Department, serves two purposes: one is that it obviously promotes Bankura’s terracotta, and secondly, it also promotes the whole of Bangla as tourism-destination of varied hues.
These innovative pen drives were given as gifts to the foreign dignitaries who had come to the Durga Pujo Carnival. They were highly appreciative of the idea. They would also be given to tourists who would come to stay at the 32 resorts of the Tourism Department as well as at private resorts, said the official.
Next up is an idea for chhau masks adapted as fridge magnets. Fridge magnets are popular souvenirs among tourists anywhere and so this idea too would click with tourists.
Another official said that distributing so many artefacts free of cost would not lead to any loss as these tourists, through sharing these videos, would act as agents for the promotion of Bangla and so would bring in many more tourists.
