Village Immersion report of Bihta Block, Nalanda District, Bihar

Submitted by Kevika Yadav, Young Professional (YP)

Village Immersion is part of the orientation programme of Jeevika for Young Professionals. I stayed in Bihta block of Patna district for one month to understand socio economic profile of village and how men and women engage in different activities to secure livelihood. The report of Village immersion in Bihta covers the micro enterprises and traditional process that have been taken by people of Bihta which not only makes them earn money but also has kept the tradition alive with the help of Jeevika initiative of Government of Bihar.

The document is divided in three sections

A     Brasswork of Bhita

B-    Jatta Sattu Making in Bihta

C-    Jeevika Changing lives of Women- Stories of two women of Bihta

This document was submitted to Jeevika, Government of Bihar in 2018.

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A

Brass work in Bihta

Jeevika’s role in keeping tradition alive

Tradition of Brasswork-The brass work of Bihar and few skilled people owes its legacy to  pre-historic age which was at peak in Mauryan and Gupta age. However very few blocks and villages of Bihar have brass work and craftsmanship. Few Blocks away from Patna are engaged in making utensils traditional brass utensils manufacturing units who make brass utensils supply to neighbouring Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh.

Role of  BRLP & Jeevika -Understanding that brass work has a good demand from rural and urban area and has potential to be leveraged by encouraging local manufacturing  to bring income to rural folks, Jeevika  took the step forward to  empower groups of women to take up this art for livelihood.

Targeting women from rural households in six of Bihar’s poorest districts, Jeevika began in 2007 with the objective of social empowerment of the poorest rural households, followed by economic empowerment and poverty reduction. The programme now runs across Bihar’s 38 districts and 534 blocks. 

Jeevika’s structure is a bottom up approach. 10-15 women organise as a SHG to take loans on interest and obtain credit from banks. They also form producer organisations centred around an economic activity, such as honey production or making low-cost solar lamps for students. 20 to 25 of these SHGs form a Village Organisation (VO), while 30 to 40 Village Organisations band together to form Cluster Level Federation (CLF)

Formation of Self help groups- 

Bihta block is 35 kms away from Patna and is a growing township. It is well connected with roads and railways. There are couple of SHG formed and supported by Jeevika. The SHG group members are members of BRLPS Jeevika  and are  also part time workers there. As they belong to Palak SHG and Amit SHG, they took loan of Rs. 30,000 for the brass working 2018. Their annual earning from brass work is Rs. 360,000. The SHG members are engaged in doing work like flattening plates with hammer, giving shape to pots or bowls with chisels, and polishing utensils.  “We are in need of more capital so that we can set up our own brass work store and enhance our income” says Asha Devi member of SHG.

Sita Devi, Rinku Devi and Asha Devi earn their livelihood from brass work. They work for an agent who pays them according to their daily contribution to the work which includes cleaning, washing and shining the brass utensils intensively and passing them in for further work.

Market and Demand-

The brass utensils are sold at Sonpur Mela, Saras Mela and also supplied to Jharkhand. The SHG members supply the finished product to contractor who pays them very little and sometime will not pay if the work is not done. Rinku Devi informed that if the SHG is provided with direct market linkage with the retailers then they will not face exploitation from contractors and agents. “After hours of hard work in difficult conditions, there may be days where they are under paid or not paid at all” Informed a SHG Member.

Despite fast-changing lifestyle and habits, including changes in cooking utensils, brass utensils, considered auspicious, are still in high demand, particularly in rural and semi-urban areas. The utensils used for offering prayers and rituals, at home and in temples, are helping brass utensils manufacturing units in Bihta thrive. More demand is a positive sign for manufacturers as well as for workers, as they get to earn more. Through the year there is demand for brass utensils, but it peaks during the traditional marriage seasons, locally known as lagan, which is usually held in March during spring, April-May during summer and November-December during winter. There is a tradition of giving brass utensils to daughters in marriage.

There are few units run from homes, shops and workshops in the bylanes of Bihta. The prime requirement for the small scale units like Bihta is to have uninterrupted power supply, capital to buy implements and raw material, training and skills, marketing arrangements to reach out to urban area.

Traditional Process-

The lengthy process of making of brass utensils start with melting of raw material, molding it into nuggets, flattening and shaping them. Most of the work is done manually. Though there are some machines in few units. These use earthen stoves buried in the ground to control temperature for heating the plates before shaping them. Designs are still made by master craftsmen with details having been passed orally through generations.

Way forward

Jeevika is focusing on imparting trainings on financial Management and how to reinvest their profit and make business plan so that their business can be a success.

There is also a need to provide loans to the SHG members to enable them to buy raw material and meet the expenses that go in the unit. Jeevika has provided interest free loans to SHG members.

There are lessons to be learnt from Districts of Mirzapur, Moradabd of UP where traditional craftmanship of brassware has been taken up in a big way. The brasswares from these districts are exported and the designs are as per the trends.

There is a need to modernize the units so that they can achieve efficiency and competitiveness in terms labour, power supply, designs of utensils etc.

Jeevika may also consider imparting specialized training in making brasswares, artefacts and designs which are in demand in  urban areas. Collaboration with the Institutes like NIFT and NID can be worked out to have training in designs so that people are encouraged to undertake brassmaking not only for livelihood but also to build competencies to export these products.

Conclusion: 
The traditional Brass industry of Bihta and adjoining blocks need to be promoted. Jeevika has done exemplary work of empowering women of Bihta block by giving loan which has enabled them to secure livelihood by making utensils. However much needs to be done  to scale up this craftsmanship by providing skills, making business plans, aggregating the produce and negotiating, understanding markets and accordingly taking right kind of designs and making them for urban markets

BEISEI

'NEVER LET ME GO' BY KAZUO ISHIGURO - BOOK REVIEW

'We didn't have to look into your souls. We had to see if you had souls at all.' - Miss Emily

 COVER

The book has more than one cover. The latest cover of the book has the movie still where Andrew Garfield and Carey Mulligan are photographed running towards Clevedon Pier. The wood - like walkway has lamps on both the sides.

RELEASED : 2005

AUTHOR

Man Booker Prize winner, Kazuo Ishiguro, a British author and screenwriter, was born on 8th November 1954 in Nagasaki Japan. His family later shifted its base to England when he was very young. He Graduated with Honors degree in English and Philosophy from University of Kent and did his Master’s from the University of East Anglia creative writing course.

 Besides winning the Man Booker for his noted novel, ‘The Remains of the Day’, he was also 4 times nominated for Man Booker Prize. 

He was awarded Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize in 1982 for ‘A Pale View of Hills’, OBE in 1995 and Chevalier de l’Orde des Arts et des Lettres in 1998.

Some of his notable works are ‘The Remains of the Day’, ‘Never Let Me Go’, ‘A Pale View of Hills’ and ‘When We Were Orphans’.

GENRE 
Sci-fi, Dystopia, drama

WRITING STYLE 
Ishiguro uses a descriptive and narrative style of writing. In the book, he tells the story through the protagonist, Kathy. 

NOVEL - SUMMARY
Set in 1980’s in utopic Hailsham, an imaginary Residential school based in England, is a story about three friends - Ruth, Tommy and Kathy H.

The book begins in 1990’s with Kathy narrating the story from the time gone by (1980’s) and recollecting the days she spent with Ruth and Tommy simultaneously. The story deals with love, friendship, uncertainties, loss and grief.

The school is situated away from the hustle bustle of the city. The school has an art gallery where the paintings made by students are taken to. The students do not know the reason behind their paintings being taken to the gallery. 

The students of Hailsham are told that they are special but aren’t told why. They are all kept in dark until they reach their adulthood. After their 18th birthday, Kathy, Ruth and Tommy move out of the school and start an independent life. They eventually feel shattered and lost once they are confronted with reality.

They all ‘complete’. They, at Hailsham, unlike the students of other schools, are trained to become organ donors. While Kathy goes on to become a ‘carer’, Ruth and Tommy become ‘donors’. 
What does the store have for them?

CHARACTERS
KATHY : A protagonist, Kathy H.  is a sensible and a reserved lady who enjoys her own company.

RUTH : Ruth, contrary to Kathy, is a dominating and extroverted person likes to be surrounded by people. She comes across as haughty and selfish. She tries too hard to be like her seniors, Chrissy and Rodney.

TOMMY : Tommy is a shy kid who is bullied for his short temperament.

MY STAND
Worth a read

STARDUST

'WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN' : LEAVING THE AUDIENCE PUZZLED - MOVIE REVIEW

'Why would I not understand the context? I am the context!'

                                                                                               -'We Need to Talk About Kevin'

                                                        .REMARKABLE MOVIE.

'We Need To Talk About Kevin'.
Honestly, I'm speechless!

This is one of the movies I always wanted to watch. I watched it somewhere around Christmas last year. I am overly obsessed with this 

SUMMARY 

The movie is based on a sour between Kevin Khatchadourian and Eva Khatchadourian. It was screened at Cannes Festival 2011. The former had been a difficult kid since childhood who, as a baby, cried incessantly and the latter had a hard time raising him. Kevin, later in the movie, goes on to commit a massacre for which, he was certainly put behind the bars. The movie consists of flashbacks.

Tilda Swinton won awards like BAFTA and Golden Globe Award.  Swinton and Ezra Miller have delivered a Stellar performance. 

UTOPIA

 

           UTOPIA, UTOPIA, WHERE ART   THOU?

WHEN BAICHUNG BHUTIA AND ANIL KUMBLE VISITED JAIPUR (Zee Jaipur Literature Festival 2016)

Meeting the 'Sikkimese Sniper' A.K.A Baichung Bhutia had always been one of my biggest dreams. 

It was confirmed that Baichung Bhutia and Anil Kumble will be visiting the Festival (JLF 2016). I was thrilled post - confirmation news. I had been waiting eagerly to meet him since the day I got the news.

Anil Kumble(Second from left) and Baichung Bhutia (Third from Left).
COURTESY : Google

As I was volunteering once again for Jaipur Literature Festival 2016 (JLF 2016), unlike last year, I was assigned another venue (Narayan Niwas) which was 10 minutes away from the main venue (Diggi Palace).
The venue he had his interactive session was the latter venue (i.e. Diggi Palace). As soon as I came to know about it, I was little sad as my chances of meeting him were zero (because I was placed at another venue from where I wouldn't have gotten permission to go to the main venue to meet him).

So close yet so far. 

I told my co - volunteer cum friend how I wanted to meet Baichung. She told me she's met him once in Kolkata when Bhutia was on a tour. I got to know that he frequently visits Kolkata. She also told me that to her, he came across as a very reserved and silent person.

She (my friend) promised to make me meet him whenever Baichung is in Kolkata and only if we're lucky enough to spot him or meet him. 


I'm eagerly looking forward to that day. HAHA.