Airport Authority of India (AAI) is set to start an art gallery on the Gaya airport premises to encourage budding artists.

For starter, a panel of four artists - Birendra Kumar Thakur, Kumari Nidhi, Minesh Kumar oil painting and Tanuja - will display their work at the gallery. Thakur used to be deputy chief inspector of factories (IAS officer rank) with the Jharkhand government. He is retired now. Nidhi is a deaf and mute girl who was made brand ambassador of Gaya district during the recently concluded Assembly elections, thanks to then district magistrate Sanjay Kumar Agarwal's efforts. She pursues painting. Minesh Kumar specialises in oil painting.

"It is a wonderful step as it would promote new artists," Thakur said over the phone from his Dhanbad home. "I specialise in making wood collage, sculptures and madhubani paintings. My painting exhibitions were organised in 1975, during the JP movement. I had joined the movement just after finishing engineering from Birla Institute of Technology, Sindri. My work is priced between Rs 55,000 and Rs 4 lakh."

He went on to talk about his accomplishments.

"I have prepared a wooden portrait of former President APJ Abdul Kalam and would donate it to the National Gallery of Art in New Delhi," he added. "Making wooden portraits is very difficult. I have made a portrait of Swami Vivekanand that would be presented to the Prime Minister during his proposed visit to Bokaro."

Gaya airport director Dilip Kumar said: "We are going to start the gallery by next week. We had talked to the artists in August. The art work displayed would include every kind, from sculptures to paintings. The artists will decide on the prices. AAI will take a token fee of 10 per cent of the sale value and the remaining amount will be paid to the artist."

"Primarily, we have prepared the panel of four artists but in future if the number increases, artists would be provided opportunities on a rotation basis," he added. "Most of the flights from Gaya airport connect to Buddhist countries. The tourists arriving here would come to know about the art and culture of Bihar."

AAI senior manager (commercial) Dinesh Patel said: "We have made a 20ft by 15ft space near the terminal building for the gallery. It will be near the entry and the exit points so as to grab the attention of tourists."

Annulment

The Delhi-Gaya-Varanasi flight developed technical fault and was cancelled after landing at Gaya airport on Wednesday.