Students perform at the Kilkari event on Wednesday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Kilkari Bihar Bal Bhavan organised an event at Kalidas Rangalaya on Wednesday to promote the folk culture of the state.

Kilkari is an initiative of the government to encourage creativity among students through music, dance and other extracurricular activities.

Director of Doordarshan, Krishna Deo Kalpit, was a guest at the event. “The programme is an amalgamation of Bihari folk music such as kajri, sohar, jihjhiya and cheh masha. Through such programmes, we can revive our folk music and dance, which have lost their popularity among the youth,” he said.

A skit, Bihar Ke Indradhanusi Rang, was also performed at the function. Shanti Jain, who has also written the Bihar Rajya Geet, said: “This is the age to mould children to enhance their creativity. Both academics and extracurricular activities are important.”

Rajasthani folk dance by members of Maianpura Centre was a hit among audience. Sunita, a student who was waiting to perform, said: “This is the first time I am going to perform before a crowd. I have worked hard for a month andwill try to do my best.” The students recited poems, folk dance on Kajri, Cheh Masa and Sohar. Rural props such as pitchers, earthen lamps, Madhubani paintings added rural flavour. “Keeping the theme in mind, we decided to use rural props and vibrant colours for the costumes. The students were unaware about regional languages. So, we explained the language to them and then choreographed the dance,” said Shalini Bhaskar, a dance teacher at Kilkari.

Students from Begampur, Mianpura and Golghar performed at the programme. Jyoti Parihar, director of Kilkari, said: “We have tried to bring all types of folk dance and songs on a single platform so that the audience get to know about the rich culture of the state.”