FINDING PLURALITY IN PATNA
Opening this month, the Bihar Museum Biennale will highlight the state’s ethics and aesthetics
After a year-long delay, the first edition of the Bihar Museum Biennale will finally kick off on March 22. On till March 28, the biennale has been organised by the department of arts, culture and youth affairs, government of Bihar and will be held at Patna’s Bihar Museum, inaugurated in 2015. “This global biennale that was to open in March 2020 suffered because there was a complete ban on international travel,” says project director Dr Alka Pande. So, the organisers had to reimagine the biennale in a virtual way.
“Though there is a loss in the aesthetic experience in the virtual space, one of the significant changes that have come about in the cultural world in 2020 is the advent of technology,” adds Pande. This has helped the Bihar Museum Biennale build a truly international event. In fact, during the course of the seven days, especially curated virtual tours of the participating national and international museums will be streamed online as well as at the Bihar Museum.
Meanwhile, visitors at the Bihar Museum will have the opportunity to attend a curated, audio-guided tour of the highlights of the collection and will be able to explore two curated exhibitions—on the ‘Making of the Bihar Museum’ by leading architect Rahul Gore, and another highlighting the rich collections of Bihar’s 19 local state museums.
The meta narrative of the biennale is ‘Bihar, India and the world’. “It is one of the most plural states in India, where many cultures from within the subcontinent coalesce,” says Pande. “Dr Rajendra Prasad, India’s first president had said, ‘if you know the history of Bihar, you also know the history of India’.” Guru Gobind Singh was born in Patna, Nalanda, an ancient Mahavihara that once served as a renowned centre of learning, and the Buddhist pilgrimage site Bodh Gaya are located here. “Islamic ideology thrived here. I call Bihar the melting pot of Indian cultural traditions,” says Pande. The Bihar Museum illustrates this rich history, and the biennale is an extension of this very dialogue. ■