After ages, Bareilly finally got its world-famous jhumka and people couldn’t be happier. So, after the successful installation of this beautiful piece of art, the Uttar Pradesh authorities have decided to develop a ‘Bansuri Chowk’ in Pilibhit.
But, hang on. Do you know why a ‘Bansuri Chowk’? Well, for starters Pilibhit is well known for its handmade bamboo flutes. From ordinary straight-blow flutes to side-blown or transverse flutes, Pilibhit has been manufacturing a variety of top-quality flutes for ages.
According to a report by News18, a survey will be conducted to chose a prominent place in the city to develop the ‘Bansuri Chowk’, Divisional Commissioner Ranvir Prasad said. The project will highlight the ‘150-year-old industry’ manufacturing the Indian musical instrument. It will fall under the Uttar Pradesh government’s enterprising one-district-one-product (ODOP) program that aims to encourage indigenous products and crafts in the state.
“But before we showcase it to the world, we need to make the craft and its connection with the city popular among its own residents,” the officer was quoted saying. The beautiful flutes are mainly crafted by Muslim artisans. And, this intriguing idea came after Bareilly’s 14-feet high jhumka garnered positive attention from the public, reports Hindustan Times.
“As the embroidery on Bareilly’s ‘jhumka’ promotes its handicraft industry, apart from being a tourist attraction, authorities hope ‘bansuri’ too will play the dual role of becoming a landmark of Pilibhit city as well as promote its traditional flute industry,” the officer was quoted saying.
He also mentioned that they are open to suggestions from people on how to make the campaign more effective and popular. The handcrafted flutes are made with great precision. “We make various types of flutes from bamboo brought all the way from Silchar in Assam,” flute-maker Shafat Khan was quoted saying.
The musical instrument, which is high in demand abroad, accounts for 90 percent of the flutes manufactured in India as per a conservative estimate. People from the US and European countries have shown great interest in the Indian musical instrument.
Well, we hope the ‘Bansuri Chowk’ will be just as popular as the 14-feet high ‘jhumka’.