– Md. Sami Ahmad
Panta, Feb. 18: National Children Award winner Mohammad Hussain was felicitated by the Patna district magistrate of Patna Shirsat Kapil Ashok on Saturday. Seventeen-year-old Hussain is a resident of the Patthar ki Masjid area of east Patna. He makes toys from waste material and natural products.
He received the award for his exceptional skills in handcrafted arts under the Art and Culture category from the President of India Droupadi Murmu on January 22.
The Patna district administration, in a statement, said the award conferred to Hussain is a matter of honour for Patna and Bihar.
He is one of the 19 children who were bestowed with this prestigious award called Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar. This award is given to children aged between five and eighteen years in six categories- Art and Culture, Bravery, Innovation, Education, Social Service and Sports. Hussain has won several accolades in state and national-level competitions. His father is a file binder while her mother is involved in sewing work.
Hussain imparts training in handicrafts and painting to the children of his neighborhood and slum areas.
Hussain has been getting training in handicrafts from the Bihar government-run Kilkari Bal Bhavan for the last six years. He has learnt many handicrafts from the summer camps of Kilkari. He has shown his skills in making useful products from waste material with natural things during state and national level competitions.
He has been awarded for handicrafts by the Government of India. He has shown his art in an online national Rangoli competition during Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav in 2021. He got a gold medal award for his indigenous toys during a national art competition in 2022. Last year he presented his indigenous toys to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha’ programme.
Hussain is pursuing his Intermediate in Sciences course in the final year. He has a dream to study at the National Institute of Design (NID) and learn more about designing toys and making such indigenous toys which are fast becoming extinct.
