Meera Thakur

Crafter

Meera Thakur from Bihar in India practices and teaches sikki grass craft. She has received the Seal of Excellence for Handicrafts from UNESCO and the Nari Shakti Puraskar.

Career

Meera Thakur was born in Umri, Madhubani in Bihar, India. At the age of four she started to learn sikki grass craft from her mother, making adornments, vases and boxes.^[1] Sikki is a grass only found in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, which gives a golden fibre.^[2] Thakur lives in Madhubani, where she runs Hastakala Vikas Kendra, an organization which trains disadvantaged women in craftwork.^[2]^[3] It has set up the Folk Art Handicraft Training Centre.^[4]

Awards and recognition

The Delhi Crafts Council gave Thakur the Bal Shilpi Artist award in 1988 and she received the Seal of Excellence for Handicrafts from UNESCO in 2005.^[1]^[5] She was presented with the Nari Shakti Puraskar on International Women's Day 2022.^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b Dhiman, Ramesh K. (16 December 2005). "Lifestyle". The Tribune. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
^ ^a ^b Bhatia, Gaurav (3 December 2012). "Creations of sikki grass draw visitors". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 4 April 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
^ "29 get Nari Shakti Awards". The Tribune. 9 March 2022. Archived from the original on 11 March 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
^ ^a ^b Kainthola, Deepanshu (8 March 2022). "President Presents Nari Shakti Puraskar for the Years 2020, 2021". Tatsat Chronicle. Archived from the original on 9 March 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
^ "मधुबनी की मीरा को राष्ट्रपति ने किया सम्मानित, यूनेस्को सील ऑफ एक्सीलेंस अवॉर्ड मिला था 2005 में". Bihar Express. 11 March 2022. Archived from the original on 4 April 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.