It is a tale of two cities sharing the same name but separated by thousands of miles from one another. Patna, the state capital of Bihar, has a namesake in the faraway Scotland which owes its name to the eastern Indian city.
A young minister in the Nitish Kumar government is now trying to establish the links between the two places through cultural exchanges in view of their historic links.
Rural Development Minister Nitish Mishra, who has just returned from a ten-day trip to Great Britain, said that he was trying to forge cultural ties between the two Patnas located in different parts of the world.
Mishra, who had gone to Britain on an invitation of the British High Commission earlier this month, said that very few people in India were aware of the fact that a place called Patna existed even in Scotland.
"I came to know that a village called Patna was founded in East Ayrshire in Scotland way back in 1802 by William Fullarton whose father was an employee of the East India Company," he said.
Mishra stated that Fullarton was born in Patna and he decided to name a village in his native Scotland after his birthplace in 1802. "I subsequently came to know that there was a lot of curiosity among the people of Scottish Patna about the Indian Patna because of their common name," he said. "That is why I decided to explore the possibility of connecting the two Patnas through tourism and cultural exchanges."
Mishra, who is the son of three-term Bihar Chief Minister Dr Jaganath Mishra, said that he got a chance to do something in this regard during his recent visit to Scotland. "I discussed the idea of having cultural exchanges between the two Patnas with the Scottish Minister for External Affairs and International Development Hamza Yousaf among other things," he said. "We discussed the possibility of bringing delegations of people from one place to another. I found the response quite encouraging from his side in this regard."
The Bihar minister, who has been a Chevening scholar, said that he also mooted this idea with the Indian tourism officials in London. He said that he could not visit the Scottish Patna because of his hectic schedule but he had been told that many of its residents were keen on visiting Patna in Bihar.
The British-educated Mishra, who had studied global political economy at the University of Hull in England prior to joining politics in Bihar, said that cultural exchanges would enable the people from the two Patnas to get to know each other and explore the two places."
Unlike the Bihar capital which has a population of more than 20 lakh people at present, the Scottish Patna is said to be a quiet place, about 650 km north of London, with a population of only 3,500. Located between the Carrick and Kyle districts in the East Ayrshire, it is famous for its river Doon which flows through the village.
In 2008, Mishra had been voted as the Pepsi-MTV Youth Icon of the Year for his "exemplary" work during the Kosi flood relief and rescue operations in Bihar. He was the Disaster Management minister then.
A young minister in the Nitish Kumar government is now trying to establish the links between the two places through cultural exchanges in view of their historic links.
Rural Development Minister Nitish Mishra, who has just returned from a ten-day trip to Great Britain, said that he was trying to forge cultural ties between the two Patnas located in different parts of the world.
Mishra, who had gone to Britain on an invitation of the British High Commission earlier this month, said that very few people in India were aware of the fact that a place called Patna existed even in Scotland.
"I came to know that a village called Patna was founded in East Ayrshire in Scotland way back in 1802 by William Fullarton whose father was an employee of the East India Company," he said.
Mishra stated that Fullarton was born in Patna and he decided to name a village in his native Scotland after his birthplace in 1802. "I subsequently came to know that there was a lot of curiosity among the people of Scottish Patna about the Indian Patna because of their common name," he said. "That is why I decided to explore the possibility of connecting the two Patnas through tourism and cultural exchanges."
Mishra, who is the son of three-term Bihar Chief Minister Dr Jaganath Mishra, said that he got a chance to do something in this regard during his recent visit to Scotland. "I discussed the idea of having cultural exchanges between the two Patnas with the Scottish Minister for External Affairs and International Development Hamza Yousaf among other things," he said. "We discussed the possibility of bringing delegations of people from one place to another. I found the response quite encouraging from his side in this regard."
The Bihar minister, who has been a Chevening scholar, said that he also mooted this idea with the Indian tourism officials in London. He said that he could not visit the Scottish Patna because of his hectic schedule but he had been told that many of its residents were keen on visiting Patna in Bihar.
The British-educated Mishra, who had studied global political economy at the University of Hull in England prior to joining politics in Bihar, said that cultural exchanges would enable the people from the two Patnas to get to know each other and explore the two places."
Unlike the Bihar capital which has a population of more than 20 lakh people at present, the Scottish Patna is said to be a quiet place, about 650 km north of London, with a population of only 3,500. Located between the Carrick and Kyle districts in the East Ayrshire, it is famous for its river Doon which flows through the village.
In 2008, Mishra had been voted as the Pepsi-MTV Youth Icon of the Year for his "exemplary" work during the Kosi flood relief and rescue operations in Bihar. He was the Disaster Management minister then.
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