Festivals of Bihar

India has had a tradition of festivals from time immemorial. From national festivals to social ones, people come closer, enjoy and forget their differences. Festivals always break the monotony of day-to-day life and inspire us to promote love and brotherhood and to work for the upliftment of the society. Bihar as a part of this ancient land is no exception and has a long list of celebrations.
Chatth Puja
Almost all civilizations have worshipped the ‘sun god’, but it has a unique form in Bihar. Chatth Puja is the only occasion where the setting sun is worshipped.
The people of Bihar have immense faith in this festival. It is celebrated twice a year. Once in Chaitra (according to the Hindu calendar) which falls in March and in Kartik which falls in November. For this 4-day festival, people maintain sanctity and purity from even a month ahead. People celebrate this festival with immense faith the folk songs sung in the honour of ‘Surya Dev’ and ‘Chatti Maiyya’ can be heard at every nook and corner the sweetness of the songs lets you feel the holiness of the festival.

Women fast for the good of their family and the society. Regardless of the social status, to celebrate this festival only the faith counts. Though it is a festival of the Hindus, some of the Muslims also participate actively in the puja.


Sama-Chakeva
It is during the winter season that the birds from the Himalayas migrate towards the plains. With the advent of these colorful birds, celebration of sama–chakeva is done. This is a festival especially celebrated in mithila. mithilanchal dedicates this festival to the celebration of the brother sister relationship. It represents the tradition of this land as well as the art of making idols. This festival starts with the welcoming of the pair of birds sama-chakeva. Girls make clay idols of various birds and decorate them in their own traditional ways. Various rituals are performed and the festival joyfully ended with the ‘vidai’ of sama and with a wish that these birds return to this land the next year.

Ramnavami
A Hindu festival celebrated in all parts of the country. This is the auspicious day when lord RAMA was born. People celebrate it observing fasts and offering prayers in his honour.
Makar-Sankranti
Also known as Tila Sankranti, the festival marks the beginning of the summer season. People believe that from this day on, the days become longer and the heat of the sun also increases. Every year it is observed on the 14th of January. People celebrate it by giving offerings to the poor.
Bihula
Bihula is a prominent festival of eastern Bihar especially famous in Bhagalpur district. There are many myths related to this festival. People pray to goddess Mansa for the welfare of their family.
Madhushravani
This festival is celebrated all over mithilanchal with much enthusiasm. It is celebrated in the month of Sawan (Hindu calendar), which falls around August. This festival carries a message with itself. It teaches how to weave together religion and tradition in day-to-day life.
Basant Panchami, Shivratri, Raksha Bandhan, Holi, Durga Puja, Deepawali, Id, Bakrid, Christmas and many more festivals however big or small are celebrated with enthusiasm all over this landmass.

Bihar's Historical Place

Bihar's Historical Place
PROMINENT BUDDHIST SPOTS
BODHGAYA
The place where Lord Buddha attained the Supreme enlightenment. The famous Mahabodhi Temple, a World Heritage, stands here.
Gaya
KESARIA
The World's highest Buddhist Stupa (Pagoda)
East Champaran
RAJGIR
First Buddhist Council was held here
Nalanda
NALANDA
Remains of ancient Nalanda University
Nalanda
VAISHALI
Place of world's First Republic / Second Buddhist Council was held here
Vaishali
VIKRAMSHILA
Remains of ancient Vikramshila University
Bhagalpur
AURANGABAD
Traces of Buddhist shrines are found among the rocks. Chaityas and large " Vihars " or Buddhist monasteries once stood there.
Aurangabad
LAURIA NANDANGARH
Ashokan pillar
West Champaran
ARERAJ
Ashokan pillar
East Champaran
GUNERI
Buddhist statues are found here
Aurangabad
PROMINENT JAIN
VASOKUND
Believed to be the birth place of Lord Mahavir, the 24th Jain Tirthankar
Muzaffarpur
RAJGIR
Jain Temples
Nalanda
NALANDA
Jain Temples
Nalanda
KUNDALPUR
Do
Nalanda
LACHHAUR
Do
Jamui
PAWAPURI
The place where 24th Jain Tirthankar, Lord Mahavir, was cremated
Nalanda
MANDAR GIRI
Important Jain pilgrimage
Banka
Bisram
Jain pilgrimage in and around
Bhojpur
PROMINENT SIKH SPOTS
PATNA
Birth place of the 10th Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh Jee
Patna
PROMINENT ISLAMIC SPOTS
BIHARSHARIF
Prominent religious center
Nalanda
PH ULWARI SHARIF
Prominent religious center
Patna
MANER SHARIF
Associated with Sufi Saint Hazrat Yahya Maneri
Patna
PROMINENT HINDU PILGRIMAGE
GAYA
Ancient Temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu/ Here the Hindus offer oblation to there ancestors
Gaya
sultanganj
Prominent religious center
Bhagalpur
rajgir
Prominent religious center / Also famous for many Hot Springs
Nalanda
HARIHAR
kSHETRA mELA
S onepur
Prominent religious center / Famous for the world's biggest cattle fair- Harihar Kshetra
Saran
mandar
Prominent religious center
Banka
sitamarhi
Birth place of legendary Sita
Sitamarhi
thawe
Ancient Goddess Durga ( Bhawani ) Temple
Siwan
Phullahar
Prominent religious center associated with legendary Sita
Madhubani
ami
Ancient Goddess Durga Temple
Saran
mahishi
Ancient Ugratara ( Goddess Durga ) Temple
Saharsa
MUNDESHWARI TEMPLE,KAIMUR
Ancient Goddess Durga Temple
Kaimur
SITAKUND
Prominent religious center
Munger
singheshwar
Ancient Shiva Temple
Madhepura
deo
Ancient Sun Temple
Aurangabad
bari patan devi
Prominent religious center
Patna
PROMINENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES
bodhgaya
Many archaeological sites
Gaya
Nalanda
Remains of the ancient Nalanda University
Nalanda
Rajgir
Many archaeological sites in and around
Nalanda
Maner
Archaeological sites
Patna
barabar
3rd.Century B.C. caves
Jehanabad
Deo
Ancient Sun temple
Aurangabad
Gaya
Ancient Vishnu Temple
Gaya
Badki Goria
bhabhua
Cave paintings
Kaimur
>LAURIA
Ashokan pillar
West Champaran
NANDANGARH
Ancient Buddhist Stupa
West Champaran
Patna
Many archaeological sites in and around
Patna
Shershah mausoleum
Do
Rohtas
Vaishali
Ashokan Pillar and Stupas, etc
Vaishali
Vikramshila
Remains of the ancient Vikramshila University
Bhagalpur
FLORA & FAUNA
RAJGIR
Hills & forests, Hot water springs
Nalanda
KAKOLAT
Water fall, Hills & forests
Nawada
BHABHUA
Hills & forests, Cave painting, Streams, Water falls
Kaimur
BHIMBANDH
Hills & forests, Streams, Hot water springs and Wild life
Munger

Bihar:Arts;Muslim Calligraphy;Dancing Boys or Bhakliyas;Bhajanias & Kirtaniyas;Classical Music;Folk Songs;Folk Dances

The Maithils, however, succeeded to some extent in preserving their rich art traditions. Their Brahmins and Kayasthas, especially their womenfolk, continued their traditional practices which kept alive the ordinary domestic arts of painting earthen pots and mud walls with gods and goddesses. Since the Muslim Unitarian was hardly, if ever, attracted towards such practices, he felt no scruples in laying violent hands on those which the delicate hands of the artist had so deftly produced.
Muslim Calligraphy
Islam gave to India not only arabesques, the style of decoration with intertwined leaves of trees and scroll-work full of foliage and flowers, but also paper, which was imported from China. The people of Mithila and Magadh did not immediately give up their pal-leaves or bhojapatra, but gradually gave in and started using paper. The oldest paper manuscripts in Bihar are therefore as old as the twelfth century A.D. The Bari Dargah of H. Sharf-ud-din Ahmad Maneri contains the earliest (July 1222) and most artistic Tughra inscription in Arabic Naskh. On a slab lying within the enclosure of H. Fazlullah Gosain's shrine in Daira, Biharsharif, is found yet another inscription (8 March 1265) in the Naskh style. There are several other inscriptions of this date in Biharsharif town. The Arabic inscriptions (1309,1315) of Hatim Khan, one of the Governors of Bihar, and those of Firoz Shah Tughluq, which are mostly in 'Thulth', represent the style and calligraphy then in vogue. All these calligraphic inscriptions are works of art. The letters are carved in relief and are exquisite in form.

Dancing Boys or Bhakliyas
In early nineteenth-century Bihar, certain professional classes alone and rich men extended generous patronage to musicians, especially to superior female artistes who were allowed small endowments, cultivated music. There was also a class of dancing boys called Bhakliyas. These dancers, who had no fixed abode, came to Bihar to celebrate Holi and in the month of Chaitra (March-April) danced and sang in honour of Radha and Krishna. The Hindu Kathaks went about in groups of three or four and sang with tambura, sarangi, majira and dholak accompaniment, mostly from Jaideva's Geet Govinda. They sang common songs and love songs of Bengal as well.
Bhajanias & Kirtaniyas
While the Yajaks were employed at funerals, the Bhajaniyas and Kirtaniyas were employed by Brahmans to sing holy songs after the mourning prayer. Roshan Chouki parties were employed to play on pipes and drums and also to accompany Muharram processions. The pamarias, men and women, who were mostly Muslims, thronged to sing where marriages were being held and births had taken place and were satisfied only when they were given a handsome remuneration. Most women sang, and still sing at marriage ceremonies.
Classical Music
After the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, classical music revived at Patna where the rulers and their satellites patronized the classical types. It was on this account that there was a regular inflow of artistes from the neighbouring provinces, Delhi, Lucknow and Benaras. Of the various classical forms of music the one in vogue since the time of Akbar was the Dhrupad. Wen Mohammad Shah succeeded Aurangzeb, in whose reign the Dhrupad had suffered a setback along with other forms, the form received an impetus and patronage, for Mohammad Shah was himself an exponent of the Dhrupad and patron of the Khayal style, which was popularized by such Banarasi exponents as Sadarang and Adarang who, it may be surmised, might have visited Patna and been instrumental in getting the Khayal style of singing introduced in Bihar. Since there was a close cultural contact between Banaras and Patna, it would not be wrong to assume that the Banaras School might have influenced the classical styles of music at Patna.
The craze of Patna, however, was the Thumri, which, it is said, received a distinct personality from the gayikas (singers) of Patna City about the middle of the nineteenth century. Besides the Thumri, the gayikas and other local musicians specialized in Ghazal and Dadra. The Chaiti was a native of Patna and it has had its own folk appeal. Kajri has always been popular. The late Ustad Aman Khan of Rampur, who had made Patna his home, was a celebrated master of the Dhrupad and Dhamar styles of classical music. Badi (Elder) Zohra Bai sang Khayal, Thumri and Tappa. Among other artistes were Baurahi Kaneez, Gul Mohammad Khan, Roshan Ara Begum, Haider, Imam Bandi and Ramdasi, Ghafoor Khan, a disciple of Ganpat Rai alias Bhaiyaji of Gwalior, was a celebrated harmonium player. Originally a Veena player (Veenakar), Bhaiyaji had taken to harmonium much later in life. Together with the late Kesho Maharaj, who played on the Pakhawaj and, later on Tabla, he inspired Bihari amateurs to cultivate music.
The nawabs and zamindars in the countryside were also great patrons of classical music. On festive occasions, such as Holi, Dussehra and Diwali and on the occasions of marriages mahfils were arranged and musicians and dancers were invited to give demonstration of their art in gaily decorated pandals. Thus they built up a healthy art tradition, which has kept classical music alive to this day in Bihar. Some of the most notable classical artistes of Bihar in the second quarter of the present century were: Pt. Rameshwar Pathak, a sitar player from Darbhanga Raj, Pt. Deepraj, a Dhrupad singer from Bettia Raj and Magan Khwas, a singer of Khayal and Thumri, from the Panchgachhia Estate, Raghu Jha (d.1967) also from the Panchgachhia Estate, sang Khayal and Vidyapati sangeet. Ghana Ram of the Dumraon Estate had composed sargams or musical notations in ragas in a style that was unique. From time to time people of Bihar enjoyed a feast of classical music from the late Ustad Faiyaz Khan, Pt. Omkarnath Thakur, Pt. Vinayakrao Patwardhan, Pt. Narayanrao Vyas, Pt. Manhar Barve, D.V.Paluskar and others.
Folk Songs
Bihar amateurs all over the state mostly sing folk songs. Females in groups sing Jhumar or Barahmasa when they are engaged in paddy plantation. When grinding corn in "jata or chakki", they sing jatusari. Sohar is sung on the occasion of childbirth and Sumangali when marriage rites are to conclude.
Folk Dances
The folk-dance tradition in Bihar has distinct streams. The folk dances of Mithila are religious, social or sectarian. In the religious type, gods and goddesses are invoked through the dance, performed to the rhythm of folk songs and such musical instruments as the Dhol (drum), Pipahi (an instrument like the Shehnai), Pakhawaj and Danka. The Ram-Leela nach, Bhagat nach, Kirtaniya nach, Kunjawi nach, Naadi nach, Vidyapat nach and Puja Arti nach are all religious folk dances of Mithila. Songs and musical instruments accompany folk dances for men and the footwork of the dancers is in tune with the swar and Tal of the music. Some of the dances, exclusively for women are Jhijhiya nach, Jata-Jatin nach, Sama- Chakwa nach, etc. The only mixed group dance is the Saturi dance of Mithila, apart from the mixed folk dances of the tribal people. In the family dance, called Bakho nach, the husband and wife participate on the occasion of the birth of a child or on a similar joyous occasion. The different lower-caste groups have their own exclusive dances, such as Chamar natua, Kanala Mai nach, Dampha-Basuli nach (only for shoemakers), etc. In addition to these, there are also some other popular folk dance forms called Pamariya nach, Videshia nach, Kathputli nach, Launda nach and Dhobia nach. Launda, Pamaria and Dhobia dances are popular in the Bhojpuri speaking areas of Bihar. Only males perform Launda and Pamaria nach. Boys dressed in woman costumes and guises are a must on the marriage and other auspicious occasions. Dhobia nach is a popular community dance form performed on marriages and other auspicious occasions in the washer men's society of Bhojpur. Jharni dance is especially a Muslim community folk dance. Sad songs and depiction of grief and sorrow is the specialty of this dance form, which is performed on the eve of Muharram.

Bihar:Music

In places like Vaishali and Rajgir in ancient Bihar, beautiful girls acted as Nagar-Vadhus or town ornaments (courtesans). That they were not despised is clear from the fact that the Buddha himself accepted an invitation from, Amrapali, the chief courtesan of Vaishali. These Nagar-Vadhus, all experts in music and dancing, went out in ostentatious processions consisting of their retinue, lovers of art and admirers of beauty. Singing and dancing appear to have been the chief amusements of the age.
The Bhagavat religion, which dates from about 500 BC, was a force during the Maurya-Sunga epoch. The followers of this cult in Bihar did not depend on royal patronage as the Buddhists did, but they developed their proselytizing techniques rather aesthetically; making the fullest use of dance, drama, music, recitation and painting, as mentioned by Patanjali in his reference to the popular presentation of the Krishna legend. The Allahabad pillar inscriptions of Samudragupt point out that even princess in those days were educated in literature, the art of warfare and music. The poet, Bana has stated the same thing in the case of Harshavardhana. Women, too, were educated in several branches of learning, particularly in music and painting.
The regular history of Mithila music dates from Nanyadeva (1097-1133), a great patron of music and author of a standard work on this art. He developed the popular ragas on regular lines and influenced Mithila art to a considerable extent. Maithil musicians, who seem to have been more popular outside Bihar, enriched Nepalese music and carried the traditions of their land to Bengal and U.P. Singha Bhupal of Nepal, a writer on music, was, in fact, no other than a Mithila ruler of the fifteenth century. A still greater name is that of Jagadhara, the famous fifteenth century Maithil commentator of Malati-Madhav.
During the Muslim period, music and dance met with many setbacks in Bihar, for both music and dance were tabooed by diehards and puritans among the Muslims. For them dancing and singing were forbidden. But the Chistia and Firdausia orders of the Sufi saints paid little attention to such fanatical religious dictums. Hazrat Sharf-ud-din Ahmad Maneri, the famous saint of Bihar, was not averse to music, vocal or instrumental. The early Sufi saints of Bihar were all well acquainted with the art of Indian music. Folk songs and folk dances and religious songs of the Vaishnavas were also popular in medieval Bihar. Only the plastic and pictorial arts appear to have suffered considerably after the Muslim conquest. The uncompromising monotheism of the Muslim rulers did not permit anyone to make any kind of likeness of living beings.

BIHAR:Architecture

Islam brought to India the minars, domes, vaults and arches and an exclusive use of mortar and concrete. The mausoleum of Maqdum Shah Daulat at Maner, west of Patna, reminds us of the historic Mughal buildings at Delhi and Agra. Expressive of the mature artistic taste of the designer of the mausoleum are its excellent carvings; its Hindu symbols of elephants, bulls and lotuses (which are not Islamic symbols) carved on its walls. The old Patna Collectorate building and the building with Doric and ionic columns facing south in the Patna College are but survivals of the medieval structures raised by the Dutch traders at Patna, however, is a twentieth-century representative of Muslim architecture.
Modern Architecture
In the nineteenth century, pucca houses with baked bricks, large in size, and mortar, lime, molasses and timber began to be constructed. The poorer section of the people used gilaba, rather than lime and mortar, and country tiles for their roofs. From about the twenties of the present century, cement and sand began to be used in place of mortar and lime. With the advancement of architectural knowledge, such as the principle of load distribution, people began to project porticos and balconies unsupported by pillars. Construction of buildings even at marshy places has now become possible and gigantic structures with deep iron foundations have come up in Bihar in recent years.

Eastern Medieval Pala Art

The period between the eighth and twelfth centuries in Bihar witnessed the rise of a great school of stone and bronze sculpture and manuscript painting under the patronage of the Pala kings. Nalanda in Magadh was the principal center of production. The Tibetan tradition, as recorded by Taranath, names Dhiman and Bitpalo as being the founders of the schools of cast-metal images, sculpture and a painting during the reigns of Dharmapala and Devapala. The Eastern School of Sculpture shows distinct signs of being a direct descendant of the plastic art of the Gupta period and in it were embodied and perpetuated the eastern features of the classical tradition, features like elegance, dignity, precision and sensuous serenity. In the eighth century, this sculpture exhibits a distinctive linear tendency mingled with a firm cut line and tight modeling. The ninth-century at pieces reveal both simplicity and restraint; in the tenth century they reveal elegance, sublimity and sobriety, but in the eleventh, they show traces of exhaustion and decline and emphasize detail at the expense of plastic conception'. This tendency is further accentuated in the twelfth century.
The Eastern school produced, besides a fair quantity of Vaishnava images, a series of bronze figures along with stone sculpture. Nalanda and Kurkihar were the main centers where the bronzes of the period were produced between the ninth and eleventh centuries. The art of metal casting attained a degree of excellence at Kurkihar (Kukkutapadagiri), a Buddhist center, and Nalanda unknown to other regions.

Ashokan Pillars and Sculptures

Of Ashoka's monolithic pillars, the finest perhaps is the lion crowned pillar at Lauriya Nandangarh in West Champaran, which consists of a polished block of sandstone, 10.1 meters long, with a capital nearly 2.13 meters in length. Two other inscribed pillars are found at Rampurwa and Lauriya Areraj (with a lion capital) in East Champaran, and a fourth at Basarh (Vaishali). All four were set up on the imperial road from Pataliputra to Nepal. The edicts of the emperor are inscribed on rock at the Dhauli Hill in Orissa and on a hill near Sasaram in Bihar.
To the Mauryan period also belong the caves in the Barabar Hills of Jehanabad. These are really chambers hewn out of solid rock, which served as hermitages. The skill with which the early Bihari mason could manipulate such intractable material as the hard granite of these hills is shown by the steely polish produced on the chiseled stone. Buddhistic statuary of a later date is common in the Gaya district. With the exception of the Greco-Buddhistic sculptures of Gandharva, these images are the only class of Indian Buddhistic art that has come down through the long possession of ages in a fair state of completeness. At Bodh Gaya, the oldest Buddhist memorial is a stone railing ornamented with friezes, panels and bosses, which display considerable artistic skill. The temple itself which has a tower 55 meters high, is a modern restoration carried out by the Government, but it is claimed that in its main features it reproduces the magnificent pane on which the Chinese pilgrim Huynh Tsiang gazed with rapt reverence and admiration in the seventh century. Here, too, is a large collection of stupas, which the pilgrims to this holy land left as memorials of their visits. They are of different sizes and extend over many centuries, beginning with the simple monolith of the early ages. The stupa was originally a copy in brick or stone of an earthen sepulchral tumulus and ending with the ornamental spire of the medieval period.
Few parts of India witnessed such remarkable efflorescence of art and architecture during the Gupta and late Gupta periods as the State of Bihar. The prominent role of Bihar in the domain of fine arts was due as much to the rich cultural heritage and genius of her people as to her material prosperity, assured by the dominant political status she enjoyed from c.500 B.C. to c. 600 A.D.
The Gupta emperors, all great patrons of art and culture, made Pataliputra the center of contemporary art. The excavations at Kumhrar (Patna) have yielded not only stone sculptures, but also a number of terracotta human and animal figurines, large stucco and terracotta plaques, representing figures of the Buddha, Mithunas, Gandharvas, etc. The shrine of Mani-naga at Rajgir, another specimen of Gupta art, was decorated with stucco sculptures of Ganesha, Vishnu, Nagas and Nagis. One of the Nagi sculptures is regarded as a masterpiece of Gupta art one of the loveliest creations in the eastern idiom of Gupta art for which Bihar is justly famous. Two Gupta Chaturmukha Lingams and a fine image of Kartikeya have been discovered at Vaishali.
The colossal bronze Buddha of Sultanganj, now preserved in the Birmingham Museum is by far the most monumental creation of Gupta art.
The fifth and sixth centuries in Bihar were thus remarkably creative. Even during early seventh century, the same creative momentum was witnessed and a number of creditable art-pieces in the classical eastern version were produced. Gradually, however, this creative vitality began to decline and give way to a dull, drowsy heaviness. The body conformed to the Gupta tradition, but the modeling lost its fluidity and suppleness, rendering the plastic surface coarse. The late Gupta sculptures of Nalanda reveal these tendencies.
The Chinese travelers, who came to India in the early fifth and seventh centuries, show how Bihar was studded with temples, stupas and monasteries. Vaishali, Nalanda, Bodhgaya, Rajgir and Patna had hundreds of monuments, largely Buddhist and occasionally Brahmanical and of other sects. The stupas were mostly of a cylindrical shape with a high base, consisting of more than one terrace. This is beautifully exemplified by the brick stupas of Giriak in the district of Nalanda and of Kesariya in East Champaran. Many clay toys and figurines, portraying gods and goddesses, animals and birds, charming females and amorous couples, the jester and the dancer, the dwarf and the groom, the acrobat and the foreigner have also been recovered from Vaishali, Nalanda and Patna. These beautiful forms belong to the Gupta and late Gupta periods. Places like Hajipur, Vaishali, Patna and Bhabhua in Bihar have yielded many gold coins of the Imperial Guptas, coins that are technically perfect and aesthetically elegant and compare well with the contemporary sculpture and painting in their refinement of modeling and in their assurance and delicacy of line.

The Bihari culture:Angika Culture, Bhojpuri Culture, Maithili Culture and Magahi Culture

Bihar is a land of diversities, contrasts, complexities and assemblage of inter-related units or objects. This becomes evident when one approached it with the considerations of its manifold geographical and physical features, climate and products.

It's multitudinous elements of populations, each with its own traditions, ethics, philosophy, manners and modes of life; its tongue and language with its own forms and phonetics, grammar and vocabularies; its beliefs and practices, and its religions, deeply rooted in the social milieu and woven in the texture of society and culture. The 'Bihari' culture can be divided into four geographical regions, namely- Angika Culture, Bhojpuri Culture, Maithili Culture and Magahi Culture.

However, in general, one who has seen the cultural scene in India in the decades preceding Independence and has been a witness to the resurgence since 1947 is likely to be impressed by certain trends today that were non-existent or latent in the first half of the century.

Like other states of the Indian Union, Bihar, too, has begun to play a vital and active role in promoting cultural forms and in providing opportunities to individual and group talent. One of the main features of the changed environment is a far greater mobility among cultural forms, whether of the performing arts or the fine and plastic arts. While this is applicable to Indian culture in general, it is no less true of Bihar's culture in particular. The Bihari artist, like his counterparts elsewhere in India, has begun to woo his own native folk forms and to protect not only his national heritage but also his national identity. With the advent of Independence and the opportunities he got for the appreciation of musical, dramatic and visual arts, he was filled with a sense of wonder at the bold, spontaneous and haunting beauty that lay un-noticed in rustic homes, village markets and forgotten jungles. Borrowings and adaptations from these are appearing as indicators in a voyage of the rediscovery of neglected selves. A corollary to this is that the distinction between the professional and amateur practitioners of the arts seems to be getting blurred, if not disappearing altogether, at least in some disciplines. That post-independence Bihar has many cultural achievements to its credit that cannot be doubted. Bihar took the lead in establishing the state academy of music, dance and drama even before the National Academy was set up.

Again with cooperation of All-India Fine Arts and Crafts Society, Bihar's own Shilpa Kala Parishad organized exhibitions on the regional festivals, such as the Vaishali festival.

The Bharatiya Nritya Kala Mandir at Patna is a training center, imparting training in the Kathakali style and also in Bharat Natyam.

Another art center is the famous Bindhyabasini Kala Mandir, which has specialized in collecting folk songs from different parts of the state, and imparts training to young girls. Of late, however, there has been a palpable slowing down of the programs of the performing arts.

Painting and handicrafts are still in an excellent form. Bihari craftsmen in general have excelled in terracotta, bamboo-work, seenki-work, kasida, pottery, stone-craft, textiles, etc. Mithila folk painters in particular have brought about a revolution in interior decoration and, may be, also in painting itself.

Though not much can be said about the pre-Aryan culture of Bihar, it is certain that the ancient inhabitants of this region knew the use of stone tools, for quite a number of Paleolithic tools have been discovered at different sites in Bihar, particularly in Munger, Patna and Gaya. The Man riverbed near Bhimbandh, adjacent to the Kharagpur hills in Munger district, has also yielded many Early Stone Age tools. The Paleolithic people, it seems, lived in natural caves and rock shelters on forest-clad hills and mountains, and hunted wild beasts and birds with their Paleolithic implements. Curiously enough, the implements they used resemble those of the Madras region both in form and material. The existence of Mesolithic tools in Bihar discovered in the course of explorations and excavations leaves little doubt that the inhabitants of this region during the Mesolithic age were also under a regular process of cultural development. The find of chips and flakes of flint, chert, etc., has been reported from various places. That these primitive people could make fine tools of stones like chert, chalcedonic, agate, crystal, etc., is amply borne out by modern archaeological excavations and researches. The discovery of geometric tools of different types, of black-and-red ware, of iron, etc., testifies to the fact that Chalcolithic cultures prevailed in Bihar in between 1000 and 700 BC, if not earlier. People made differently types of tools, such as axe, wedge, chisel, shouldered hoe and hammer stone, all bearing testimony to the prevalence of a non-Aryan culture in south Bihar.

The Neolithic and other prehistoric men of Bihar handed down their art tradition to their progeny in the historic period. Many structural relics are still in existence to fill up the gap separating the prehistoric men from their historic descendants. The remains of forts and other monuments at Rajgriha, the old Magadhan capital, though not of much artistic importance today, certainly belong to the pre-Buddhist period, probably to the Mahabharat period when Jarasanha ruled from this place.

The early Mauryan buildings and works of art were mostly wooden, except at Rajgriha, for wood was the basic material of Mauryan architecture. The pillars and fortifications of the ancient city of Pataliputra (500 to 320 B.C.) were all of wood and revealed workmanship of a high order. The absolute perfection of such work and those who executed them would find little indeed to learn in the field of their own art, could they return to earth today. Literary sources, both Sanskrit and Pali, furnish indubitable evidence of the existence of a highly developed art other than sculpture, in pre-Ashokan Magadh. From Greek accounts we learn of cities made of wood, while the celebrated Panini refers to Magadhan traders moving about with their stock of wooden pillars and stone slabs. Chandragupta's palace stood in its entire Mauryan splendor when Megasthenes visited the capital. The Greek ambassador found in the magnificent palace a series of hypostyle halls containing pillars of wood each of which was clasped around with vines embossed in gold and ornamented with designs of birds and foliage in gold and silver, thus excelling in magnificence the famous royal pleasances of Susa and Ecbatana. The city of Pataliputra ranged along the banks of the Ganges like an immense castellated breakwater, surrounded by a stupendous timber palisade, with loopholes for archers and protected externally by a wide and deep moat. At intervals were bastions with towers; over five hundred in number, and it was entered by as many as sixty-four gates. Within the walls was the royal palace, evidently a much more spacious and elaborate edifice than that erected by any previous ruler in the country.

A change in this pattern of architecture occurred when magnificent monuments executed in stone began to appear (322 to 185 B.C.) in Bihar during the Mauryan period itself. Numerous Buddhist texts refer to the existence of stone structures in Bihar during the days of the Buddha. The Parayana Sutta refers to the pashanaka or stone-made Chaitya or Rajgriha, the capital of Magadh. A palace of stone, according to Rhys Davids, is mentioned only once in the Jatakas. The Buddha, however, is said to have allowed his disciples to make use of stone not only in the basements of their halls, stairs, floors and walls, but also in the roofing of their houses.

The ancient Magadhans also knew the use of burnt bricks and of sudha or lime. Houses were provided with pillars, windows and stairs. The Jatakas are full of references to towns, palaces and pavilions, and we know that fortified cities and palaces had a wall around them interspersed with gateways and watchtowers and ditches outside. The cities had well-planned streets, and different classes of people occupied special quarters set apart for them. The walls of the buildings were often decorated with paintings, which included figures of human beings, creepers, flowers, animals and birds, mountains, sea etc.

Buddhist texts also refer to chaityas of different kinds and forms. Of these, Manimala Chaitya of Magadh, Manibhadra Chaitya of Mithila, and the Punabhadra Chaitya of Champa were famous. It was, however, the stupa that formed an important part of the architectural achievement of Mauryan Bihar. The word stupa literally means something raised, a mound, and came to be used as a Buddhist architectural term for a mound, and came to be used as a Buddhist architectural term for a mound containing the relics of the Buddha- his ashes, bones or tooth- or those of the famous Buddhist saints and teachers. Ashoka was the builder of cities, stupas, viharas excavated in hard rocks, rock-cut chaitya-halls, palaces and pillars of stone. These pillars are said to be the masterpieces of Mauryan Art in the shining polish imparted to them, which is the despair of modern masons, and in the degree of perfection in which they were shaped, dressed and decorated in accordance with the Emperor's design. The masons of Magadh delineated the natural forms of animals and plants in stone and reduced and shaped large masses of rocks into pillars, all monolithic productions of considerable weight and height. One simply marvels at the deftness and skill with which these great weights were handled and transported over distances of several hundreds of kilometers to their appointed sites. Such progress, indeed, could not have been achieved in a day; it must have been preceded by a long course of evolution from its origins and crude beginnings in earlier times.

One can trace the beginnings of Indian art to a class of colossal stone statues, which are, to all intents and purposes, pre-Ashokan and pre-Mauryan. These statues represent the folk art of the times and were admittedly inspired by the animistic worship of popular deities known as Yakshas and Yakshinis, Nagas or Nagis, Gandharvas, Apsaras, earth-spirits, water-spirits, etc. Of the eleven examples of these oversized figures of deities discovered so far, two are of Patna Yakshas. The statues made of the buff-coloured sandstone of Chunar quarries and bearing a distinctive metallic polish, have been kept in the Indian museum, Calcutta. One of these is the statue of Bhagawan Akshata-nivika (Kuber), while the other is that of Yaksha Sarvatra Nandi. Ashokan art had its beginnings in these and similar other statues which are representative of popular rural worship and folk-art of the times.

The fairly life-size Yakshini statue discovered by accident at Didarganj, Patna, is in the same tradition and represents the highest watermark of sculptural art in the indigenous tradition. In her right hand the female figure holds a chowry and the lower part of her body is richly covered with ornaments and folded garments. There is nothing archaic or primitive, but a conscious urban beauty that became the prototype of the numerous female figures carved on the railing pillars of the Sunga and Kushan periods. It is an example of the art of the transitional period between the Maurya and Sunga epochs.

The Banmanus of Mumbai !

Mumbai is the commercial hub of India and the most vibrant Indian city.More than seventeen million people reside there and the migrant population has far exceeded the original inhabitants.There are some local leaders who have rose into prominence by exhorting violence towards these migrants and Muslim communities.Initially South Indians were targeted and now it is the turn of North Indians.This kind of vandalism is against the fundamental rights of the citizen of this country so the press condemn this by full force at its command, as a result these otherwise rotted characters come into limelight and show their near and dear ones that they are on television.
The union government is led by congress party who is known for creating monsters for some short term political gain and then fall prey to it.The union home minister is just a blot on the name of governance.If such a capable person can become the home minister then anybody can become anything.These kind of anarchy has encouraged every mafia to dream big and step the ladder by turning out constitutional provisions and indulge in thuggery to scare industrialist and extort heavy amount from them.These are happening in Mumbai for many decades but the intensity has reached to an alarming level in recent months.Government has failed to discharge its primary duty and is trying to buy votes by enticing them through loan waiver and sundry schemes. Had any other government in Maharashtra,the situation wouldn't have worsened to such an extent.Perhaps Mayawati would tame these anti Indian fellows.
Bal,Raj,Udvab Thackeray would have been roaming around whole of India posing as a fake Maharashtrian fortune teller and begging alms.But Bal Thackeray desperate out of penury became a cartoonist and rose in the dirty world of Maharashtra politics considerably and amassed so much wealth that they can afford "Red Wine" for daily consumption now.The cosmopolitan culture of Bombay helped them too as no educated person would like to bother about local politics.These fellows exploited the apathy of civilised citizens to the hilt and became such a nuisance that they would better keep off and ignore pathetic Thackeray theatrics.
Initially Thackeray targeted south Indian but could not do anything and retreated.Then they played communal card and were responsible for communal clashes.The Shri Krishna committee constituted by the government of India is ready but why they are not sent behind the bar is very baffling.
The inaction of the government and the split in the gang has made them desperate and they are targeting migrant labourers now.They do not understand that work is worship and these labourers are not coward to take extreme steps like suicide.They owe their allegiance to the constitution of India and have every right to work wherever they want.Local thugs might loot their hard earned money in the name of banmanukh,but they would be undeterred.Nobody stops venturing out of his home in fear of barking dogs.It is the duty of the government to chain in the mad animal.A poor labourer is very easy to target who is away from his home.The same labourer can make the banmanukh a civilised person if he is challenged at his native place.
Its true that Bihar is the poorest state of India.But it would sound convincing from some wealthier nation.Here a sate is witnessing mass suicide due to poverty and their leader is basking in glory.Can there be more shameful instances of this type of beastly behaviour anywhere in the world?
Bihar is the masthead of India and have provided its resources to every one,be it cultural,industrial or political.
Bihar has once again come rescue to the rotten souls like Thackeray.Rattled by the notoriety of his own nephew,Raj Thackeray,the old man is forced to join the rhetoric.For the sake of Bihari people working and living amongst the jungle-es,Bihari leaders are forced to remain quite.But every thing has to come to an end otherwise these Thackeray fellows would learn the basics of foul mouthing.
They know that they are not potent enough to question the supremacy of Maratha leaders whom they have been subservient to all these years.They cannot question the wealthier because they are their bread winner but they feel very manly thrashing a cab driver or a construction worker.
These fellow have no knowledge of the history and civilisation of India.Even they are unaware about modern India.They need to be taught constitutional lesson first and then the remedy of their behaviour anomaly should be discovered fast otherwise they can spared this disease like cancer and the whole nation might get affected of this.
Note:-The writer has no intention to hurt the feelings of any average Maharashtrian who owes their allegiance to the constitution of India.