INDIAN CULTURE &

BUSINESS
BIHAR
Bihar is a state in East India. Patna is the
Capital of Bihar. Nitish Kumar is the Chief
Minister of Bihar. It is the 13th largest state,
with an area of 94,163 km and the 3rd largest
by population; its population is the fastestgrowing of any state. The Bihar plain is
branched by the river Ganges which flows
from west to east. In 2000, southern Bihar
was separated from Bihar to form the new
state of Jharkhand. Close to 85% of the
population lives in villages. Almost 58%
of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is
the highest proportion of youngsters of the
population of any state in India. Hindi and
Urdu are the official languages of the State.
Other languages of the state are Bhojpuri,
Maithili, Magahi, Bajjika, and Angika, of which
only Maithili is recognized by the government
of India.

HISTORY OF THE BIHAR

The fertile land of Bihar has a rich and very
ancient history which even goes back to the
very dawn of the human civilizations.
Throughout the ages and civilizations it was
remained a ground which gave birth to many
great men who spread the massages of love,
peace, brotherhood and humanity throughout
the length and breadth of the globe. The
earliest history of Bihar region can be traced
in Hindu epic of Ramayana. The then Mithila
was the birth place of Sita, wife of Lord Ram.
As far as ancient history is concerned Bihar's
journey started from the post Vedic age when
there were number of Mahajanapadas or
republics flourished in Bihar like Vaisali,
Magadha and Videha. The first kingdom in
Bihar was established by Bimbisara and his
son Ajatshatru.
During this period two great
persons of the history Gautama Buddha and

Jaina Mahavir took birth and preached two

great religions of Buddhism and Jainaism
respectively. Gautama Buddha was
enlightened at present Bodh Gaya and Jaina
Mahavira attainted his salvation in present
Pawapuri both in Bihar. As the wheel of
history turned Bihar saw one the greatest
empire in India. The Mauryan empire under
some of the ablest rulers of the world like
Chandragupta Maurya and Ashok flourished
with the name of Magadha kingdom with
Pataliputra as its capital. Kautilya, the author
of Arthashastra, the first treatise of the
modern science of Economics, lived here and
was the advisor to Mauryan king
Chandragupta.
It was during this period that
Nalanda and Vikramasila flourished as
international universities providing education
to Indian and foreign students. Great travelers
like Meghasthenes came to India during this
time. Great empires of Gupta's and
Harshavardhana also consists part of Bihar

which further enrich its historical contents. In

the mediaeval times Bihar was at its peak
during the reign of Sher Shah Suri who
started his journey to Delhi from Sasaram,
Bihar. Bihar also left its imprint among various
events of modern history of India. This region
provided strong resistance to mighty British
forces during 1857 sepoy mutiny under
Kunwar Singh. From this fertile ground of
Bihar Gandhiji started his political career with
his active involvement in Champaran
Satyagraha of 1917.
Some of the great revolutionaries
of Indian Freedom Struggle like Khudiram
Bose, Prafulla Chaki and Chandrasekhar
Azad have strong association with Bihar.
Bihar produced some of the great nationalists
like Dr. Rajendra Prasad and socialist leaders
like Jai Prakash Narain. Undoubtly as history
of Bihar says it contributed a lot to social,
cultural, religious, political and economic life
not only of India but also across the world.

The evolution and spread of Buddhism and

Jainism are most significant.
The political, administrative
and economic life also greatly shaped by
some of the greatest account of these field
like that of Chanakya and Meghasthenes.
Culturally art, architecture, sculpture of
Mauryan and Gupta's have great influences
on many other styles that developed later on.
In the field of education and knowledge
Bihar's contribution is praiseworthy because
of its ancient universities at Nalanda and
Vikramasila. The inscriptions of Ashok, his
Dhamma, and other features like Ashokan
pillar have shaped the Indian every day life.
The music, paintings, dance and songs of
Bihar has always been a driving force of the
Indian way.

CULTURE HERITAGES OF THE

BIHAR

Bihar is a place with very good

history, land of Buddha, where
freedom movement was started,
which has given birth to lot of
intellectuals whose knowledge, is
spread worldwide. Bihar is a place
which has rich culture heritage and
follows even till today.
Traditional
festivals are celebrated with
happiness. Some important festivals
celebrates are Chatth Puja, SamaChakeva, Ram Navami, MakarSankranti, Bihula, Madhushravani,
Teej, Pitrapaksha Mela at Gaya,
Sonepur Fair.

Chatt pooja

This pooja is celebrated twice a year.

Once in chaitra and the next in the
month of kartik. People worship sun
during the sunset time. This is a
festival for cleanliness. Women do
fasting diring this pooja time for
family wellbeing.

Ramnavami
People celebrate the day when Lord
Ram was born with fastings and
prayers.

Makar sankranti
celebrated as the beginning of
summer season, also know as Tila
Sankranti. People offer to poor on
this day, fast and pray.

Sama-Chakeva
This festival is celebrated during the
time of year when birds migrate from
Himalayas to Mithila. This usually
happens during the winter season.
The specialty of the festival is that
girls make idols of birds with and
decorate them. This festival also
marks relationship between brothers
and sisters. This festival starts when
birds migrate to mithila and ends
when they go back. This is basically
to welcome them and wishing them
to return next time.

Sonepur Fair
Sonpur fair is the animal fair which
takes place every year, Asias
biggest fair which takes for a period

for 15 days. Millions People from so

many places visit here every year.

Shravani Mela
of Sultanganj is of great importance.
Shravani Mela is organised every
year in July-August. Bihula-Bishari
Puja of Anga region also is a great
festival of Bihar.
Apart from Chhath, all major festivals
of India are celebrated in Bihar, such
as Makar Sankranti, Sarasawati Puja,
Holi, Id-ud-Fitra, Id-ud-Joha (Bakrid),
Muharram, Ram Nawami, Rath yatra,
Rakhi, Mahashivaratri, Durga Puja,
Divali, Laxmi Puja, Christmas,
Mahavir Jayanti, Buddha Purnima,
and several other local festivals as
well.

Cuisine (Food)
The staple food is bhat, dal, roti,
tarkari and achar. It is prepared from
rice, lentils, wheat flour, vegetables,
and pickle. The traditional cooking
medium is mustard oil. Khichdi, a
broth of rice and lentils seasoned
with spices and served with several
accompanying items, constitutes
lthe mid-day meal for most Hindu
Biharis on Saturdays.
The most favourite dish among
biharis is [LITTI- CHOKHA]. Litti is
made up of SATTU and CHOKHA is of
smashed pottato, tomatto, and
brinjal.
Bihar offers a large variety of sweet
delicacies which, unlike those from
Bengal, are mostly dry. These include

Anarasa, Belgrami, Chena Murki,

Motichoor ka Ladoo, Kala Jamun,
Kesaria Peda, Khaja, Khurma, Khubi
ka Lai, Laktho, Parwal ka Mithai, Pua
& Mal Pua, Thekua, Murabba and
Tilkut. Many of these originate in
towns in the vicinity of Patna

Folk Songs (Music)

Bihar has a very old tradition of
beautiful folk songs, sung during
important family occasions, such as
marriage, birth ceremonies, festivals,
etc. They are sung mainly in group
settings without the help of many
musical instruments, though
Dholak,Bansuri , and occasionally
Tabla and Harmonium are used.

Bihar also has a tradition of lively

Holi songs known as 'Phagua', filled
with fun rhythms.
During the 19th century, when the
condition of Bihar worsened under
the British misrule, many Biharis had
to migrate as indentured labourers
to West Indian islands, Fiji, and
Mauritius. During this time many sad
plays and songs called biraha
became very popular, in the Bhojpur
area. Dramas on that theme
continue to be popular in the
theaters of Patna.

Madhubani Painting
One of the art forms of Bihar, the
Madhubani School of Painting, has
lately received much attention and
poularity.The Madhubani painting or

Mithila Painting has originated at the

time of the Ramayana. Madhubani
which means forests of honey, in the
heart of the Mithila region, had a rich
tradition of wall paintings done by
the village women with vegetable
dyes on freshly plastered mud wall of
huts. An artist encouraged them to
try their wall paintings on paper and
since then Mithila paintings gained
ground. These line paintings in
primary colors normally depict
village scenes, human and animal
forms, gods and goddesses.

Jhijhian Dance
Jhijhian Dance is one of the
renowned traditional folk dances of
Bihar. When there is severe drought,

the land is parched, the sky is

cloudless and the people are
awaiting rains, a band of young
village belles perform this dance with
deep devotion offering prayers in the
form of song and dance to please
Lord Indra for rain and better yield.
The participants of the dance include
a lead singer, harmonium player, a
flute player, and a dholak player.
Jhijhia dance is ritualistic in nature
and a part of the ritual is to appease
the rain god Indra.

Festivals of Bihar
District
In Bihar almost all
district celebrate same festival :
Chatth pooja

 Sama chakeva
Ramnavami
Makar sankranti
Bihula
Madhushravani
Basant Panchami
Durga Pooja
Shivratri

How they celebrate

festivals
Chhath Pooja
Chhath is a major Hindu festival
celebrated in Bihar, along with other
North Indian states. This festival is
celebrated after the completion of
Diwali, which generally falls in the
months of October and November.
Chhath Puja is dedicated to Sun God
for supporting life on earth and

ensuring prosperity and happiness in

life. The history of the Chhath Puja
dates back to ancient Vedic times as
the hymns associated with the
worshipping of Sun God are present
in Vedic text Rigveda. Some people
also believe that the rituals of
Chhath Puja were started by
Draupadi of epic Mahabharata. There
is another theory regarding the
origin of Chhath Puja, which also
relates from Mahabharata. It is
believed that Karna, the great
warrior and the son of the Surya
started the rituals of Chhath Puja.
According to Hindu
calendar, Chhath Puja is celebrated
on the sixth day of Kartik month.
Chhath Puja, also known as Surya
Shashti, is a bathing festival followed

by a four day period of abstinence

and ritual purity. This festival is
widely observed in Bihar where a
large number of sun temples are
present. These sun temples are
generally surrounded by a surajkund,
also known as sacred pool of sun,
which constitute of the place of
worship for the devotees.
Traditionally, Chhath Puja is
performed by women, however large
number of men also register their
presence during this festival.
Chhath Puja is a four-day long strict
and spiritual observance. The first
day of the Chhath Puja includes
taking a dip in the holy river Ganges.
People also take the water of Ganges
to their home to perform special
offerings and rituals. Houses are
thoroughly cleaned on this day. The

second day of Chhath, also known as

Kharna, involves devotees to
observe a day long fast which is
broken in the late evening after
performing the worship of Mother
Earth. The offerings to the God
include rice pudding (kheer) and
fruits, which is distributed among
family members and friends. The
third day of Chhath goes in the
preparation of the prasad (offerings)
for the evening offerings, also known
as Sanjhiya Arghya.
In the evening, large numbers of
devotees gathers on the banks of
river Ganga and make offerings
(Arghya) to the setting sun. The folk
songs are played in the evening
displaying the culture and history of
Bihar. Nowadays popular Bollywood

songs are remixed and played during

this occasion. The night of the third
day witnesses a colorful event
known as Kosi. A canopy is made
from five sugarcane sticks and
lighted earthen lamps are place
inside canopy along with baskets
filled prasad. On the fourth and final
day of Chhath, family members and
friends go to the banks of river
before sunrise and make offerings
(Aragh) to the rising sun. After this
ritual, devotees break their fast and
distribute prasad to neighbors and
relatives.

Teej Vrat
A small story lies behind the
celebration of Hartalika Teek vrat.
Legends explain that after the death
of Sati Devi, Lord Shiva started
ignoring the entire world, including
Goddess Parvati without noticing her
devoted love. In order to get her
husbands attention, Parvati
underwent severe penance for
several years surviving only on grass
and fruits. Eventually, Lord Shiva got
pleased by the love and affection of
Parvati and finally accepted her.
Hence, this festival is
commemorated by all women,
whether married or single. While the
married women observe this for
achieving health and happiness for

their respective husbands,

unmarried young girls and women
observe the fast in order to be
blessed with a loyal husband, like
Lord Shiva.
Similar to Karwa Chauth, women
observe a nirjala vrata, that is,
severe fasting without eating and
drinking anything. On the day of
Hartalika Teej, a pandal (small puja
house) is made using banana bark
and leaves. Goddess Parvati is
adorned with new clothes and set in
the pandal. A Shivling is made from
clay and placed alongside Parvati.
Women beautify their hands and feet
with mehndi (henna), a unique
feature of Hartalika Tritiya
celebrations. They dress up in new
green clothes and new jewelry. In

certain regions, married women visit

their premarital homes and observe
the fast along with their parents and
other family members. They put on
green bangles and a golden bindi.
Stories of Goddess Parvati and Lord
Shiva are read out and listened as
they are considered auspicious on
this festival. In the evenings, special
prayers are arranged for worshipping
the deities. Thereafter, traditional
songs and dances are performed
which are actively participated by
relatives and friends. Fresh fruits and
vegetables are brought specially for
this day and offered to Parvati.
Special delicacies, such as rice
patolis and sweets, are made on this
occasion. Preparations made from
coconut take special place.

What is the impact of

festival in Business?
Festival is a day or days of
celebration of an organized series of
cultural and social concerts or to
remember an event to promote the
cultural heritage of the society.
Bihar is a little bit land of festivals.
Some of the festivals we celebrate
here are Dipawali, Dussehra, Chhath
Pooja, Teej, Bihula, etc. Each festival
has a religious or mythological
significance behind it and is
celebrated with great pomp and
show.

When any festival comes, we are

very happy and prepare it well by
white-washing as well as decorating
our houses and putting on festive
dresses. We pray to God/Goddess to
guide us in the right path and to
make us pure, good and prosperous.
However, in celebrating a festival,
we, the people, spend a huge
amount of money unnecessarily and
on expensive things. Let's take some
illustrations. In Bihar, there are many
communities, and that's why she has
a composite culture.
In any community's festival, the
people jointly celebrate it with
spending huge expenditure. People
celebrated Durga Pooja, Chhath
Pooja, Diwali, etc with great feasting,
thus, leading to more leftover foods.

People present gifts in a luxurious

way. During festival, the prices of
essential goods are sky high.
However, things are continuously
bought. Children and their parents
themselves also buy new and
expensive clothes and things.
Transportation and roaming of
people during festivals lead to over
exploitation of fuel.
Festivals also enhance the level of
corruption. For instance, Durga
Pooja, Chhath Pooja Festival is
organised to attract tourists and to
improve the socio-economic
condition of the State, on the
contrary, corrupted some people and
there is no sign of any improvement
in the socio-economic condition of
the State and its people.

Apart from unnecessary expenditure,

such unregulated festivities
disturbed concentration in works
resulting to the inability to achieve
goals with concrete results.
All these numerous festivals in turn
affect the economy, physical
environment, psychology, political
administration, etc. They greatly
affect the poor and the students.
Youths are the future of the society,
if they are rotten seeds, the society
will be underdeveloped economically
and socially very weak.
We can rectify this evil practice by
educating the people about the
advantages and disadvantages of
the festivals. Everyone should be a
role model to eradicate this polluted

system from our society. I would like

to request the concerned
department to ensure that the
harmful impacts of festivals are also
included in our school's syllabus.
Lastly, let us join hand to save our
State from this dangerous life style
and lead to a new height of moral,
economy and spiritual glory.
Don't put off till tomorrow that you
can do today. If we delay to
eradicate this bad habit, we may fail
in our struggle.

THANK YOU