Bihar: Art, culture, fairs and heritage

Bihar's culture spans folk painting such as Madhubani, Manjusha and Patna Kalam, crafts such as Sikki grass work and bell metal, a strong folk song and dance tradition, and fairs such as the Sonepur Mela. Hindi is the official language, with Urdu as the second official language, and Chhath is known in Bihar as the Mahaparv.

Painting

• Madhubani (Mithila) painting: traditionally done by women of the Mithila region on freshly plastered mud walls, now also on cloth, hand-made paper and canvas.
• Madhubani colours come from plants; themes include Hindu deities, nature, and events such as weddings.
• Manjusha art of Bhagalpur, dated back to the 7th century, is a scroll painting told in sequence; it illustrates the tale of Bihula and the snake goddess Bishahari (Mansa).
• In 1984 the state's "Jansampoorna Vibhag" initiative showed slideshows in Bhagalpur villages to revive Manjusha art.
• Patna Kalam (Patna School, Company Painting) flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries; it mixed Mughal and British styles and was called Feringhee Kalam.
• Patna Kalam is described as the world's first independent school of painting dealing only with the common man; it used paper, mica and ivory.
• Tikuli art, about 800 years old, began around Patna; tikuli means bindi. Upendra Maharathi and Padma Shri Ambika Devi helped bring it recognition.
• Miniature paintings on leaves or paper show the lives of Buddha or Mahavira and are sold at Bodh Gaya.

Crafts

• Sikki grass craft of Mithila women: containers, figurines and toys.
• It was one of five crafts a Mithila woman was expected to know, with painting, Suzni and Kashidakari embroidery and papier mache.
• Brass and bell metal craft is about 300 years old in Bihar; bell metal is copper and tin, cast by the lost wax technique.
• Bamboo and cane crafts include baskets, mats and furniture; the basic tools are the bill-hook, knife and jak (a V-shaped wooden frame).

Music

• Bihar has produced Bharat Ratna Ustad Bismillah Khan (from Dumraon).
• Dhrupad singers: the Malliks (Darbhanga Gharana) and the Mishras (Bettiah Gharana).
• The regular history of Mithila music dates from Nanyadeva (1097-1133), who set popular ragas on systematic lines.
• Folk songs mark life events: sohar (childbirth), sumangali (wedding), ropnigeet (paddy sowing) and katnigeet (paddy harvest).
• Bhikhari Thakur of the Bhojpur region began a great folk tradition; Sharda Sinha is among notable names in Bhojpuri music.
• Folk instruments include the Dhol, Dhak, Madal, Nagara, Pipahi and the C-shaped horn Narsingha (Sakoa).

Folk Dances

• Karma: named after the Karma tree (fortune); a group dance to the Mandur and Timki.
• Jhijhia: a prayer dance of the Koshi region, performed by girls in drought to pray to Indra for rain.
• Jhumar: danced by rural women; Magahi Jhumar is a husband-and-wife duet.
• Kajari: a rainy-season song heard from the start of Shravan.

Language and Literature

• Maithili (with its dialect Bajjika), Bhojpuri, Angika and Magahi are widely spoken.
• Maithili is in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
• Vidyapati (1352–1448), called Maithil Kavi Kokil, wrote in Maithili and Sanskrit; his love poems on Radha and Krishna date from 1380 to 1406.
• Ramdhari Singh Dinkar (1908–1974), born at Simaria (Begusarai), hailed as Rashtrakavi; Padma Bhushan 1959; works include Rashmirathi and Kurukshetra.
• Nagarjun (Vaidyanath Mishra, 1911–1998), the Janakavi, brought modernity to Maithili literature.
• Phanishwar Nath 'Renu' (1921–1977) wrote Maila Aanchal, a celebrated regional novel.
• Devaki Nandan Khatri, born in Muzaffarpur, wrote Chandrakanta.

Fairs and Festivals

• Sonepur Mela (Harihar Kshetra Mela): at the Ganga–Gandak confluence, Saran; starts on Kartik Purnima and lasts a month; regarded as Asia's largest cattle fair.
• Pitrapaksha Mela, Gaya: 16 days of ancestral rites centred on the Vishnupad Temple.
• Shravani Mela: pilgrims take Ganga water from Sultanganj to Baidyanath Dham (Deoghar).
• Saurath Sabha (Madhubani): a matrimonial assembly of Maithil Brahmins using the Panji genealogy system.
• Malmas Mela, Rajgir: once every three years in Adhik Maas, centred on the Brahmakund hot spring.
• Chhath: worship of the Sun God with a 36-hour waterless fast; the setting sun is worshipped before the rising sun, and no priest is needed.
• Makar Sankranti (Sakraat/Khichdi) on 14 January: dahi-chura, tilkut and khichdi.

Monuments

• Mahabodhi Temple, Bodh Gaya: a UNESCO World Heritage Site, 170 ft high.
• Nalanda: university founded in the 5th century CE; ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Takht Sri Harimandir Ji, Patna Sahib: birthplace of Guru Gobind Singh, one of the five Takhts.
• Golghar, Patna: granary built by Captain John Garstin in 1786; 29 m high with 145 steps.