What comes to your mind when you hear the word Bihar? murder? abduction? JDU? Laloo Yadav? Bihar is a victim of massive stereotyping and discrimination! Here are facts about Bihar which will break all the false notions-
1. The enchanting thought of ‘non violence’ originated from the land of Bihar. Lord Mahavira and Lord Buddha were propagators of this idea about 2600 years ago! It is the place of origin of two religions- jainism and buddhism.
2. Bihar is the home of oldest Hindu temple of India- Mundeshwari. The temple is always abuzz with clanging of bells around the four headed Shiv. It is a wonderful artistic expression of male-female union.
3. Bihar should be on the must- visit places list of every traveler! The tomb of Sher Shah Suri and Maner Sharif are gems of Mughal architecture, Mahavir mandir, Golghar, Patna museum, Gautam Buddha wildlife sanctuary, Agam Kuan, Begu Sarai, Bodhi tree- under which Gautam attained enlightenment to become Buddha, are to name a few! The list is endless. Visit these places and hear the stories behind these landmarks!
4. This deserved a special mention. This magnificent piece of architecture is a hub for spiritual people- Mahabodhi temple. Stunning, isn’t it?
5. The Sikh’s cherished pilgrimage Harmandir Takht Saheb- the birth place of tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh is in Patna.
6. Bihari people are considered to be excellent in Mathematics. There is a person named Anand Kumar who runs an IIT coaching center called ‘super 30’ for students who cannot afford to pay heavy fees. The coaching center shows exceptional record number of students clearing JEE each year, in spite of having limited resources! Deserves applause isn’t it?
7. During vedic period, Bihar was the center of trade and culture in India. Magadha, Vaishali, Mithila/Videha, Anga, Sakyapradesh, vijji, Janaka were the major kingdoms.
8. Bihar was an epicenter of knowledge, culture, power and learning. The city Pataliputra, now Patna is the oldest continuously inhabited city in India. It is also the home of world’s oldest university- Nalanda University, which attracts students from all over the world.
9. Nalanda library attracted students from Iran, Korea, Japan, Persia, Greece, China and was set on fire by the army of Bakhtiyar Khilji under his command. The library was so huge that it kept on burning for full 3 months which reduced around 9 million manuscripts to ashes.
10. Bihari accent is gaining craze! Any bollywood action movie is incomplete without dialogues in kickass bihari accent. Remember Gangs of Wasseypur? Gangajal?
11. And songs! No matter if you understood them or not, sole Bihari accent in the songs will bring the fun!
12. The heroic deeds of freedom fighter Kunwar Singh have been immortalized in the folk songs of Bihar. Some raags such ‘Nachari’, ‘phag’, ‘chaita’ are considered special to Bihar and have been able to survive attacks of modernization.
13. Bihar is often regarded as a state of laborers, people leave their place and work as laborers for money. However, the fact that record number of civil aspirants are selected from Bihar cannot be over looked too. Bihar therefore is considered the second most IAS churner factory!
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14. Even Bihari cuisines are gaining popularity. Litti chokha and sattu will relish you anytime!
15. Patna, Bihar is the home to world’s longest WiFi range- 20 kms.
Though I am not from Bihar but, I am proud to belong to the land whose states have immense culture, tradition and rich history. Share the word to break stereotypes and comment below to tell us more about the land you belong to!