ALL SPIRIT AND GRACE-- Tarakeshwari Sinha’s treasures were her friendliness and dignity

In snooty circles, Bihar continues to be at the receiving end of derisive comments. The phenomenon of Lalu Prasad is naturally referred to as illustrative of what awaits the nation if Bihar’s caste fixation and rustic ways are allowed their head. But be fair, Bihar is only part of the whole; political culture has declined precipitously all over the country, period.

To forget Bihar’s role in the freedom struggle will be an essay in ingratitude. Jayaprakash Narayan will always stand out for his high moral principles and as an innovator of ideas; his civilization too was in a class by itself. Sahajanand Saraswati is now a forgotten figure; but it is his legacy which the communist party came to enjoy while it was entrenching itself in the Bihar countryside in the middle decades of the last century. Or consider, among the state’s chief ministers, the case of Karpoori Thakur, a person of extraordinary integrity. And whatever one’s views on Rajendra Prasad, the country’s first president, the Dalit, Jagjivan Ram, was surely one of the shrewdest and ablest cabinet ministers at the national level. Should we pass over either the impact, in the sphere of culture and literature, of the eminent savant from Bihar, Rahul Sankrityayan?

If on a different plane, it is equally relevant to remember the euphoric times between the end of World War II and the nation’s independence in 1947. The country was in ferment; students were on the march everywhere, either protesting against the trial of the Indian National Army heroes or extolling the romantic mutiny of the naval ratings at Ballard Pier in Bombay. Two college girls from Bihar, still in their teens, burst onto the national scene during that phase. One of them, Ramdulari Sinha, did not stay the stretch. The other one, Tarakeshwari Sinha, went on though to win laurels after laurels.

Graduating from the Students’ Congress to the faction-ridden precincts of Bihar politics, she demonstrated, in the process, both stamina and grit. Scion of landed aristocracy extracting surplus with merciless efficiency from Bihar’s countryside, she as a child had been groomed in a convent and, on entering college, tasted the excitement of the turmoil of 1942 and the following years. Self-assured to a fault, she was fluent in both English and Hindi, possessed ambition, and plenty of glamour to go with it. She fitted snugly into the turbulence of politics. Her beauty apart, she loved to dress well, and had a weakness for make-up. It would however be silly to assume that these were her only capital assets. Her major attribute was raw courage, which some people chose to describe as brashness. Women’s lib was during those days an unencountered concept; the epidemic of women’s studies was yet to spread out from across American campuses for global conquest. Tarakeshwari did not know of such tides-in-waiting. She constituted a one-woman army, fighting the battle for women’s emancipation on her own. While she fought it within the ambit of the superstructure, her heroism can scarcely be underrated. After all, most of the subsequent mobilization, too, is confined within the contours of the middle class; the women who really need massive protection at the base of the society against the ravages wrought by both mass poverty and gender inequity continue to be left out.

Tarakeshwari must therefore be judged in the context of her era and milieu. Defying the manoeuvres of machine politicians, she got herself elected to the first Lok Sabha. She was young, brave and uninhibited. She would harry ministers with piles of questions, interpellations and endless supplimentaries, and would also chip in with points of order on the slightest of protest. Presiding officers as stern as Mavlankar and Ananthasayanam Aayangar found it difficult to control her ebullience. A bemused Jawaharlal Nehru thought he had a solution. He made her a deputy minister and, with a sense of puckish humour, attached her to Morarji Desai in the ministry of finance. That did no good. Opposites attract each other; Morarji, the arch reactionary and conservative, enjoyed the cheekiness of the brash young damsel; she in her turn found in him an indulgent sugar daddy, of course of the puritan genre.

Ordinarily, a deputy ministerial slot is assumed to be sinecure. Tarakeshwari would not put up with the idea. Inveigling Morarji into giving her a specific area of responsibility, she was determined to prove her competence. She would, without standing on ceremony, barge into the rooms of officers irrespective of their positions. She would demand to know the difference between balance of trade and balance of payments, she had to be taught the mystique of the relationship between growth, investment and incremental capital-output ratio, she had to be helped to understand what Keynes meant by disguised unemployment.

She was the only deputy minister at the time to break out of the dark chamber of anonymity. Not that the calumny-mongers decided to take a rest, they sneeringly referred to her hair-do and the heavy French perfume she wore. The same crowd however had not a word to say about the attar exuding from the frame of Satya Narayan Sinha, also from Bihar, Union minister for parliamentary affairs for a long time.

The Sixties turned the scales against Tarakeshwari. Indira Gandhi believed in keeping at arm’s length women politicians; in this matter she made no distinction between her own aunt and the sassy upstart of a woman from the Bihar plains. It was thus inevitable that when the Congress party split, she kept the company of Morarji Desai in the camp of the old fogies, who began to experience a lean time. The post-Emergency triumph of the Janata Party revived Tarakeshwari’s spirit for a while. But the party soon split, and fissures have a way of multiplying themselves in the North Indian climate. Even though she maintained her links with one faction of what emerged as the Janata Dal, it was not quite the same again. At a certain juncture, she disappeared from the political rostrum.

Glamour is an ephemeral happenstance; it is also skin-deep. So forget about it. In addition to her courage, Tarakeshwari’s real treasure was her natural friendliness and a measure of dignity accompanying it. A particular recollection haunts the mind. In July 1984, Farooq Abdullah had invited all opposition parties to a conference to chalk out a detailed programme of action for realigning the Centre-state relations in the country. EMS Namboodiripad, then general secretary of the party, led the Communist Party of India (Marxist) delegation. Though it was summer time, Srinagar could be quite chilly in the mornings and the evenings. All EMS had as protection against the cold was a faded knitted sweater already coming apart at the neck and along the sleeves. Tarakeshwari persuaded EMS to take off the sweater; she wrapped her own shawl round him, commissioned a pair of knitting needles and some matching wool, mended the sweater and handed it back to EMS with a charming smile. It was a performance which expressed, at one go, respect for a great leader, affection and womanly grace.

That was the point of the matter. Tarakeshwari fought and won the gender battle much ahead of the Jennys who now choke the boulevard. She also proved something else; an emancipated woman need not discard either feminine grace or domesticity.

Tarakeshwari Sinha made the point and withdrew from the scene. She died last week. Till they themselves drop off, those of her friends who are still around will keep remembering her as an ethereally lovely human being.

Bihar leaders seek pie of industrial corridor

Central ministers hailing from Bihar, one of India's most backward states, want projects akin to the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) to pierce through their state, showering economic benefits.

Inspired by Commerce Minister Kamal Nath's success in getting the route of Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor altered so that it passes through his home state of Madhya Pradesh, the ministers have demanded that a project similar to the USD 90 billion DMIC be designed for their state as well.

A top official source said ministers from Bihar have been assured that a similar corridor could be considered when the dedicated eastern rail freight corridor project is taken up.

"That is the next step, they were told," the source said. The DMIC project, conceptualised to benefit from the rail and road connectivity offered by Delhi-Mumbai Dedicated Rail Freight corridor, was to originally pass through five states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Later, on the intervention by Nath, who has been representing Chindwara constituency in Lok Sabha for the last 27 years, Madhya Pradesh was included in the project.

Though Nath succeeded in getting the industrial corridor, the rail route could not cover the state since the Japanese, key partners in the project, found it unviable, sources said.

Top central ministers from Bihar include Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, Corporate Affairs Minister Prem Chand Gupta and Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.

Fairs & Festivals of Bihar

Ancient Vediv Religion Festivities of Bihar are steeped in history that has no means to fathom. Moreover, history is not always written by historians but by people who ake up legends. and legends to the skeptics are in fact revelations to the faithful.

At one time Bihar was beyond the pale of Aryan culture and remained free fro the influences of Vedic religion. During this period, the people of ancient Bihar worshipped the forces of nature, like serpents, stones, trees, Chaityas (funerary mounds) Yakshas (semi divine beings), etc. Gradually these objects were incorporated into the Aryan pantheon and in exchange Brahmana leadership and Vedic sacrifices were accepted by the people of this region.


¤ The Festivities in Bihar

The amalgamation of Vedic and non-Aryan religion was not an easy affair. It is not surprising to find the Rig Vedic word for festival, Samana, which has been rendered both as ‘battle’ and ‘ ‘festival’. We hear of Bhima and Arjuna as destroying the great Chaitya on the hills of Rajgir in order to demonstrate their hostility towards Magadha. Likewise, the Asurs of Gaya were uprooted by Vishnu. The famous Sonepur Cattle fair (deeed to be the largest in the world) recreates the Gagendra moksha legend, associated with Hariharanatha temple in Sonepur, which was once strongly opposed to Vishnu. The Cattle fair, beginning with the full moon day of Kartik Purnima (November) commemorates the ancient concord accommplished at Sonepur, between the opposing sects of Vishnav and Shiva worshippers.

The Legend associated with Kaun Hara Ghat
The central venue is the kaun hara (who lost ?) ghat (river bank) which originates from a mythical encounter between the honest gaja elephant) and the shrewd graha (crocodile). The story dates back to the undatable past when the elephant. Jai and the crocodile, Vijai in their previous birth were fraternally related devotees of Lord Vishnu. Once they quarreled amongst themselves over the distribution of proceeds received from a fire sacrifice. Jai, the elder, cursed the younger Vijai for reneging on the promise of equal shares, while Vijaia insisted that each of them were given what they deserved and so there was no question of sharing it. For Vijai, the curse spelled rebirth as a vile crocodile. In retaliation the younger cursed the elder to be reborn as an elephant. When the anger subsided, the two brothers realised thir mistakes but the curses were irrevocable. Later, one Kartik Purnima day when the saintly elephant went to the Gandak river for a bath, the crafty crocodile caught his foot. A fierce battle ensued and finally Lord Vishnu had to hurl his disc to kill the crocodile. The Hariharanatha Temple at Sonepur, housing the images of Vishnu and Shiva, commemorates the temporary thaw in what was otherwise a more or less permanent war between themselves and their supporters.

Sonepur Cattle Fair
Legend apart, the famous Sonepur fair in more of a cattle trading centre where incredible number of birds and cattle are brought from different parts of the country. Besides, the bewildering array of wares are on sale and add to this the numerous folk shows about which the BBC once remarked, "there’s nothing like the Sonepur Cabaret." The time to start is very early in the morning when the fog is suddenly pierced by the sun and the huge gathering has just emerged from the holy dip in the cold absolving waters. The mela that lasts upto a fortnight, provides enough time to talk to the parrots, watch the elephants being bathed leisurely, followed by ear splitting trumpets and then the artists working up with colourful designs to decorate the elephants as if the pachyderm has been tatooed all over, see the horses being tested for their speed and stamina, big bulky buffaloes being milked and likewise all other animals demonstrating their skill, strength and productivity.

By midday, it is the cacophony of strong decibels pouring in from all corners as the huge gathering becomes denser with more and more people adding to the sound and sight of the landscae. Ash smeared, saffron clothed holy men blow their conches and bang their gongs. Loudsspeakers, from various folk shows and jugglers rent the air together with the unison from the animals. Much before the sun sets in, flames and fumes of dung fire burning at different places appear to screen the sky in a very amusing way, as if some mediveval army has just camped for the night. and it is time to share a gossip with one of the villagers who may better summarise the stock and sale of the cattles for the day. Zesty snacks together with tea comes in from the open air restaurant.

Temple at Deoghar
The hoary temple at Deoghar (the home of gods) is the most important pilgrim point in Bihar that attracts thousands of Shiv devotees during the month of Shrawan (July/August), when the summer heat has just given way to the early monsoon. Saffron clad pilgrims with pots of holy water, well balanced on their shoulder make a 100 km bare trekking from Sultanganj (where the holy water of Ganges is considered holdier due to its unusual flow northwards) to Baidyanath Dha at Deoghar. Water is poured on the lingam to appease Shiva.

The sanctity of Deoghar lies in its legend of Ravana who went all the way to Mount Kailash, pleading Shiva to make Lanka his hoe. Ravana’s other was an ardent devotee of Shiva and she worshipped a Shivling made of clay, which soon dissolved with daily pouring of water over it. This prompted Ravana to implore Shiva if he would reside in Lanka. Lord Shiva did not accede to Ravana’s prayer but offered him one of twelve emblems of his divinity (Jyotiralinga) which would be quite as effective and that he might take it away on the condition that the transfer should be effected without breaking the journey. Moreover if the linga was placed elsewhere on earth during the journey, it would remain fixed on that spot forever.

The other gods felt unhappy at the Jyotiralinga being tansported to Lanka which would render them powerless in their fight with Ravana. Accordingly they planned to outwit Ravana. Varuna, the god of water entered the belly of Ravana, urging him to relieve himself. Ravana was left with no alternative but to descend and befriend and old Brahamin (who was Vishnu in disguise) begging him to hold the lingam for a while. On return Ravana found the lingam lying on the ground and the Brahamin was nowhere to be seen. He was in a great rage but equally helpless as he tried hard to reove the linga from the spot but be only succeeded in breaking a piece of the top of it. This place where the jyotiralinga was destined to last for ever is Deoghar, also popular as Baijnath Dham.

Nag Panchmi
The rainy month of Sravana when there is danger of death from snake bite, people appease the snake god by offering milk during Nag Panchmi. The prime centre of naga worship is Rajgir and Mahabharata describes this place as the abode of serpents and excavations have revealed numerous objects used in serpent cult. In fact naga worship is wide spread through out India.


Makar Sankranti Mela
Famous Makar Sankranti mela is another festival unique to Rajgir in the month of Paus, corresponding to mid January. Devotees make flower offerings to the deities of the temples at Hot springs and bathe in the holy water. Another historic place associated with fifteen day long Makar Sankranti mela is the Mandar hills in Banka district. Puranic legends accounts for a great deluge which witnessed the creation of a Asura that threatened the gods. Vishnu cut off the Asura’s head and piled up the body under the weight of the Mandar hill. The famous panchjanya - the sankh (counch shell) used in the Mahabharat war is believed to have been found here on the hills. Traces, akin to serpent coil can be seen around the hill and it is believed that the snake god offered himself to be used as a rope for churning the ocean to obtain the amrit (nectar).

Hari Har Dham
At Bagodar in Giridih is Hari Har Dham, famous for the 62 feet high linga (completed in 1987), which marks it as the tallest in the world. Spread over 25 acres of land and surrounded by rivers, the place offers a picturesque surrounding.


Gaya-Buddhist Pilgrimage Center
Gaya is another holy dot in Bihar, famous for the International Buddhist Gathering and the rallying point is the Mahabodhi tree and the adjacent temple. The occasions are Buddha Jayanti (Buddha was born on this day, he attained enlightenment on this day and also attained Nirvana on this day ) and in the month of Vaisakh (April/May) and the annual session of Dalai Lama in December. Mahavir Jayanti is celebated in April with much fanfare on the Parsvanath hill and also at Vaishali while Deo Deepawali, marking the attainment of Nirvana by Mahavira is celebrated best at Pawapuri, ten days after Deepavali.

Gaya - Pitrapaksha Mela
Arond september the sleepy town of Gaya is agog with people who come here for the famous Pitrapaksha mela or the ancestor worship typified in Sraddha ritual. It is time for the Gayalis (the descendants of Magga Brahmans who were once devotees of Shiva but later converted to Vaishnavism) to be prepared for the vedic Sraddha ceremonies or the pindan - a mandatory Hind rite that is supposed to bring salvation to the departed soul. In the early Dharmasastras, Vishnu provides a list of over 50 tirthas but it proclaims that dead ancestors pray to God for a son who would offer pinda (lymph of rice) to them at Gaya.

The tradition traces its history to the time of Buddha, who is believed to have performed the first pindan here. Turning the pages of earlier history, one comes across the Puranic legend that ascribes Gaya as one of the holiest spots of the world. The Asura, named Gaya become so powerful that the gods felt threatened and thus thought of eliminating him. As a precondition to his death, the Asura demanded that be should be buried in the holiest spot of the world. This place is Gaya.

Vishnupada Temple
The central point of the Hindu pilgrimage in Gaya is the Vishnupada temple built by Rani Ahilyabai of Indore in 1787. The spot on which it stands is associated with the famous mythological event of Vishnu killing Gaya and leaving his footprints on the rock which is the main point of worship in the temple. The Shraddha is customarily performed under a fig tree while the women pilgrim perform it indoors as gayawal women live under strange customs, for instance, they never stir out of the house, married girl continues to get her daily ration from her parents. They can adopt a child or even an adult, who may assist her in their work. The Gayawals are believed to maintain centuries old records of the pindans performed under the supervision of their ancestors and accordingly people prefer the specific family of Gayawals who might have served their ancestors as well.

¤ Other Famous Festivities

Though Bihar is in league with festivals like Holi, Dussehra, Deepavali but chaath puja (6 days after Deepavali) is Bihar’s prime festival honouring the sun god. Unlike the zestful Holi or the expensive Deepavali) Chaath is a festival of prayer and propitiation observed with solemnity. It is an expression of thanks giving and seeking the blessings from the forces of nature, prominent among them being the Sun and river. The belief is that a devotee’s desire is always fulfilled during Chaath. Simultaneously an element of fear is alive among the devotees who dread the punishment for any misdeed during Chaath. The city remains safe during this time when criminals too prefer to be a part of the good.


Chaath-Fasting
Chaath in Bihar can best be seen at Deo in Aurangabad or Baragaon near Nalanda, noted for their sun temples. Unlike other sun temples in India that faces East, the temple at Deo faces west and during the festival time it is the most crowded place. It is strange to see a Brahmin standing in the river water next to a Harijan ! The festival is more of a sacrifice which entails purificatory preparation. It can be performed by men or women, irrespective to caste or creed. Chaath commences with the end of Deepavali when the house is thoroughly cleaned, family members go in for a holy dip, strict saltless vegetarian menu is observed (even onions and garlic are considered unwanted during the entire festival period), all earthen vessels are reserved for the period only and all possible purity of food is adhered to; clothes have to be unstitched and people sleep on the floor.

The person observing the Chaath (known as Parvati) observes dawn to dusk fast which concludes with sweets. This is followed by another fast for 36 hours till the dawn of the final day when puja commences at the river bank much before sunrise. The disciplined parvatis remain in water from late midnight until the ray of dawn streaks the horizons. The river is now flooded with offerings to the sun which is followed by breakfast and distribution among the gatherings.

Mithila- Marriage Market
What once used to be the debating ground scholars debating ground in Mithila has now become saurath Sabha or the Mithila marriage market near Madhubani. In the summer of June, Mithila Brahmins prefer to gather in the vast mango grove (thanks to the Raja, Raghav Singh, the Mithila ruler of Darbhanga for gifting the land for the ever gathering crowd of Mithila matchmakers) in the village of Surath to explore the possibilites, discuss horoscope and finally to negotiate marriages within the community but atleast five generations beyond the family.

The girl’s father is on the move trying to locate a prospective bridegroom and so in the Ghatak (middleman), all the more serious to earn commissions on marriage fixtures. Once the prospective families pass through the ordeal of question session and feel satisfied by the initial scrutiny of the horoscopes, they move on to the Panjikar (registrars) who verifies the records and credentials to ensure that matrimontial alliance was not being performed within the prohibited degrees (within the seventh generation on paternal side and the fifth on the maternal side). His satisfaction earns a talpatra (palm leaf certificate) marked in red symbolising ‘no objection certificate’ which permits the families to establish matrimonial alliance. The Panjikar too receives a token and he blesses the girl’s father, " May your daughter bathe in milk and bear many sons." The successful families finally call off the day with a visit to the nearby Shiva temple.

The people of Mithila are believed to have followed the Panji Prabhadha (system of recorded genealogy) since the fourteenth century. These records were maintained by the Panjikars, who were later to examine the validity and purity of marriage settlements. In fact one was supposed to be are of his ancestors names and a daily rite of Tarpan ensured that people offered oblations of water in the name of each ancestor upto six or seven generations. If one recalls the name of one’s acestors daily, one can not forget their names !

Sarhul Festivals
Sarhul is the most important festival for the tribals of Chotanagpur. It is celebrated with the advent of spring (February/March) when the sal tree is full bloom. These trees in the sacred grove are highly venerated and the festival centres around the holy spirits that dwell here. The focal point of the festival is to obtain a good harvest and hence appeasement of goddess of nature.

Makar Sankranti Paus Mid January
Sarhul Chait March/April
Holi Fagun February/March
Mahavir Jayanti Vaisakh April/May
Buddha Jayanti Vaisakh April/ May
Deogarh Pilgrimage Shrawan July/August
Nag Panchmi Shrawan July/August
Pitrapaksh Mela Bhado September/October
Sonepur Cattle Fair Kartik October/November
Deepavali Kartik October/November
Chaath Kartik 6 days after Deepavali
Deo Deepavali Aghahan 10 days after Deepavali
Buddhist congregation
(dalai Lama’s session) December
Rakhi Purnamasi Shrawan July/August
Shiv Ratri Fagun February

Famous Paintings From Bihar

Popular art is the expression of people’s sensitivity. Importance of popular art reside in the fact that it simultaneously creates a form of artistic expression while revealing the psychology of the society from which it emerges, reflecting its moral values and customs.


¤ The Mithila's Pride

The people of Mithila in northern Bihar stick to their centuries old custom and orthodox belief that the land of Mithila or Mithilanchal is holier when compared to other parts of Bihar. The belief possibly stems from the historic fact that Mithila was first to be brought under the influence of Aryan culture. and to this day the Mithilis take pride in their continuity of language, custom and culture. They are known to adhere to the minutest details in rituals from birth to death according to the dictates of the Shastras (sacred texts on ritual worship).


¤ Traditiional Wall Paintings

The tradition of painting walls for beautification of dwellings in Mithila is believed to have survived from the epic period. Tulsidas gives a vivid account of Mithila decorated for the marriage of Sita with Ram. These decorations are mythological murals, added with deities of Hindu pantheon, besides regional flora and fauna. The earthquake of 1988 devastated parts of Darbhanga and Madhubani. Perhaps, the greatest damage caused was in the palace complex, replete with paintings done two centuries ago, as per the Mithila traditions.

The land of Mithila is covered by the present districts of Champaran, Saharsa, Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Darbhanga, Madhubani, Samastipur, parts of Monghyr, Beguserai, Bhagalpur and Purnea. Madhubani is the heartland where the paintings are more profuse than elsewhere.


¤ Madhubani Paintings

The ceremonial folk paintings - popularly identified as famous Madhubani paintings - are the exclusive monopoly of women artists, passing down for generations from mother to daughter. The girl learns to play with the brush and colours at an early age which finally culminates in the Kohbar (nupital room), which acquires great sanctity in the social life of Mithila. All religious ceremonies relating to the marriage are performed in the Kohbar.The deep (earthen lamp - a symbol of happy conjugal life) is kept burning in all through for four days.


¤ The Theme of Mithili Painting

The Kohbar is replete with paintings based on mythological, folk themes, and tantric symbolism, The paintings in this chamber are designed to bless the couple. The central theme of all paintings are love and fertility, though the approach may vary. It can commence with the story of Sita’s marriage or Krishna - Radha episode with the ecstatic circle in which he leads the gopis. Maithilis are Sakti worshippers with the influence of Tantric rituals and so Siva-Sakti, Kali, Durga, Ravana and Hanuman also appear in their murals. Symbols of fertility and prosperity like fish, parrot, elephant, turtle, sun, moon, bamboo tree, lotus, etc are more prominent. The divine beings are positioned centrally in the frame while their consorts or mounts or simply their symbols and floral motifs forms the background. The human figures are mostly abstract and linear in form, the animals are usually naturalistic and are invariably depicted in profile. It beings with the flow of the brush without any preliminary sketching. Though natural colours and twings have given way to brushes and artificial paints, the subject of Madhubani paintings remain unchanged.


¤ Madhuani Paintings -- As A Commercial Activity

The chief exponents of these paintings are the Maithili Brahmins and Kayasthas. In the village of Jitwarpur (stronghold of Brahmins) and Ratni (dominated by the Kayasthas) the Madhuani paintings have emerged as a commercial activity where children can be seen engaged in arranging the hand crafted paper or fetching the colours. The commercialisation of Maithili art took place in 1962 when an artist touring this village was attracted by the murals. He persuaded the women to paint in their traditional way on paper. This was a great success and a ticket to trade. Since then the painting medium has diversified. Wall paintings were transferred to hand made paper (which was of poster size) and gradually it preyed for other mediums and motifs like greeting cards, dress materials, sunmica etc.


¤ Extracting of Natural Colors

In the beginning, home made natural colours were obtained from plant extracts like henna leaves, flower, bougainvillea, neem, etc. These natural juices were mixed with resin from banana leaves and ordinary gum in order to make the paint stick to the painting medium. Home made paints, though cheap, was time consuming and produced less than the requirement. The solution was to switch to the synthetic colours avaibale aplenty in the market. Now colours come in powdered form, which are then mixed with goat’s milk. However, black continues to be obtained from the soot deposits by the flame of diya, dissolved in gum.

The colours are usually deep red, green, blue, black, light yellow, pink and lemon. They created mood and hence played an important role. For instance, energy and passion find expression through the use of red and yellow, as monochrome crashed over large surfaces of the painting. Concentration of energy and the binding force is best reflected in red while green governs the natural leaves and vegetation. The Brahmins prefer the very bright hues while the Kayasthas opt for mutted ones. In another class called the Harijan style of painting, hand made paper is washed in cowdung. Once the paints are ready, two kinds of brushes are used - one for the tiny details made out of bamboo twigs and the other for filling in the space which is prepared from a small piece of cloth attached to a twig.


¤ Patna Qalam

Besides the Madhubani paintings, Bihar is famous for the Patna Qalam (paintings). The 200 year old art form traces its origin to Humayun’s exile to Persia, from where he brought a select set of artists to illustrate Dastan-i-amir Hamza. The Persian artists who had migrated from Hirat had mastered the distant lines from the Chinese and added to it an intense individualism.


¤ Gave Rise To Mughal Style of Paintings

Akbar greatly encouraged the painters and by the end of his reign a new kind of painting emerged out of the native and foreign fusion. This was referred to as Mughal style of painting which further ramified, later on, into numerous sub schools or qalams. Patna being one of them. In words of Abul Fazl, the Mughal paintings are "incomparable, transforming inanimate objects into life through the minuteness in details, the general finish, the boldness of execution observed in pictures".

Jehangir’s expertise in painting can best be summed up from his own memoirs: " As regards myself, my liking in painting and my practice in judging it has arrived at such a point that when any work is brought before me, either of deceased or those of the present day, without names being told, to say on the spur of the moment that it is the work of such and such a man. If any person has put the eye and eyebrows in a face, I can perceive whose work the original face is, and who has painted the eye and the eyebrows."


¤ Aurangzeb's Dislike of Paintings

Aurangzeb’s dislike for art compelled the artists to leave Delhi in search of new patrons. Their first march was to Murshidabad where the Bengal nawabs were at the helm of their golden days. However, the glory of Murshidabad was shortlived and once again the artists panicked but this time they packed for Patna, which was fast growing into a commercial city with various European factories and trading centres. The migrant artists who settled at Patna produced numerous paintings which are commonly referred to as Patna Qalam.


¤ Artist Migrate to Patna

The earliest among the migrant artists to Patna included Sewak Ram (1770-1830) and Hulas Lal (1785-1875). Sewak specialised in Kajali siahi which excludes the pencil work before applying the brush. Paintings by these two artists can be seen at Patna Museum and State Art Gallery. Ram Sewak depicted typical Indian occupations of the kind that generally appealed to the British. He displayed his adaptability not only in the choice of theme but in technique as well. His subject includes holy men, farmers, grain sellers, potters, weavers, musicians, etc. It is astonishing how these descendants of the Mughal miniaturists who revelled in giving a visual form to literature adapted their wares to British tastes. Shiva Lal and Shiva Dyal Lal were famous for their miniatures. Shiva Lal’s famous painting, ‘Muslim wedding’ has been commented upon as the picture with dignity and restraint in absence of the gorgeous colours and decorative background of the Mughal paintings. These two artists had quite a flourishing business at Patna and among their customers were both Europeans and Indians.


¤ Khuda Baksh Oriental Public Library

The Khuda Baksh Oriental Public Library has among its collection two miniature portraits of Nur Jehan at different stages of her life. Painted by Syed Moinuddin, they reveal the Bihari miniature akin to Delhi’s ivory discs. of the two portraits, one depicts Nur Jehan as an empress dressed in formal regalia with her fair looks although an element of remorse creeps in. The other painting captures her happier mood (possibly before the death of her first husband) draped in the traditional orni (veil) that anchors her maidenly appearance.

The theme of Patna Qalam, though on small canvas, centres around the lives of ordinary people, their profession, customs and cultures of Bihar. Unlike the Delhi artist, they used the slating dot system. In the early days, the artists themselves prepared their own paper for painting and so were the colours assembled from various flowers, leaves, metals, shellac, clay, etc. Besides paper, paintings were also made on ivory, metal and mica sheets.

When the Britishers left India they purchased a good number of these Patna Qalams. Thereafter the art was on the scale of decline. Around 200 of them are preserved in Kensington Museum, London. Patna Museum has 65 of them while Chaitanya Mahasabha, Khuda Baksh Library, Lalit Kala Akademi, Government School of Arts and Crafts are few of the places for reviewing this famous school of painting.

Mauritius: The Bihari Indentured Labourers in British Mauritius

During the 19th century, Bihar was one of the four sub-provinces of the Bengal Presidency of British India. Bihar was the most important regional source of indentured labourers who worked and lived on the sugar estates of Mauritius. Between 1834 and 1890, the indentured workers from Bihar consisted around 40% of all the contractual labourers who were brought to the island.

During that period, it is estimated that more than 170,000 indentured labourers out of the more than 430,000 workers who were landed in Port Louis were from districts located in Bihar. In addition, between 1849 and 1890, more than 130,000 of these Bihari workers passed through the Aapravasi Ghat site. In Calcutta, the majority among them transitted through the Mauritius Emigration Depot at Bhawanipur and the majority of these workers were adult males between the age of 18 and 50.

he Bihari indentured labourers who came to Mauritius were mostly Hindus with some Muslims and Christians. They came from districts located within Bihar such as Gaya, Ghazipur, Arrah, Gorakpur, Sahabad, Azmbargh, Patna, Ranchi, Murzaffurpur. There is also archival evidence to show that as early as the mid-1830s and early 1840s, there were thousands of tribals who were brought as contractual workers. Between 1834 and 1870, more than 60,000 tribals coming mostly from Bihar were landed in Port Louis.

On 2nd November 1834, 36 hill coolies from Bihar arrived in Port Louis harbour on board the ship the Atlas. They were landed near the present-day surviving stone structures of the Customs House by Mr. Arbuthnot, a British planter settled in Mauritius with the approval of Governor Nicolay. The arrival of these indentured labourers is commemorated as a national public holiday each 2nd November in Mauritius. Between 1834 and 1839, or during the first period of Indian immigration, around 15,000 out of the total of 25,000 indentured workers came from Bihar. The bulk of the Bihari indentured workers migrated to Mauritius between 1834 and 1890.

Today, more than 33% of the Mauritian population are direct descendants of these Bihari contractual labourers. In 1968, Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, the son of Moheeth (Immigrant No.353639), a Bihari indentured labourer who arrived in Mauritius and passed through the Aapravasi Ghat in 1871, became the first Prime Minister of Mauritius.

Bihari Muslims-Telling a story of the most neglected victims of Partition

Across borders The literature on the Partition of India is driven by those who had to flee religious persecution, whether Hindus and Sikhs in Pakistan or Muslims in India. In the Fifties and Sixties, the refugee experience resulted in a series of moving novels and stories, by writers such as Khushwant Singh and Bhisham Sahni in India and Saadat Hasan Manto and Intezar Hussain in Pakistan. The memories were too painful to set down in memoir or history, so they were camouflaged and perhaps made more evocative through the medium of fiction. In subsequent decades, writers and poets continued to write novels and poems about Partition. However, they were now joined by writers of non-fiction. Historians wrote academic tomes based on archival research, explaining why and how the politicians failed to save the unity of India. Those with a more literary sensibility wrote books based on interviews, capturing the voices and sentiments of those who lost homes as well as loved ones in the bloody summer of 1947. No event in Indian history has been so written about as Partition. And the books keep coming. Several very good books were published in 1997 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the event. And some more good books have come out this year to mark the 60th anniversary. Some writers have described Partition as India’s Holocaust. I would not go so far — for Hitler’s extermination of the Jews was a far more focussed act of State policy. And it claimed many more lives. Six million Jews were killed by the Nazis during World War II, as against an estimated one million who died in the riots in the subcontinent. Again, while colonial policy undoubtedly contributed to the violence, it was not as if the British divided India with an intent to murder. While they were callous and cynical in their dealings, they were helped along by the amorality of the Muslim League and the selfishness and shortsightedness of the Congress. And, in the end, it was ordinary Hindus and Sikhs who set upon ordinary Muslims, and were set upon by them in turn. Partition was a civil war, not a Holocaust. Still, there are some parallels between the events in central and eastern Europe between 1938 and 1945 and in northern and eastern India in 1946-47. These parallels chiefly lie in how the events are remembered. Just as Jews themselves have contributed most richly to the literature on the Holocaust, the ‘first generation’ of Partition literature was mostly the work of refugees. And some of the best works in recent years have been authored by the children and grandchildren of refugees. Another parallel lies in what is foregrounded and what mostly forgotten. There were other social groups whom Hitler also sought to annihilate — such as the homosexuals and the Gypsies. Yet far less has been written about them as compared to the Jews. Likewise, the literature on India’s Partition is dominated by the suffering of refugees from Punjab and Bengal. There is less work on the Uttar Pradesh Muslims who went over to Pakistan, and on the Sindhi Hindus who had to flee into India. The least written about are the Bihari Muslims, this despite the fact that they suffered not once but twice — first when British India was divided, and then again 24 years later, when East Pakistan became the sovereign nation of Bangladesh. These forgotten victims of India’s Partition have, at long last, found their analyst and chronicler. The sufferings of the Bihari Muslims are the focus of Papiya Ghosh’s recently released book, Partition and the South Asian Diaspora: Extending the Subcontinent. Based on archival research in three continents, supplemented by many interviews and by the skilful use of evidence from fictional sources, this is an intensely human work by a very humane and empathetic historian. The Partition of India became inevitable after the bloody riots of 1946-47. The violence began in Calcutta on August 16, 1946, sparked by Jinnah’s call for ‘Direct Action’. It then spread to the Bengal countryside, where the main victims were Hindus. This sparked a wave of retributive justice in the adjoining province of Bihar, where it was Muslims who had much the worst of the violence. As Ghosh explains, the riots in Bihar greatly strengthened the demand for Pakistan. For the province was run by a Congress government, some of whose members actively encouraged attacks on Muslims. The partisanship of the administration (mirroring, of course, the prior partisanship of the Muslim League government in Bengal) seemed to vindicate Jinnah’s claim that Muslims would never be safe in a united India where the Hindu-dominated Congress would be the dominant and ruling party. As one refugee wrote, “the blood of the Bihari martyrs provided the ‘foundation stone of Pakistan’”. After the Bihar riots, there was a mass migration of Muslims into Pakistan. Those who were educated made for the towns and cities of West Pakistan. Others, usually from the lower strata of society, left for the new nation’s eastern wing. In all, about half-a-million Bihari Muslims made their home in East Pakistan. While their compatriots in Karachi and Lahore were able to adjust to their new surroundings, these Biharis still felt out of place. Ghosh quotes a character in a novel who says: “Pakistan held out such rosy hopes for us. It was our Eldorado. But there was no Pakistan here. Only Bengalis swarming in all directions.” In 1971, these Bihari Muslims were rendered homeless once more. After the civil war broke out in East Pakistan, hundreds of Biharis were killed by Bengali freedom-fighters who viewed them as collaborators of the West Pakistanis. The Bihari Muslims, who had left India out of fear of the Hindus, now found that the Bengali Muslims were far worse. Tens of thousands fled back into India. As Ghosh writes, “Many Bihari Muslims grounded in Bangladesh after 1971… have made their way to the Metiabruz locality of Kolkata and taken up tailoring, embroidery, domestic and brick-field jobs.” Strikingly, and shamefully, Pakistan washed its hands of the Bihari Muslims in the now sundered east. Those who could not get into India made their way into Nepal and Burma. Some even reached the United States of America. But the majority huddled in refugee camps; in the late Eighties, some 258,000 Biharis lived in camps in Bangladesh, fed and clothed by international relief organizations. Most victims of Partition were abandoned once. But the Bihari Muslims were abandoned three times. Three sovereign nations had turned their back on them — their ancestral home, India; their new homeland, which later became Bangladesh; and their promised homeland, Pakistan, which moved west after 1971. That it was Papiya Ghosh who finally did justice to the travails of the Bihari Muslims is entirely fitting. In her own lifetime, Dr Ghosh had seen a great deal of suffering. Her father was murdered; one of her closest friends died in a car accident. She was herself a chronic asthmatic. Experiences such as these would have made a lesser human being bitter and resentful. But this good lady rose above them. I knew her for 30 years; knew her as a fine scholar and a truly noble human being. She was caring and kind in all her dealings — whether with academic superiors or inferiors, students, workers, family, friends and, perhaps above all, children. And she was devoted to her native Bihar. She could have got an academic appointment in Delhi or the US; yet she chose to teach in Patna. The last paragraph had, tragically, to be written in the past tense, since Papiya Ghosh died before her book was published. Late last year, she was brutally murdered in her own home in Patna. Those accused of the murder have been put on trial; but it is not known whether the political class of Bihar has the will and the courage to take the trial to its logical conclusion. Papiya Ghosh lived her life for and among the people of Bihar. Now, after she has gone, one hopes that the state of Bihar can do proper justice to her memory.

Mobile medical camps treat children and families displaced by floods in Bihar

Flood survivors line up for treatment at a medical camp in Bihar state, India, where more than 300 UNICEF-supported health teams are working.

At a UNICEF medical camp, Kusum, 4, has been vaccinated against measles as a part of the effort to save lives after the recent monsoon floods here.

Kusum and her family are living on a raised, 4 km stretch of embankment along with 200 other families who managed to escape when their villages were submerged in the floodwaters two weeks ago. Her family now occupies an eight-by-twelve-foot space.

Fleeing the floods and living outdoors made Kusum sick, but she was unable to receive medical attention. Kusum's father was also ill, and the nearest available health facilities were around 10 km away – a journey he felt he could not make under these difficult circumstances.

Many of the children treated at the camp had been ill for several days without getting any medical care.

Eight districts hit hardest

The Department of Disaster Management of the Government of Bihar reports that in 19 districts, 12.3 million people – including 1.5 million children under the age of five – have been badly affected by the recent flooding. A large number of them have been displaced.

The worst-affected eight districts are Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi, East Champaran, Madhubani, Darbhanga, Samastipur, Sheohar and Khagaria. More than 6,000 villages have been inundated in these districts and 140 lives have been lost.

A girl is vaccinated against measles at a medical relief camp in the flood-affected Muzaffarpur District of Bihar.

“In an emergency such as the floods, children are the most vulnerable,” said UNICEF Bihar Officer-in-Charge Job Zachariah. “Most children cannot swim to safety. Moreover, they easily fall prey to diseases.”

Illness strikes the vulnerable living on the embankments quite easily. They are exposed to the elements and to diseases that are borne along the receding floodwaters.

Relief on several fronts

At a medical camp organized by UNICEF, Kusum has received treatment as well as immunizations and vitamin A supplements. Vitamin A is crucial to build up her immune system, a needed precaution in her precarious living situation.

As news of the medical camp spread, greater numbers of people poured in. “There is hardly a family without someone sick,” said one mother as she rushed to get her son vaccinated. In this camp serving the displaced people of five villages, 174 children have been vaccinated, and 1,300 people received treatment in a single day.

In nine of the worst-affected districts of Bihar, more than 200 mobile medical teams and 100 static teams have been put in place to attend to needs such as Kusum’s.

UNICEF is also assisting the people of Bihar on several other fronts, including the provision of water-purification tablets, fortified biscuits for the most vulnerable children and health surveillance to assess and monitor the danger of possible disease outbreaks.

As families leave the medical camps, they have to prepare for yet another day without a home. But with the treatment they have received, their children’s chances of remaining in good health are much greater.

Seven new rail lines cleared for backward areas including Bihar

The Indian government has decided to lay seven new rail lines in less known and neglected parts of India, like Dhar in Madhya Pradesh and Mananpur in Bihar, by 2012 at a cost of Rs 27.96 billion.

"The whole project covering a total length of 765 km is expected to cost Rs 27.96 billion and may be completed by 2012 at the latest," Finance Minister P Chidambaram said soon after the CCEA met under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The costliest and longest of these seven projects would be the line from Rayadurg near Anantpur in Andhra Pradesh to Tumkur in Karnataka measuring 213 km that is expected to cost Rs 8.87 billion.

The next is from Chhota Udepur in Gujarat to Dhar in Madhya Pradesh covering 157 km, which is expected to take longer than all others. It is to be completed by 2012-13 at a cost of Rs 5.70 billion, said Chidambaram.

Another new line measuring just 33 km is to be laid from Chandigarh to Baddi, a small town in Himachal Pradesh, known for the Unichem drugs factory there. But it will cost Rs 3.28 billion, mainly because it will cut through hilly tracts.

Three new lines are being laid mainly in Bihar. These are the Bihta-Aurangabad line via Anugraha Narayan Road covering a length of 118 km that will cost Rs 3.26 billion. The second one in Bihar is to be laid from Bariarpur to Mananpur via Kharagpur and Barahat. This will cover a distance of 68 km and will cost Rs 2.51 billion.

The third is being laid from Sultanganj in Bihar to Katoria via Asarganj and Belhar. This will cover a distance of 75 km only and cost Rs 2.89 billion. Except for the Chhota Udepur line, all the other five are to be completed by financial year 2011-12, the finance minister announced.

Besides these, the metre gauge line between Bhojhipura and Tanakpur via Pilibhit in the terai region of Uttar Pradesh adjoining the hills of Uttarakhand and stretching over 101 km is being converted into broad gauge at a cost of Rs.1.45 billion. This project is expected to be completed by 2009-10.

A daredevil biker in Bihar

Eighteen-year-old Sudhir Kumar of Dobhi, 35 kilometres from Gaya, has become talk of his town for his daredevil stunts on motorbike that he has developed in the last three months.

Sudhir performs various stunts with such an élan that it can leave anyone flabbergasted.

Be it a Bhangra dance, standing on the bike for long time, changing sitting positions or lying down as if he is on a bed, are some of the stunts that Sudhir enacts when his bike's speedometer crosses the 80 kilometres per hour mark.

A standard X student Sudhir never had any formal training to learn stunts. He was driven to practice stunts just three months ago after watching Bollywood actor Ajay Devgan during a film shooting in Mumbai.

He says: "I have watched Ajay Devgan doing breathtaking stunts on a bike. I was impressed and I decided to learn the art. I devoted myself to practice. First, I learnt how to stand on a bike, later perfected the skills to dance on motorbike."

Driven to perform stunts after watching a few Bollywood movies, Sudhir began to collect innovative ideas through watching video replays of performers in Bollywood movies. And, he just practiced them.

Sudhir practices his stunts during the wee hours on the highway which is usually busy with traffic of trucks.

Today, he cannot dream of a better enjoyment that he drives from performing new stunts on his Hero Honda Splendor motorbike. Once his motorbike engine ignites, Sudhir zooms ahead at an astonishing speed.

His gloved hands have a literal iron grip, as he turns on the throttle leaving behind a cloud of dust to disappear on the national highway before one can wink twice.

Sudhir wishes to make a career as a stunt model. Otherwise, he wants to be an artiste worth being on the big screen.

Krishnadev Prasad, a villager, recalled how a bike ride with Sudhir left him completely shaken.

"Once I hitched a ride on his bike up to a village temple. He pleasingly agreed but I really had a scary time being a pillion rider to him. Suddenly, he started performing various stunts on the running bike with such an ease that I got almost scared to death."

Initially, Sudhir's family was alarmed to watch him risk his life driving a speeding motorbike. But with the passage of time they accepted it as his intrinsic talent.

Gayatri Devi, Sudhir's mother, says: "At first, I was shocked to watch him doing such stunts. But later I realised it was useless to discourage him from nurturing an inherent talent. He wants to make a career out of it, so be it. Today, I just tell him to keep himself safe and go ahead with whatever he wants to achieve."

Even if the hair-raising stunts have earned Sudhir many admirers, at the back of his mind he is aware that such acts are dangerous not just for the rider but also for others on the road.

'Bihar data centre, wide area network' launched

'Bihar data centre and wide area network' established by National Informatics Centre (NIC) was launched yesterday by chief minister Nitish Kumar to speed up e-governance projects.

The function was presided by Union minister of state for Communication Dr Shakeel Ahmad which was attended, among others, by state Science and Technology minister Dr Anil Kumar and Ram Kripal Yadav, MP.

In his inaugural speech, the chief minister said that Bihar had now become a leading state of the country with the availability of this facility.

"This can help to speed-up activities relating to e-governance and monitor physical and financial progress of schemes, planning and implementation of rural development schemes", Kumar said.

A New found confidence among rural women in Bihar

’I had a baby a few months ago and didn’t want to make a mess of my life by getting pregnant too soon. So I had to take this initiative on my own because it is I who would suffer.’

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WFS

Decision makers: At the Mirzanagar Titli Centre in Vaishali district of Bihar.

Manisha Prakash

Poonam Devi, a resident of Kanhauli village in Vaishali district of Bihar, is a mother of three daughters. Her husband works in a shop. She has never been to school but understands that having more children could worsen the condition of her family even further.

Poonam recently got herself ligated (a form of contraception) to prevent pregnancy for sometime. Earlier she was using Depo-Provera, an injectable contraceptive. Poonam did not give in to the pressure of having a son before taking such a step. “The cost of living is so high these days. I didn’t want to go hungry yearning for a son. My husband was supportive of my decision," she says.

Rekha Devi, 21, from Digha in Patna made a trip to the local clinic on her own to get an intra-uterine device (IUD) inserted, as she was keen to space the birth of her children.

“I had a baby a few months ago and didn’t want to make a mess of my life by getting pregnant too soon. So I had to take this initiative on my own because it is I who would suffer,” says Rekha, who has studied till class 10.

Rekha and Poonam are just two of the many rural women in Bihar and Jharkhand who have taken it upon themselves to control the size of their families, notwithstanding their poor educational and economic status. Many women in these states, even those who have never been to school, are gradually coming to understand the disadvantages of having more than two children.

NGOs as catalysts

They are now availing family planning initiatives run by the government and NGOs such as Janani. This NGO runs the Titli Centres that Rekha and Poonam had approached. Each Titli Centre has a man and a woman (usually a married couple) called Rural Health Practitioner and Woman Health Practitioner, respectively.

A total of 40,893 centres in the two states give non-clinical products and over-the-counter rapid test services like pregnancy dipsticks to rural clients, besides providing counselling on reproductive health issues. Some of the women at the Titli Centres have been trained as Women Outreach Workers, who go out into their communities and create awareness about birth control options.

Janani has a three-pronged network — medical clinics; village-level Titli Centres; and shops in urban and rural markets that provide impoverished people with affordable and safe options for family planning and reproductive healthcare. As more women are becoming aware of the birth control options available to them, they have begun to take decisions about their family size.

Rewarding efforts

From 1999 to 2006, the Janani centres performed 116,599 abortions, 82,197 sterilisations and 1,500 vasectomies. Around 43,931 women opted for IUDs and 51,660 for injectables in the same period.

The NGO also recorded a sale of 1.85 million oral pills in 2006. Sixty per cent of the people who visit the centres in the interiors of Bihar have monthly household incomes of less than Rs 3,000. Dr M.K. Singh, who is in charge of a centre in Mahua, says that on average they conduct two abortions per day. Besides ligation, IUDs and injectables are also popular among the women. From January 2006 to May 2007, 1,219 women got themselves ligated at this centre. In the same period, 750 opted for abortion, 24 for IUD and 11 for DepoProvera.

However, only 11 Non-Scalpel Vasectomies (NSV) were conducted at the clinic in the same period. “There is a common misconception among people that NSV affects men’s health and their working capacity. Even the women won’t let their menfolk go in for it,” says Dr Singh. According to Dr Prabha Prakash of Patna Surya Clinic, run by Janani, there is also a feeling among women that NSV would affect their husband’s sexual prowess.

Rural vs urban

However, she adds that rural women are more receptive to family planning methods compared to their urban counterparts. “If they are made aware of the options, they readily opt for something that suits them. Village women are on the lookout for more permanent solutions like ligation rather than pills because if there is an irregularity in taking the pills, it does not serve any purpose. Besides, they have to travel a considerable distance to the clinic so they want something that can last for a long time,” she says. As IUDs can give protection for up to 10 years, they are becoming common among women.

As the age of marriage is low in villages, even women in their early 20s need a permanent solution to keep pregnancy at bay. So, it is not uncommon to find young village women opting for ligation as they have already had two to four children.

Information and contraceptives made available by Janani have led to a rise in the Couple Years of Protection (CYP) to 0.65 million in 2006. This was found in a survey conducted by the NGO. One CYP is generated when one couple prevents a pregnancy for one year by using any contraceptive method. 1.75 CYP averts 1 birth. Thus, the total number of births averted in 2006 by the NGO was 693,801. The different methods that contributed to this CYP were ligations (39 per cent), pills (19 per cent), NSV (0.4 per cent), IUD (3 per cent), abortion (5 per cent), condoms (34 per cent) and Depo- Provera (0.2 per cent).

Interestingly, Bihar is the only major state to have shown an increase in decadal growth rate between 1991 and 2001. According to National Family Health Survey II (1998-1999), the Total Fertility Rate of the State is four as against the national average of 2.7. The Planning Commission estimates that the number of sterilisations per 10,000 unsterilised couples in Bihar is 110 as against 934 in Tamil Nadu, 1,297 in Karnataka, and 1,230 in Andhra Pradesh.

Bihar Govt invites NDDB to accelerate dairy development

With a view to giving a fillip to dairy development in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has held wide ranging discussions with Chairman of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) Dr Amrita Patel at Patna recently.

Chairing a high-level meeting, where Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi and Managing Director of NDDB D Tikku were also present, Mr Kumar said he would like the NDDB to play a proactive role in strengthening dairy cooperative and making them a more meaningful and sustainable occupation for millions of milk producers in the state, a NDDB release said here today.

During the meeting, Mr Kumar commended the substantial financial, technical and managerial assistance provided by the NDDB in earlier years.

Responding to the Chief Minister’ request, Dr Patel said the NDDB would willingly provide assistance, including technical and managerial support, to existing dairy cooperatives in Bihar so as to enable them to better serve their members and by promoting a plurality of new producer institutions that remain true to cooperative values.

It was agreed that the NDDB would assist Bihar in preparing a road map for investing close to Rs 700 crore to enhance milch animal productivity and increase cooperative milk procurement, processing and marketing from a current level of 6 lakh kilogram to 40 lakh kilogram per day by 2021-22.

It was also agreed that the NDDB would assist the Bihar State Cooperative Milk Producers Federation (COMFED) and milk unions in Bihar to improve efficiency in operation so as to be able to cope up with competition from private players.

At the request of the Chief Minister, the NDDB also agreed to recommend changes in the state Cooperative Acts so as to enable cooperatives to enjoy the required business autonomy and have level-playing field with competitive private firms, the release added.

Vodafone Readying Launch In Bihar

Vodafone (News - Alert) Essar, the reconstituted company of Hutch-Essar which is jointly run by telecom multinational Vodafone and Essar group has initiated the groundwork to start greenfield cellular networks in six new regions — Orissa, Bihar, Assam, North East, Himachal Pradesh and J&K. Vodafone Essar’s wholly-owned subsidiary Vodafone Essar Spacetel (formerly, Essar Spacetel) is holding the license for the same.

Cellular service in the Eastern states of India is currently enjoying strong growth with four major GSM service providers operating in those areas — Bharti Airtel, BSNL-CellOne, Reliance Telecom and Dishnet Wireless. Vodafone Essar is hoping to join in the fray.

Krishna Angara Vodafone Essar's director (eastern operations) is planning and coordinating immensely to plug the pre-launch activities in Orissa, Bihar and Assam and is also supervising the Kolkata and West Bengal operations.

"Dedicated Vodafone Essar teams are engaged in a mix of market studies and detailed cellular network planning in Orissa, Bihar and Assam circles. The mission is to subtly build greater awareness about the Vodafone brand in these new circles. Following the recent conclusion of Vodafone's Hutch Essar acquisition, the Vodafone brand is slated to be unfurled nationally later this year," according to the information provided by the sources.

Vodafone Essar Spacetel is anxious about the allotment of GSM spectrum from the DoT for the six new circles since based on the allocation, the company can arrive at the level of investment in its greenfield cellular network rollouts. The company has applied for 4.4 MHz of radio spectrum in all six circles. The company is also anxiously waiting for the licence to operate in Madhya Pradesh circle.

Dalit trust to run Bihar temple

300-year-old Khaki Baba Ram Janki Thakurbari at Hilsa will now be managed by an all-Dalit trust.

Bihar State Board of Religious Trusts administrator Kishore Kunal said it would be the country’s first all-Dalit trust for a temple. Kunal, who has launched a campaign to appoint Dalit priests in important temples with the consent of the worshippers and Hindu society, said the suggestion for an all-Dalit trust, coming from the mandir mahant and the locals, was proof that people have started rejecting untouchability.

The trust has been constituted with a local school teacher belonging to Paswan caste as head and has members from castes like Ravidas, Chamar and Rajak among others.

Kunal, who is busy giving final touches to the second volume of his 1500-page work 'Dalit Devo Bhava', said Dalit priests are already leading prayers in around six temples.

He blamed dharma gurus for keeping "Shudras" away from temples for years while the scriptures preached otherwise.

RTI Act: State urged to follow Bihar example

: Karnataka would do well to follow the Bihar example and make it possible for citizens to file Right to Information (RTI) applications over the telephone, said Aravind Kejriwal, Magsaysay Award-winner and founder of the Delhi-based NGO Parivartan.

Delivering the keynote address at a public awareness programme on the RTI conducted by the Karnataka State Chartered Accountants Association, Bangalore University and Doordarshan, the well-known activist said the next step forward for the effective implementation of the RTI Act was simplifying the process of application.

Bihar had evolved a system of accepting applications over the phone. Karnataka, being the hub of information technology, could do it easily, he said. It could be done in 10 days and would cost as little as Rs. 1.5 lakh a month, he said.

Penalty clause

Mr. Kejriwal also emphasised the need to strengthen the functioning of the Information Commission and ensure that it was strict on bureaucrats who refuse to follow the RTI guidelines. The crucial clause of the Act, he pointed out, was the one which said that a penalty would be deducted from the salary of erring officers.

Even honest officers tended to evade the responsibility because they are “culturally not oriented to give information to the public”, Mr. Kejriwal said.

Citing several examples to illustrate how the RTI had helped a range of people, from a daily wage earner to a software engineer, he called it a radical piece of legislation that ensured that an ordinary citizen no longer felt “helpless” before the system. “It is an opportunity to make a difference in governance,” said Mr. Kejriwal, and urged people to file applications on ongoing schemes in their localities to ensure that the government machinery was accountable and responsible. He also emphasised the role of the Lokayukta in ensuring that action was taken on the information obtained.

Recalling the genesis of the legislation, he said it had its roots in the struggle launched by a labourers association with the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghatan started by Aruna Roy in Rajasthan. The labourers had demanded that they be shown the muster rolls because they were getting Rs. 12 instead of the Rs. 24 they were promised. The struggle was carried forward by pioneers such as Anna Hazare in Maharashtra. “The right to information is fundamental to the very existence of democracy,” said Mr. Kejriwal.

Bihar to set up Maha Dalit panel

The Bihar government has decided to constitute a Maha Dalit Commission for the welfare of certain Dalit castes who are socially and educationally backward and treated as untouchables even by Dalits.

CM Nitish Kumar announced the constitution of the commission during his Independence Day speech at Gandhi Maidan. The suggestion for such a commission had been made by the Akhil Bhartiya Musahar-Bhuiyan Sangh at a conference here a few months back. Nitish had agreed, in principle, to constitute such a commission. He said, still there were many sub-castes among Dalits like Musahar, Mehtar, Dom, Rajwar and others who do not benefit from the reservation system and other schemes.

He said among Dalits, there was no such classification as a backward class, adding that the commission will study the status of the neglected castes and suggest ways for their uplift.

It has been noticed that some of Dalit castes could not get any benefit from reservation due to lack of education. In educational institutions, too, the children of these castes are discriminated against and majority of them drop out. As a result, the literacy level among those castes is abysmally low. In the bonded labour system, the men and women mostly belonging to these castes are found to be trapped.

The CM said the government would implement the recommendations of the panel for a better social order which would also arouse social and educational consciousness among them.

Mountains man loses battle with cancer

Dashrath Manjhi died with an unfulfilled dream on Friday evening at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. In his last interview exactly a week ago, Manjhi had said, “When I became Chief Minister of Bihar for one day on July 24, 2006, Nitish Kumar asked me what my wishes were. I asked for my road to be made pukka. I also wished a hospital to be built beside this road, along the Gehlor Ghat, for my people. Both are almost ready. I will inaugurate it as soon as I am out of hospital.”

However, septicemia or blood poisoning, cut short Manjhi's dream at 4.30pm on Friday. Manjhi's slight frame belied the steely grit inside. Clad in a dhoti that was far from being spotlessly white, and hair tied over his head in a bun, Manjhi's occasional efforts to speak last Friday was punctuated by the murmur of his groans.

Having achieved extraordinary feats all his life, including the Herculean task of single-handedly carving out a 360-feet-long, 25-feet-high and 30-feet-wide road by cutting a mountain for 22 years, Majhi was battling his greatest foe till date - the incurable cancer of the biliary tract.

The sadhu baba, as he was lovingly anointed by Bihar's poorest, was by no means the conventional super hero. He did not share fictional Spanish noble man Zorro's love for the cape or Gotham's crusader Batman's antics. But what was common between this real life hero and the reel life upholders of justice, was his undying spirit to fight for his people - the Musahars.

On being asked why Majhi built the road, Rajinder Paswan, Majhi's chela, said, “In 1967, his wife Phaguni Devi was crossing the mountain carrying his lunch, when she she slipped and hurt herself. Agonised, Majhi decided overnight to create a metal road through the hill. Armed with a hammer and chisel, he didn't stop for 22 years. Today the road is used by 1,000 people everyday, as it has reduced the distance between Atri and Vazirganj from 50 km to 8 km.”

Shekhar Suman Seeks Donations for Building Hospital

Shekhar Suman is touring the United States to collect donations for constructing a children's hospital in his hometown Patna

Shekhar Suman has been to the US many times before, but this time he's a man on a mission. The TV actor is collecting donations from NRIs so that he can fulfil a long-cherished dream of his: to construct a full-fledged hospital.

The hospital, to be built in Patna, will primarily treat children, especially those with heart diseases. Says an excited Shekhar, "It has been my dream to build a hospital for kids in my hometown. It is a big step for me and I have worked on it for very long. I know it is difficult, but I am sure I will make it happen in the next few years."

Shekhar lost his first son, nine-year-old Aayush to a chronic heart ailment in 1994. The incident has haunted the actor ever since. This is the reason why he wants to build a children's hospital. "I owe a lot to Bihar, which has made me whatever I am today. I have lost my kid, but I don't want any of Bihar's kids to die due to heart problems. There is no children's hospital in Bihar which specialises in heart diseases," he adds.

The hospital will be a charitable one, where poor kids can avail the services. The hospital will accommodate 200 beds. Shekhar has already spoken to the Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for help. "Our CM was more than delighted and the response has been really encouraging. I have also spoken to a lot of medical organisations in different parts of the country and they have promised to help me. Different NGOs have also shown their interest," Shekhar says. oject requires Shekhar to pump in a lot of money. The actor, who is touring the US has got huge encouragement from the NRIs. "Indians in the US have also promised me help. I have been able to connect with them to make appeals for donations. I am just too excited to see my dream come true," he adds.

India's Flood of Corruption- A perspective on Bihar

Over the past several weeks, the Ganges and other rivers which form the Indo-Gangetic basin -- beginning in Nepal, flowing south through India and emptying through Bangladesh into the Indian Ocean -- have flooded. In the northern Indian state of Bihar, at least 3,600 villages have been inundated, and hundreds have died. Millions of people have lost their homes, agricultural lands are inundated and disease is running rampant.

True to form, politicians in Bihar and abroad have blamed the tragedy on a series of bogeymen. Indian officials say that Nepal is to blame; Nepalese officials blame India. Others, such as John Holmes, the United Nations Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, have invoked "global warming" as the cause. Such pronouncements only serve to excuse state authorities from any moral blame for a problem they have clearly caused.

Bihar is naturally inclined to suffer flooding. The state is very flat, with several major rivers flowing down from the steep Himalayan Mountains to the north, making Bihar and the surrounding region especially vulnerable. That's partly why Bihar has suffered such disasters on a regular basis -- as recently as 2004, 2003 and 2000, and in previous decades, too.

But the real blame lies not with mother nature, but with government. Bihar's flood control policies are governed by state bureaucracies rather than local communities. Given the state's general lawlessness, this has meant that cronyism and corruption have prevailed. For instance, in 2005, 11 government and bank officials -- including Gautam Goswami, the former district magistrate of Patna -- and a private contractor, were charged with embezzling about $2.5 million of state funds designated for flood relief efforts.

Those problems have been compounded by decades of federal and state policies which built thousands of kilometers of embankments along rivers, including those in Bihar. Although these structures do work in other situations, they are inappropriate for Bihar's geography and weather conditions. The embankments have raised river levels by preventing the spreading of silt over a larger area, and massively increased the amount of flood-prone areas.

Bihar's poverty and corruption don't help, either. Bihar is the poorest state in India, with an annual per capita income of only $150. It's well known that the average citizen must pay bribes simply to receive government services such as policing. The state ranked an unimpressive "worst" of all Indian states in Transparency International's 2005 India Corruption Study. Its population of 90 million people is predominately rural and agrarian; only 10% live in urban areas. The state's infrastructure -- roads, bridges, electricity, water and sanitation, communications networks, schools and medical facilities -- leaves much to be desired.

The rural poor live in shoddy dwellings comprised of mud, sticks and thatch, rather than in stable, robust structures able to withstand flood waters. They remain illiterate, dependent on manual labor and the land, and vulnerable to the vagaries of nature. Insurance is non-existent because the vast majority of the poor don't own the property upon which they build their homes.

This summer's floods serve as yet another symbol of Bihar's well-earned reputation for corruption and political apathy. Bihar's policy makers owe it to their populace to empower local communities with respect to flood control and economic development more generally. Anything less means that the next flood will wreak similar damage.

'Big Boss' Ravi Kishen to anchor new Bhojpuri channel

Bhojpuri superstar and Big Boss celebrity Ravi Kishen will get Rs 1 crore for a three-year contract with Sri Adhikari Brothers which is launching a dedicated Bhojpuri entertainment channel — ‘Hum Bhojpuriya’. Mr Kishen will be the channel’s brand ambassador.

The contract entails performing varieties of reality and talent shows for the channel during this period, apart from being the face of the channel and promoting it.

Markand Adhikari, VC & MD of SAB said, “Ravi Kishen is one of the star icons in the Bhojpuri film industry and his association with our channel is sure to connect with the Bhojpuri audience. His popularity among the national and international Bhojpuri community will help attract overseas viewers.”

After the southern regional languages, Bhojpuri is emerging as a huge entertainment market in the country. In fact, the Bhojpuri market is currently a high growth regional market, and SAB wants to cash in on the success of the Bhojpuri cinema. The Bhojpuri movie market notched up extraordinary growth in 2006 — a 100% increase in growth over 2005, with 76 films produced. They also account for 7% of the total number of films produced, only marginally behind Malayalam and Kannada films, according to the Central Board of Film Certification.

The demand for Bhojpuri content is not restricted to eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, but is high in Mumbai, with its large number of migrants from these areas. The films are also doing well in Jammu and Kashmir, Jallandhar, Ludhiana, Panipat, Kurukshetra, Noida and Gurgaon, which have a sizeable population of migrant labour from Bihar. There is an estimated 40 lakh Bhojpuri-speaking population in Mumbai, 18 lakh in Punjab and about 8 lakh in Delhi. Bengal and Nepal are emerging as the next big markets.

Interestingly, it is also spoken in around 37 countries and is Mauritius’ second national language. This small island in the Indian Ocean also has a regular TV news bulletin in Bhojpuri.

Ravi Kishan, who shot to fame after winning the title of ‘Big Boss’, will also anchor the soon-to-be-launched talent hunt show ‘Bathroom Singer’.