Bihar govt. has launched a special drive to enrol children in schools.Teachers of bridge courses who have been specially hired for the job, will also keep track of the children newly enrolled in regular schools.

In another development it is reported that Amitabh Bachchan is likely to shoot for his make-up man Deepak Sawant's Bhojpuri film 'Ganga' starring Ravi Kishen and Nagma in the lead.

Not bad at all for a start...I'm sure this will go a long way in giving some credibility to the works of Bhojpuri Film Industry.

On the Development Process in Bihar.

Sunil views " Apparently Cool Biharis is a young vibrant group with ideologies in development of the state of Bihar. Those of us who has gone through this enthusiasm and lived in so called developed countries, do find the demerits, vices etc. of development and vainly look for forums who have realized this cancer. Just to take you back to the good olden days of Bihar, the seat of learning, e.g. Nalanada Uni., when Buddhism was flourishing (thanks to Mogul intervention who partially was responsible for wiping out Buddhism )... The name Bihar originated from the the word 'Vihar', a place of worship for Buddhists, usually a monastery with a Pagoda etc. There had being thousands of these in Bihar, especially during King Asoka's time.

Today, few remain and Buddhists from all over the world visit them and Boddha Gaya is one of the most venerated - the place which is most significant to the Universe as Buddha's Dhamma extended to Deva and Brahma worlds. I presume the International AirPort in Gaya is now commissioned and international flights are in operation. In my view, to develop Bihar as a service centre is the best option, which will least pollute the environment and obviously IT field heads the list. Those who live in Bihar who have influence over politicians and bureaucrats, needs to convince them to tap the Buddhists from these rich countries such as Taiwan (the top country for games programming), Japan, Korea etc. to invest in Bihar.

I understand the Japanese are on their way to build golf courses and tourists complexes in the vicinity of Gaya (which they have done in Queensland, where I live). The rich Japanese, Taiwanwese businessmen have contributed substantial amount of money to build temples, hotels etc. You all need just to tap this 'resource' and the place you need to go is Buddha Gaya, putting aside your affiliations to your creed. To establish an 'Industrial Zone or 'a Silicon Valley' is a good move, so that investment would be easy for foreigners if they see a good infrastructure.

All the very best for a bright future for Bihar, which will be my next home, but for Brahma's sake, attempt to maintain the 'pristine poverty' in Bihar, which will be itself a tourist attraction in the future, when everywhere on earth has developed with 'concrete' and people wear masks just to survive! Also just as much you went back to the rightful names of Mumbai, Chennai, fight to restore the name of Pataliputra for Patna, to eradicate the vestige of British crap!

My views the process adopted for bringing about this change may vary depending about the resources available .We do get lost in the race for economic development and the basic values and patterns of our social and cultural aspects also undergo a change.

We need a blend of modern society with a healthy mix of our good old values and age old heritage. In fact I just read a wonderful post by Prof Madhukar Shukla which has a wonderful comparison between the different approaches of two generations.

"...I mean, if you are living in a society/country where the median age is 24yrs, and around 40% population is in the range of 20-44yrs - and you happen to be past your half-century - then, there is a compelling reason to understand how the world has changed around you... Isn't it?



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Last few weeks have seen some serious debates happening on our group and here’s brief on the topic of Recruitment of Anganbari workers as Teachers in govt. schools.

Sunil raised the issue of Recruitment of anganbari workers as Teachers in govt. schools.

Rahul views”A teacher training program was introduced by the government in the early 90s and it was planned that people completing the training will be recruited with the new secondary and senior secondary schools (Not Anganbari). Around 40,000 people took the training for 3 years spending valuable time and money. But in the regime of Mr. LALU Pd. Yadav, the program was shunted and never looked upon. So when Mr. Nitish came in, he is just following up the same program. DONT you think those 40,000 people deserve to get the jobs? DONT you think they are capable enough??? DONT you think they should be given a chance to contribute in a better Bihar???? Atleast they will be better than untrained people????”

Frank’s reply ” I have been involved with the Bihar education project and the DPEP and the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan as an independent documentation specialist looking at things from the 'outside' and reporting directly to the international agencies involved.

Throughout the years 1998 to 2004, i have observed the success, the empowerment, and the training of government primary school teachers and village committees [as well as reported on the pitfalls and gaps and barriers thrown up by the system] -- as well as the improvement in the physical conditions of several hundred schools - boundary walls, new classrooms, drinking water, toilets -- and in order for the REAL and lasting development of any state, we need to concentrate on 100 percent qualitative improvement of primary education [ages 6 to 14] -- incidentally this has been undertaken with significant success in the much lambasted 'laloo regime' with all its anarchy.

In this context, I was also apprised of some of the problems of the secondary level government schools - and the urgent need is not 40,000 teachers to be sent to schools with no benches, no toilets, no water, no funds to maintain their libraries [actually no libraries], no equipment for basic science experiments. This segment was totally neglected.

What we need is to get the infrastructure put in place in existing schools, retrain and empower EXISTING educational professionals and first let the students - [ the people who really matter] - feel that they are being given basic facilities as soon as possible.

Sorry, folk, this recruitment of 40,000 teachers [trained a decade ago!!!!] is nothing but political eye-wash. i would like to see the new government actually get down to the fundamentals of development that is measurable in the context of qualitative improvement in the physical and educational well-being of existing schools which are languishing and hence only producing maladjusted young people largely incapable of further employment.

Rahul’s reply " Bihar has a long way to go and debates on what should be done and what should not be done will not yield anything.

Yes I understand that raising the current standard and facilities of schools is important but don't you think that there areas in our state that don't even have basic education facility. If teachers are to be recruited then definitely new schools and facilities will open up. And don't you know that there is a lack of teaching force even in the existing schools. What use will be better infrastructure and facilities without any teachers???

You can just judge anyone just like that… Yes 10 years are a long time but how can you say that they have become useless. You cannot just take away their right to get the job they deserve. Put yourself in their shoes. And moreover recruitment of people will not do anything bad.

In the current circumstances every development in the state can be regarded as political eyewash (If you want to), like….. Nitish going to the Pravashi Bharatiya Mahatosav, asking for investment in Bihar, opening up of sugar mills, blahh blahhh.. God knows whether it will work for Bihar or will it only be the material for newspapers and media persons to talk about. I know that the success of this teacher appointment thing depends on time and the government's honesty and this applies to all the plans for BIHAR."

Why do we always have to think the sophisticated way?

My take” Sometimes the political leadership takes decision which is merely populist in nature and that's just one of the pitfalls of popular democratically elected govt.

I think all of us realize that problems are more deep rooted and basic in nature. The system needs a complete overhaul; we need some fundamental changes in the model which we have been following.

Some how I feel that govt. should involve more NGO's and other developmental agencies for meeting this huge requirement for basic education in the state.

Infrastructure is another critical factor which needs immediate attention, without basic amenities we can never dream of having a good education system.

7TH RAVI BHARATI BIHAR LOW COST VIDEO FESTIVAL
28 TO 30 APRIL 2006

The Bihar Low Cost Video festival, Abhivyakti [formerly All Bihar VHS videofest] held every two years since 1994 is the oldest grassroots folk-based media events in Bihar. Videos and features premiered in this festival have gone on to win accolades for the film-makers in bigger festivals. In recent years, the festival has begun to attract a significant number of student film-makers and short student films from all over India form a significant segment of the festival.

The purpose of the fest is to highlight issues of social importance, introduce alternative film-makers to the people, and to provide enhanced media literacy for students and interested persons. Grass-roots films especially from the Bihar/ Jharkhand/ Orissa/and Andaman regions are invited, as also are videos on value education, health and human rights issues from anywhere in India.

The projects screened however must have been made between the years 2004 and 2006.
This is an open forum for activist film-makers. There is no competition section. However, awards are presented in the student film section entries to encourage student film-makers.

Our definition of low-cost films for professional film-makers are projects under 45 minutes that have a budget of less than 2.5 lakhs of rupees.

Media /Formats accepted: VCD/ DVD/ VHS tapes [PAL]

Please include Rs 50 as handling charges so we can return your tapes.

Our selection committee will inform you by E-mail if your video will be screened at the festival. On receiving the mail, kindly pay the entrance fee of Rs 150 latest by April 26. Demand drafts preferred. Cash accepted through MO. Outstation cheques add Rs 25 bank charges. Cheques/ drafts to be made out to Ravi Bharati

The last date for accepting registrations is April 10. The selection committee will meet on March 15, March 30, and April 11. The quicker you send in your entries for preview, the better.

Postal address:
The Convenor
ABHIVYAKTI 2006
c/o RAVI BHARATI [Institute of Communication Arts]
Near Kurji Holy Family Hospital
P.O. Sadaquat Ashram
Patna 800 010

For more details please contact Ravi Bharati email: ravibharti@sancharnet.in or to the convenor at: sikkimkrishna@gmail.com

Innovation is deeply rooted in human nature which always seeks answer to questions. All innovations are outcome of man's fundamental nature which is curiosity, which raises the issue of how, when, what if?

But unfortunately our prevailing education and social system doesn’t allow us to question the rationale of doing things the way it is done. The age old wisdom is seldom questioned and we are a happy bunch of people doing things the way it is being done.

Here’what Raghunath Anant Mashelkar, director general, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and secretary, government of India, department of scientific and industrial research, has to say on creating an inquiring society to promote innovation

We need a healthy atmosphere of debate and encouraging enterprising minds to raise questions and come up with solutions. Perhaps the process of innovation itself has it roots in questioning. In the initial stage questions will be to raised, after some time the solutions will also come in varied form.

CK Prahlad’s theory has got more to do with the business models of organizations who are trying to spread base for their so called premium brands like Soft Drinks and Personal Hygiene FMCG goods. Here’s what Prahlad has to say

The Department of Science and Technology set up the NIF in March 2000 as a communication channel between creative voices at the grassroots and policymakers, entrepreneurs, investors and stakeholders in the knowledge and innovation chain.

The Honey Bee network is one such network which has done a commendable job in this direction. Over the years they have documented innovations, traditional practices & collected outstanding examples of contemporary knowledge to form a 10,000 strong database (Honey Bee Database of Grassroots Innovations) part of which we have converted as multimedia database.

ITC’s rural market initiatives are also classic example of private players partnering with local people and fostering a culture of social entrepreneurship.


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Here’s another typical JUGGAR example which typifies the Indian or rather Bihari Buddhi(mind).A guy called Raghav from Muzzafarpur set his FM radio station with an investment of only 50 Rs. It started with the repair of radio sets, from where Raghav picked up the tricks and since then, Raghav FM Mansoorpur 1, as his FM station is called is a household name.

Raghav has no license to run a FM station and thus, technically this station is illegal, but who cares? Raghav is a happy man. "CD nikala to dekhe ki agal bagal main catch kaar raha hai. Cordless mike dekhe, issi ko soch kaar apna banaye. Isme 50 rupiya laga hai. 3-4 part laga hai, Rs 50 rupaiya kharcha hai", explains Raghav.

"Welcome to Radio Raghav FM Mansoorpur 1, one stop entertainment solution for all. Tune in not only for your favourite filmi numbers, but also for information, which we think is crucial for you. Over to the anchor," says a voice on the radio.

The buck then passes on to the anchor of the Raghav radio FM station, Sambhu. "Namaskaar, main apka dost Sambhu. Aap sun rahe hain, FM Mansoorpur 1. Aap logo ko suchana dena chahate hai, aids chune se nahi failta, saiyam aur surakcha, aids se rakcha,"he says.

Man that’s innovation for you.


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Well if you thought that Marathon happens only in Mumbai or Delhi think again Bihar joins the race as our new CM has started a new marathon race for initiating the process of development. The marathon was organized to spread the message of development and to aware the people of the State regarding the initiatives taken by the Government of Bihar.To read more click here, here.

Also the new CM made an appeal to the participants of the 11th Youth Festival to be the "brand ambassadors of Bihar" in their own respective states. "I ask you all to become brand ambassadors of Bihar," he told them. He also narrated an anecdote. Given his persistent harping on building a new Bihar, a few of his confidants suggested that he should nominate brand ambassadors. "You have seen and experienced Bihar for the last five days. Bihar wants to do something. It has begun to change. You should explain it wherever you go," he told about 4,000 participants of the youth festival.

In another mega development Prakash Jha is planning to open more than two dozen multiplexes across the state. We have decided that the work on building multiplexes will commence from March this year and few multiplexes will be ready by next year," Jha told IANS.I guess that’s just what we need to make the process of development a little more glamorous.My sincere suggestions to the Sports and culture ministry are to organize more such events in the days to come.


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Well if you thought that Marathon happens only in Mumbai or Delhi think again Bihar joins the race as our new CM has started a new marathon race for initiating the process of development. The marathon was organized to spread the message of development and to aware the people of the State regarding the initiatives taken by the Government of Bihar.To read more click here, here.

Also the new CM made an appeal to the participants of the 11th Youth Festival to be the "brand ambassadors of Bihar" in their own respective states. "I ask you all to become brand ambassadors of Bihar," he told them. He also narrated an anecdote. Given his persistent harping on building a new Bihar, a few of his confidants suggested that he should nominate brand ambassadors. "You have seen and experienced Bihar for the last five days. Bihar wants to do something. It has begun to change. You should explain it wherever you go," he told about 4,000 participants of the youth festival.

In another mega development Prakash Jha is planning to open more than two dozen multiplexes across the state. We have decided that the work on building multiplexes will commence from March this year and few multiplexes will be ready by next year," Jha told IANS.I guess that’s just what we need to make the process of development a little more glamorous.My sincere suggestions to the Sports and culture ministry are to organize more such events in the days to come.


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Thanks to the initiative taken by PM Manmohan Singh, a special task force on Bihar has been constituted in the Planning Commission on issues relating to the economy of Bihar, its finances, governance and possible development strategies.

Satish Chandra Jha, the former director and chief economist, Asian Development Bank and ex-chairman, Bihar State Finance Commission, has been made chairman of the task force. . The six members of the team are Saurav Srivastava, founder president of NASSCOM and ex-chairman of Xansa India Limited; Rajender Singh, ex-chairman NTPC; R K Sinha, former member UPSC and ex-industry secretary, Bihar; former deputy director general at ICAR P V Dehadrai; Nachiket Mor, executive director, ICICI bank, Mumbai and Tarun Das, representative of CII.

The task force will submit an interim report within three months. The final report will have to be prepared within six months, said member secretary Shah in an official notification. According to official sources, on the recommendation of the task force, the Planning Commission may appoint consultants for specific periods, in accordance with the prescribed guidelines, to carry out specific technical task such as data collection, collation and analysis.

The Planning Commission will be the nodal agency for the task force for administrative, logistic and budgeting purposes. It would submit quarterly reports to the deputy chairman and the Prime Minister for review and appropriate action. It would analyse issues relating to the state of the economy of Bihar, sources of finances locally, nationally and globally- to fund the development of Bihar.

In another development the state government is launching an ambitious plan at the cost of Rs. 500 crore to change the face of Patna as we all know it today by revealing plans to beautify the city implantation on which would begin in a couple of months, officials at the Urban Development Ministry said.

The plan includes improvement in road conditions, underground drainage system, better roads, new flyovers, plantation of more trees in many areas, beautification of existing parks and construction of new ones, and better garbage disposal facility, reports said.

Comprehensive modernization work in Patna is expected to begin in the new fiscal year and the plans have already been approved by the Planning Commission, it was learnt.While half of the developmental cost would be met by the state government, the remaining half would be financed by the Central government.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has ordered beautification of Patna's Gandhi Maidan saying the land, besides the historical Gol Ghar, was the main icon of the city of Pataliputra and must be maintained and kept in top shape. He also directed the Chief Secretary G. S. Kang to hold meetings with Patna District Magistrate (DM) Ashish Ranjan Sinha and chalk out a plan to improve the condition of Gandhi Maidan.


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It's seems Bihar has found a good guardian angel in our most admired President Dr APJ Kalam Azad. He is likely to attend a joint session of Bihar Assembly by the end of March and deliver a talk on governance.

Some other initiatives are being taken by the new govt. to restart the old and closed sugar mills of Bihar. Bajaj group of industries have shown keen interest in reviving these closed mills .More on this here.

In another development IAS officers from Bihar have shown keen interest in coming back to Bihar and play an active role in reviving the state’s condition. Officers from other states are also keen to join the state cadre and bring about a change in the law and order situation in the state. Click here to read more.

Patna is also hosting a film festival from 11th Feb to 17th Feb and a state government press release said before the screening of each film, experts and critics will brief the audience about the techniques and nuances of the film so that the viewers understand and appreciate the film better.

It also said that information and public relations secretary Vivek Kumar Singh on Thursday held a meeting with film critics and others associated with film making, at the Mona Cinema Hall which will be the venue for the festival.

Unlike other cities where film festivals remain only within the reach of the elite, the Patna Film Festival will open its arms to children from the slums, women and ordinary folks

.
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The hype on Bhojpuri Movies has taken the world by storm, even BBC has an article on this.

Bollywood is having to take a backseat as the hitherto little-known regional Bhojpuri film industry steals the show in India.The industry, catering to 200m people who speak the Bhojpuri language - a dialect of Hindi - and live in the states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, is raking in cash like never before

The Blog world is full of posts on Bhojpuri Movies.I guess good or bad is not important to us,the fact that after Laloo yadav ,Manoj tiwari seems to be in the news everywhere.Check out Rashmi's blog here and Bhojpuri Bithua's here

Infact I always carry few CD's of Bhojpuri songs where ever I go.One of my favourite dream is to form a Bhojpuri Rock Band,even Bhojpuri Trance or Blues will do.Well Guddu rangeela "humka hoi chahee" "Ek chumaaa" are few no. which we all have relished because of the desi pucca bihari Lette like flavour.Well I thought after laloo the media would find it really tough to find something as hot , spicy and spontaneous as Laloo but seems that Bhojpuri Movies have kept the buzz going.

Finally after the much disgraced exit of Mr Luta (sorry) Buta Singh new governor of Bihar Mr. Gopal Krishna Gandhi was administered the oath by Chief Justice of the Patna High Court J N Bhatt.

Gandhi, who is currently the governor of West Bengal, has been given the additional charge of Bihar by the Centre after Buta Singh quit the post of state governor in the wake of his indictment by the Supreme Court for his role in the dissolution of the 13th Bihar legislative assembly.

In another development Mr Laloo and Co. has finally moved out of 1,Anne Marg after numerous eviction notices served by the administration.

We have packed up from here and shifted our luggages to 10, Circular Road, the new house allotted to Madam (Rabri Devi). Everything has been shifted except for a few goats and cowdung", Lalu jocularly told mediamen virtually bringing down the curtains on the impasse over the bungalow.

In the same vein, he said it did not mean that his family had formally shifted to the new house, earlier occupied by his high-profile brother-in-law and Lok Sabha member Anirudh Prasad alias Sadhu Yadav.