Cool Bihari: October 2006

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Festivities in Bihar

It's really an exhilarating experience to be in Patna during this time of the year. The festivities have really left indelible memories in my mind and it is a memorable experience to be soaked in the festivities of Bihar.

Diwali and Chath is Bihar is celebrated with great fervor and every citizen feels being part of this mahaparva. Chandan has put a great collection of some awesome pictures of the celebrations in Patna. Thanks Chandan for these wonderful images from the streets of Patna.

Please go through the link given below to get a feel of the festive spirit in Patna.

http://picasaweb.google.com/csingh/FestiveOctober

Posted by Ajit Chouhan at 3:09 PM | Permalink | Comments

Thursday, October 26, 2006

One Bihar Shines

The festival session in Bihar saw an initiative of a new kind when a few Biharis from across the world converged in Patna to demonstrate the power of knowledge and collaboration in a flat world.

For the first time, students from Patna saw a team of committed and experienced professionals from world's well known organizations and having collective expertise in diverse areas ranging from management to technology coming on a single platform under the One Bihar Initiative. "A New Awakening" was palpable as the sons of the soils came together for sharing their experience of corporate worlds and giving a realistic picture of various career options like IT, Management, Media.

The event was organized in B N College Seminar hall and it was kick started with the inaugural speech of Dr Sukhda Prasad, Principal Magadh Mahila College, who shared her thoughts on the untapped talent pool which Bihar has. She stressed the fact that despite the best of Human Resource talent available in the state, Bihar has not been able to develop up to its true potential. She was enthused by the kind of commitment which the One Bihar team has shown in giving back in terms of helping the students to achieve the potential in the best possible way. Dr. Ramesh Prasad, Principal BN College, also graced the occasion. The One Bihar team acknowledged and thanked him for his kind support.

The first presentation of the seminar was on Careers from Human resource perspective by Ajit Chouhan from Infosys HRD team. He shared some facts and analysis on how our talent pool has not been able to keep pace with the growing demand of IT and ITES professional. He stressed the fact that only 25 % of the total engineering graduates in India are employable. The talent crunch is likely to be serious bottleneck in the growth of Indian economy and the ITES services in the country. And here students from Bihar can tap the opportunity.

The next presentation was on various options available for Management students and this was jointly conducted by Atul Kumar, an IIM Ahmadabad Alumnus, Mayank Krishna, an alumnus of IMT, Ghaziabad, and Rajiv Vidyarthi, an alumnus of IIM Lucknow. The interaction was focused on the different aspects of Management education, the types of institutes, on factors which one must weigh before opting for management as a career. A realistic perspective with focus on practical aspects of management education was discussed in detail. They also spoke about the different streams of management such as finance, marketing and Information systems with inputs on real life job scenarios and practical applications. The team shared its learning as professional working in different organizations and exhorted students to focus on their strengths and work around their weaknesses in their endeavour to strive for excellence.

Samir Mishra, an IT consultant based in Australia, spoke on the various options of Higher Studies which were available for students who intended to go abroad. He spoke about the various processes and steps involved for getting into the top institutions outside India. Samir shared his experience of getting the requisite clearance and his academic experience in Australia. He also spoke about the new trends like open source and usage of IT in acquiring the right information for seeking career opportunities aboard.

A presentation on career opportunities Media was presented by Frank Krishner. The presentation was contributed by Sweta Singh, Program Coordinator with Apeejay Institute of Mass Communication. The talk was focused around the opportunities which media and mass communication provides to the students. Students were informed about the different course and institutes which are offering these vocational courses. Frank used his journalistic experience to demonstrated the realistic aspect of a career in journalism.

Chandan Singh from the One Bihar team and a key proponent of the Patna rice project shared the experience of the group which worked as a virtual team from all over the world .Chandan with other members shared the experience of working as 24*7 team for this event organized under the One Bihar platform. Rahul Barnwal of Seimen's Power, anchored the event with great aplomb. The event was also addressed by Dr. P C Verma, an economist and professor of Patna University. He gave his thumbs up to the new initiative where people of Bihar were coming back to help their fellow Biharis in achieving career objectives. He also stressed on the need for sharing their corporate experience with institutions in Bihar to create more market and industry friendly academic atmosphere in Bihar.

After the program, the charged up students interacted individually with members of the One Bihar team and discussed their individual queries, doubts, and any other thing that was on their mind related to career. The One Bihar team also committed to students that they could seek their help anytime in future through e-mail ( one.bihar@gmail.com) and they would be glad to help students with their career related queries.

Posted by Ajit Chouhan at 9:20 PM | Permalink | Comments

Friday, October 20, 2006

Bihar's Shining !!!!

There were times when it was difficult to find some silver linings in the dark clouds of crime, poverty and dejection in Bihar. It would be benign to say that the mainstream media was hostile towards Bihar. They earned their bread and butter by selling Bihar’s and Biharis misfortune. Times have changed and in the last one year there’s never been a day when something positive in Bihar goes unnoticed by the media. Suddenly reporting the other or rather the better side of Bihar is en vogue in mainstream media.

So if you happen to miss some action from Bihar for a day or two, you are likely to be pleasantly surprised by the news from Bihar.The good news just keeps coming and every Bihari knows deep inside that the time of our motherland has come.

Some of the actions this week are good enough indicators that things are shaping in the right direction.A seminar was conducted in Patna on the 'Role of Media in Today's Bihar this Wednesday and Senior Journalist, peace activist and former Rajya Sabha Member Kuldip Nayar was in Patna to attend the meet.He said that had gotten used to being suppressed and oppressed by its previous leaders and it was up to the people of Bihar and the state media to extricate themselves from this predicament."Bihar cannot come out of this rut with the help of only external investments. People of Bihar will have to make a choice whether they want development or not," Nayar said.

In yet another instance of exemplary Bihari talent, TOI reports about Bhavna Thakur an NRB who is making big in the world of arts and culture.

Daughter of senior IAS officer Ajay Kumar Thakur, Bhavna still remembers her Bihar connections vividly. "I am very proud to be a Bihari and always acknowledge my roots. My most important formative experiences in Bihar is related to the education I received from my grandfather Hari Kishore Thakur who was a lawyer and a freedom fighter. He introduced me to the world of books and poetry. He could not wait to see me grow up fast enough. I remember reading Tolstoy's War and Peace when I was fifteen and spending the summer discussing it with him. My mother insisted that I read Hindi writers," she said while speaking to TOI.

Bhavna's academic background has been impressive and she currently works in one of New York's leading law firms. But it is her passion for theatre which is making news. In fact, she is the director of a non-profit making theatre company — Alter Ego Production. "Alter Ego is made up of people who work on Wall Street, finance, law, architecture, graphic design, marketing etc in New York City. A whole bunch of South Asian professionals who have day jobs but moonlights in the theatre," she said. Bhavna has even acted in several plays like Joseph Kesserling's Arsenic and old lace and Woody Allen's Don't drink the water. And, she has directed plays like Peter Brook's Mahabharata and has produced several plays through her company.

This is not the end, Anand kumar from Patna has been invited the prestigious IIM’s to deliver a talk to the first year students of IIM. You can read the complete story on Anand Kumar by our Cool Bihari member Sudhir Kumar of Bhojpuria fame here and here.

So just goes on to prove that Bihari talent is truly shining all over the world and no longer it can be ignored by anyone.The new role models of Bihar are shaping the future dreams of the new generation of Biharis who are not only diligent,ambitious and talent but also have a new found zeal of coming from a state which has produced some of the best minds …Kudos to Bihari talent…Cheers

Posted by Ajit Chouhan at 1:03 AM | Permalink | Comments

Monday, October 16, 2006

Career Seminar in Patna on 25th Oct

Bihar – our motherland – has gone through a very difficult phase in last few decades/centuries. We have moved from the glorious days of being at the heart of the ancient Indian Civilization, Education & Economy to periphery significance. While Biharis have done exceedingly well in traditional careers like Civil Services (IAS/IFS/IPS), Banking, Medical & Engineering, and recently Management related careers, Bihar hasn’t seen many opportunities within Bihar in non-Govt. careers. As a result, in the last 30-40 years, we have seen Biharis migrate across Globe and within India for education, career and other reasons.

We might be spread across world or remote corners of world but our hearts still lie in our motherland. Wherever we are, we miss the warmth of our Bihari culture and regret the untapped potential of Bihar’s Talent Pool and resulting under-development of our motherland. We do pay occasional visits to meet our families, for festivals, social occasions etc. but feel that we can and should do more. No matter how well we do in our personal careers & life, we will never feel proud unless and until Bihar – our “extended family” – does well.

Bihar has to change for the better and needs some payback from it sons & daughters. To create awareness towards this purpose, there are various online groups, which are active in different areas. Some of the online groups on yahoo are Bihari, Coolbihari, Biharbrains, WorldBihariForum, NonResidentBiharis, BiharisInMedia, Golghar and many more on Orkut.

Between Diwali & Chath many of the non-resident Biharis will converge in Bihar from across India and world. They have planned an informal career seminar in Patna with help from all online & offline groups. Primary agenda is to provide an opportunity for students of +2 and higher level to get some insights from people who are already in Industry and to provide an opportunity to ask career questions in an informal and friendly setting. Depending on response to this initiative, we can make it a half-yearly or yearly event on a grand scale. We also plan to come up with an online discussion forum so that students have access to experts from across the Globe on a real time basis.

Venue: B N College, Patna Date: 25-October-2006

Agenda

10:00 - 10:15 Introduction and What the whole event is all about
10:15 - 10:45 New Career Paths from HR Perspective
10:45 - 11:30 Career Paths in Management / CAT-XLRI-ISB and beyond
11:30 - 12:00 Higher Studies options abroad
12:00 - 12:30 Careers in Media and Mass Communication
12:30 - 13:00 Open Source Software Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
13:00 - 13:10 Introduction to the Career Brochure prepared by Bihari Group
13:10 - 13:15 Closing Note
13:15 - 14:00 One to One Interaction with Students
14:00 Wind – up

Look forward to an invigorating day with you!

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Profile of the One Bihar Team

Ajit Chouhan: Ajit is working as Business Partner-HR with Infosys Technologies Limited in Mysore. Ajit has a Post Graduate Certificate in Human Resource Management from XLRI and also has a Master’s degree in PMIR from Patna University. He is one of the founder members of the core group of Patna Rice Project. Ajit's expertise lies in Performance Management, Career Development, Talent Retention, and Human Resource Information Systems. Ajit is owner of the Cool Bihari group and also Cool Bihari blog ,the first blog dedicated to Bihar. Ajit is a member of Patna University PMIR Alumni Group, and XLRI Alumni Network. He is the owner of an International HR group, HR Funda, having over 800 members from HR Fraternity. He also writes an HR focused blog, HR Funda .He hosts “The Job Shop” that is dedicated to listing of HR opening in India. Ajit is also involved with Local Bihar level NGO’s which are actively working with destitute children’s and slum dwellers.

Atul Kumar: Atul is AVP at Genpact located in Danbury, CT. Atul did his MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Prior to his current role, Atul served in various roles with GE Commercial Finance, and GE Capital International Services. He has significant work experience in Europe. He is one of the founder members of the core group of Patna Rice Project. Atul is a member of World Affairs Forum, IIMUSA and IIMA and various Bihari groups including AN College Patna Alumni group. He is also associated with Bihar and Patna focused developmental/education projects. Atul also blogs at www.atultech.blogspot.com

Chandan Singh: Chandan is Executive Director at Greenpower India, an organization focused on environment and Tigers, based out of Patna. He is heading the Project Similipal along with WWF-Orissa at Similipal Tiger reserve, Orissa. Chandan is credited with developing country’s first polythene based biogas plants, which have been installed in Mayurbhunj district in Orissa. A Civil and environmental engineer by qualification, Chandan also has a bachelor’s degree in Computer science. Prior to Greenpower, Chandan worked as the Project engineer at FANUC GE at Bangalore. He is one of the founder members of the core group of Patna Rice Project and presently its member secretary. He has undertaken some successful international projects on renewable energy and bio diesel production with ‘Taking IT global’ (http://www.takingitglobal.org/), MBR (Mayurbhunj Biosphere Research). Chandan is also a member of coolbihari and bihari.org.

Mayank Krishna: Mayank is Sales Manager at Pidilite Industries Limited. He did MBA from IMT Ghaziabad. He is one of the founder members of the core group of Patna Rice Project. He was awarded CRISIL Young Thought Leader award in 2003. Mayank is a prolific writer and has some published articles in publications like The Economic Times, Times of India, Indiainfoline, etc. He also writes a business management blog, Logical String, at http://www.mayankkrishna.blogspot.com/. He is an active member of the Cool Bihari group.

Rahul Kumar Barnwal: Rahul is Manager at Siemens Power Engineering Limited in Gurgaon. Prior to his current role, Rahul served as Executive Engineer at Larsen & Tourbo Limited in Baroda. Rahul has a B Tech from NIT, Surat and his core expertise includes Power Plant Engineering co-ordination & management. Rahul is one of the founder members of the core group of Patna Rice Project.

Rajiv Vidyarthi: Rajiv is a senior consultant with Capgemini Consulting India Pvt Ltd. Rajiv completed his B Tech from IIT Delhi and MBA from IIM Lucknow. Rajiv's expertise includes business analysis, proposal preparation, project bidding, market research and new product development. Rajiv is a moderator and core group member of the largest Bihar based groups "Bihari".

Saroj Kumar: Saroj is Senior Consultant at Satyam Computers located in Fremont, CA. Saroj attended Regional Engineering College, Trichy where he studied Production Engineering and earned a Bachelors degree. Saroj is moderator of the Bihari group. Web:http://bihariworld.blogspot.com/

Samir Misra: Samir is System Architect at IBS SafeWorld and based out of Australia. Samir has over 10 years of experience in IT and Technology solution in reputed organizations like Cognizant Technology Solutions, PSI Data Systems Limited, iGate Global Solutions, etc. Samir is a member of various groups like IT Pro Australia, Bihari, Bihar Brains, Patna Rice.org and Cool Bihari group. Samir is a Master’s in Computer Science from IGNOU. He blogs at www.semanticdb.blogspot.com. Samir is currently pursuing MPhil (Masters by Research) on Semantic Database form University of Queensland (Brisbane).

Sweta Singh: Sweta is Program Coordinator with Apeejay Institute of Mass Communication New Delhi. She is an alumni of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi. She has worked as reporter with Doordarshan News and Aaj Tak in New Delhi. She is also the moderator of a couple of online groups, the most active being the “biharis in media” group on Yahoo.

Thakur Vikas Sinha: Thakur Vikas is a Sr. VP at Polaris Software based out of Mumbai. He in an MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur and B Tech from IT BHU. Prior to his current profile, he has served in senior level position in reputed IT companies like Mphasis, and CMC Ltd. He is one of the founder members of the core group of Patna Rice Project and currently its chairman. He is a member of Bihari Org. He is a prolific writer on Bihar related issues and his articles are regularly published on the Patna Daily (http://www.patnadaily.com/) and the Cool Bihari Blog (www.coolbihari.blogspot.com).

Posted by Ajit Chouhan at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Aurangabad goes Pink ….

In a well thought out strategy by the think tank of the Aurangabad city, the authorities are on a spree to paint the city in Pink. Nothing can beat this unique effort to wash away the past and have a new fresh pink beginning.

BBC reports that the authorities feel pink is the way to go for Aurangabad residents to feel proud of their town again. Travel into the city today and you find the facades of most of the private and government painted a gaudy pink. "About 80% of the buildings have been painted pink in the town and the rest would be completed by next week," the town's sub-division officer Arvind Kumar Singh said.

'Pink fosters harmony'

Mr Singh says he thought of painting Aurangabad pink after a visit to Jaipur. "What better colour than pink which symbolises good mood, soothing sight and good feelings. Pink also fosters communal amity and harmony," he says. Accordingly, the government buildings were all painted pink, and now private dwellings seem to be following suit without much resistance. Four of the six hotels in the town already sport the colour.

Posted by Ajit Chouhan at 3:05 PM | Permalink | Comments

One Bihar:A New Awakening

Keep watching this space for some Cool Action from the One Bihar Team.....

Posted by Ajit Chouhan at 1:17 AM | Permalink | Comments

Friday, October 13, 2006

Economic Prosperity and Suicide Rates

Interesting observations in a report which tries to highlight that Suicide rates and economic prosperity of a state may be directly proportional. Bihar figures low on development parameters as compare to other state but the suicides rates in Bihar continues to be lowest despite the high percentage of its population living below the poverty line. Where as Southern states which have high growth rates continue to have high suicide rates and account for 47 per cent of the total suicides.

According to a study by the voluntary organisation Sneha, the state accounts for only 1.7 per cent of India's suicides. Uttar Pradesh comes second at 4.8 per cent, and Kerala, India's most literate state, rules the chart as before with 25.9 per cent.

Forty per cent of Bihar's 83 million population lives below the poverty line, the highest national figure and the migration level is high. The study concludes that the general hardship and the average Bihari's high endurance could have much to do with the low figure. According to the report, most of the 154,000 annual suicides in India are of those below the age of 40 - and most of them youngsters.

Southern states account for 47 per cent of the total suicides. Last year Tamil Nadu reported 11,000. Pondicherry, too, shows a rising trend with 57 people out of every 100,000 taking their own lives.

Among the factors cited are increasing alcoholism, mental illness, crime, domestic violence, migration, consumerism, indebtedness, competitiveness and unemployment. All these have pushed up the country's suicide rate from 6.7 per 100,000 in 1975 to 10.4 this year.

Looking at the factors which contributes to high Suicide rates one may infer that despite all odds Bihar scores well on social harmony front.It also speaks a lot about the resilience and fortitude of Bihari people who have the gumptions and fortutude to brave odds and survive.

Posted by Ajit Chouhan at 12:28 PM | Permalink | Comments

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Private Investments in Bihar

Recent reports suggest that Bihar Govt. has approved private projects worth Rs 11,000 crore over the last few months.

"The new government in Bihar is committed to industrialisation and economic development and the state cabinet as well as the state investment board have approved private projects entailing investments of Rs 11,000 crore," State Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi told here.

Modi, who was here for a Planning Commission conference on infrastructure development, said the state government was taking urgent steps to make environment conducive for private companies.

"We are working on a variety of enabling factors like infrastructure development, concessions to industries and bringing down the crime rate," he said. The state government is investing as much as Rs 3,000 crore on roads and is also spending on improving the dismal power situation.

"At the moment Bihar is generating just 30 MW of power. We have now given Rs 650 crore to NTPC to revive Barauni and Kanti thermal power plants, which would give an additional 600 MWs. Power generation from these plants will in fact start by March-April next year," he said.

Asked about the investments that have flowed in the state, he said these were industries around sugarcane and maize. "It is mainly sugarcane-based industries that have come now. We, however, also have 3-4 cement plants as well as multiplexes that have brought in money," Modi said.

Posted by Ajit Chouhan at 8:02 PM | Permalink | Comments

Friday, October 06, 2006

Revival of Agro Based Industries in Bihar

Bihar has been one of the largest producers of sugarcane in the Country during the late 40’s and early 50’s.Studies point out that there has been a gradual decline in the agro based industries in Bihar over a period of time due to lack of proper support and investment from the central govt. The new CM also feels that the agricultural interest of the state needs to be protected and hence the state is not in favour of creating SEZ’s and he says “They are controversial and we can’t spare agricultural land.”

The President during his visit to Bihar also outlined the road map for the sugar industry revival and highlighted the immense potential the industry has for North Bihar in particular.

The North of Bihar is agro-climatically very suitable for producing good quality sugarcane with minimum inputs as compared to other states. This should be used to the best advantage of the state. Sugar Cane Research Institute, Pusa or other Sugar Institutions have to work together to develop new varieties of sugar cane to meet the climatic and soil requirements of Bihar. Their research and development must enable the increase the productivity of the sugar cane.

Continuing with its focus on agricultural development the state cabinet on Thursday gave clearance to P&M Infrastructure Limited to install a sugar mill in West Champaran district and also sanctioned Rs 37.38 crore for payment of salary and other arrears to the teaching and non-teaching staff of madrassas.

Eminent film director Prakash Jha is associated with the P&M company which is to invest Rs 147 crore for the sugar mill at Guruwalia Viswas village in Chanpatia block of West Chaparan district. It will have cane- crushing capacity of 5,000 TCD and produce 60 kil litre of distillery per day apart from 25 MW of power.

Posted by Ajit Chouhan at 12:26 PM | Permalink | Comments

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Dasharath Manjhi recommended for Padma Awards

In one of my earlier post titled “Heroes of our times” I had mentioned about the real life inspiring effort of Dasharath Manjhi whose claim to fame has been the herculean task of single-handedly carving a 360-ft long, 25-ft high and 30-ft wide road by cutting a mountain for 22 years.

His feat is, in fact, awesome, his posthumous love for his wife perhaps surpassing the legendary love story of Salim-Anarkali: For, Manjhi took upon himself the task of breaking open a mountain pass only after his beloved wife passed away. Reason? He could not take his ailing wife to the nearest hospital — six hours away in route skirting the mountain block — in time.

Where the mountain failed him in saving his wife, Manjhi attacked it with primitive tools like chisel and hammer to split open a 360-feet-long, 30-feet-wide and 25-feet-high passage which now enabled villagers to reach the far-away hospital in just under an hour! Manjhi's mountain pass has reduced the distance between Atri and Wazirganj subdivisions of Gaya district from 50 km to 10 km.

When this mountain-tamer from Gaya's Gauhluar village arrived at CM Nitish Kumar's popular "Janata Ke Durbar Mein Mukhya Mantri"programme on July 24, seeking possession of the land promised by the erstwhile RJD government for his daunting feat, Nitish got up and offered him the CM's chair. Now, the Nitish government has recommended Manjhi's name, along with four others, for the prestigious Padma award in social service sector.

Really goes on to prove one thing that human sprit and valor needs no other reason but a purpose and determination to achieve the impossible. Imagine the fortitude of this brave soul who dared to turn seemingly impossible task for an individual to the purpose of his existence. His act of determination needs to be recognized and spoken about at all level.

Why can’t our social scientist , OB guru’s and management researchers study this extra ordinary achievement of a common man. Will IIMs invite him to give a talk on human courage and determination? Why can’t some one write a book titled “what they don’t teach you at any B-school”.

I guess I’m taking my imagination too far but I’ll rather enjoy meeting Dasharath and understanding him than listening to any management guru’s funda. Nothing teaches you as much as life ….and who better than Dashrath to teach this lesson of life …

Posted by Ajit Chouhan at 9:05 PM | Permalink | Comments

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Bihari Doctor Recognised

Vijay Kumar , a Bihari Doctor in US was recently awarded member of Michigan Board of Physical Therapy says “It is a great and noble privilege to serve the people of Michigan. I know that you will do the people's work with excellence and integrity and that you will never take lightly the responsibility the people have given you."

With roots stemming to middle class citizenry in Bihar, India, Kumar has attracted global attention in the physical therapist world and with the public through his work and business centers in Michigan and Indiana. His intense thirst for knowledge drove him to significant educational successes - to finish a master's in physical therapy and then a Ph.D. in Social Sciences along with several post graduate degrees in medicine.

Along the route to his current popularity, his professional path has led him to meet with dignitaries from around the world. Along with Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi and President of Rugby, Kumar was personally invited by the Prime Minister of India to attend India Day in 2004 as a NRI (non-resident of India) where his personal achievements at home and abroad were recognized. A stellar achievement in his professional career, in 2004, during a Republican gathering in Washington, D.C. where Kumar met President George Bush, he was honored as Businessman of the Year.

Posted by Ajit Chouhan at 1:07 AM | Permalink | Comments

Bhojpuri Cinema Goes Global

My interest in Bhojpuri movies are growing every day as I read more about Bhojpuri movies going global and making its presence felt in Bollywood.Reports suggest that members of the Bhojpuri film fraternity, which has seen a phenomenal growth in the last few years, have joined hands to organise their first star-spangled stage show called 'Bhojpuri Hungama' in India and abroad.

Produced by Mehmood Ali of Pen and Camera International in association with First Release Worldwide Company, the show will begin Oct 26 in Mumbai. Actor Ravi Kishan, said to be the superstar of Bhojpuri films, is leading the troupe and is thrilled to bits.

'I have worked very hard to popularise this language, which was looked down upon as a c-grade vernacular language. I am from Jaunpur and love my language. I decided to market it in a way that would make it an international phenomenon. And see ... we are going to have our first Bhojpuri concert across the globe,' Ravi told IANS.

'Over 270 million people speak and understand Bhojpuri and we are expecting more than 100,000 people to attend the concert in Mumbai,' he added. Twenty shows are being planned in various parts of India and rest of the world.

With the phenomenal growth experienced by the Bhojpuri film industry, many Bollywood stars too have joined in to add the glamour quotient. 'From Amitabh Bachchan to Dilip Kumar and G.P. Sippy - everybody is now showing interest in Bhojpuri films. In fact, Dilip saab told me that Bollywood is selling pizzas and burgers to Indian audiences while you are selling the authentic Indian stuff,' added Ravi.

Yesteryears actress Saira Banu recently entered Bhojpuri films with 'Ab To Banja Sajanwa Hamaar', which is produced by her. 'I always felt it was a beautiful language. There is something distinctive about it. I remember in 1976, in 'Bairaag', I played a
Bhojpuri-speaking banjaaran (gypsy girl). I had also spoken the language in 'Sagina'. Prior to that, I had seen 'Ganga Jamuna' and it left a tremendous impression on my mind,' said Saira Banu.

She added: 'Bhojpuri is an earthy language, there is so much of Indianness to it. And since the dialect is close to Hindi and Urdu, Bhojpuri cinema has a great future. I plan to continue making films in Bhojpuri.'

Posted by Ajit Chouhan at 12:55 AM | Permalink | Comments

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Durga Puja in Bihar

Today is navaratri and the number nine is closely associated with the process of Creation in the cosmic time cycle. It is considered puran or complete. Any number multiplied by nine gives a figure that adds up to nine. Ratri means night. The Rigveda states that creation came about when everything was covered in the darkness of night. Navratra signifies the concept of ‘Back to Godhead’ Nav means nine and Ratri means night.

Photo Courtesy:Chandan Singh

These nine nights occur on equinoxes when the sun is vertically overhead at the equator. The Cosmic Mother is worshipped during these 9 days. The number nine is closely associated with the process of Creation in the cosmic time cycle. It is considered puran or complete. Any number multiplied by nine gives a figure that adds up to nine.Read more here.

I'm sure many Biharis will be missing the fervour and hungama of Puja Celebrations in Patna.I was just going through the various portals on Puja celebrations and some of the links are given below for readers to revive the memories of Patna during the Puja.

Patna Daily

Times of India :On Pandals :Another one

Photo Gallery by Patna Daily

Events in Patna

An interesting article appeared in TOI which talks about the unique aspect of Durga Puja pandals and replicas in Bihar.

Over 200 Muslim artisans are giving finishing touches to replicas of Hindu temples and palaces crafted here for the Durga Puja. "We have been working for 10 days to create something attractive. We feel proud as our creations give pleasure to thousands who come to offer prayers to Durga," Mohammed Abid, one of the craftsmen here, said. Muslim craftsmen have been invited from West Bengal and Jharkhand by organizers of festival committees in the hope of competing with one another this festival season, which has become highly market-driven over the years.

Without the Muslim artisans and craftsmen, we cannot think of these beautiful marquees," said a festival organiser. "We give them respect, honour and money for building these beautiful creations that add colour to the festival."

And finally my own musing on Durga Puja in Patna which was published in Times of India.

Having spent nearly 20 years in Patna it's kind of an ordeal to stay away from my home for a great festival like Durga Puja.I've vivid memories and experiences of all those years spent in Patna during the festivities. The fervour,the enthusiasm and the cross cultural,religion participation is something which makes Dussehera very special for all Patnaiya's.

For a die hard Patnaiya like me Durga Puja reminds me of the splendor and grandeur of the huge pandals and statues in Boring road,Patna City,Digha Ghat,Dak Bunglow Chowraha,Kankarbagh and Ashok Rajpath University area. The sacred and pious aroma of camphor and agarbatti is something which takes me back to my days in Patna when the start of Durga Puja was beginning of all the great celebrations ahead.

Some of the particular attraction to me is the Unique Pandals,cartoons and confluence of various religions and culture during these festivities. At present I'm in Mysore (http://www.mysoredasara.info) where Dussehera is celebrated with great fervor and lot of foreign tourists and national tourist flock to join the royal celebrations. But still my heart and soul lies in my city of youth and where my roots are. I'm missing Patna like anything on this earth.

Wishing you all a very Happy Durga Puja…

Posted by Ajit Chouhan at 3:04 PM | Permalink | Comments

Mahatma and Bihar

We know that Mahatma Gandhi and Bihar has always had a close connection and Gandhi Jee started his satyagraha movement in Bihar .TOI reports that Mahatma Gandhi had once advised ministers of Bihar to strictly adhere to simplicity and austerity, get rid of caste and religious bias and wear khadi, avoid spacious bungalows and misusing car and remove security ring around them.

This advice was given in Patna about 60 years ago, on April 19, 1947 — a few months before India won freedom.

At a time when the undivided India was on verge of celebrating freedom but communal frenzy had reached new heights particularly in Noakhali and later in Patna, Gaya and other places of Bihar, Gandhi camped here for about 45 days. "Bihar is my state. The people of Bihar have made me what I am today," he had said.

It was during that long stay at the house of Dr Syed Mahmood, Gandhi could feel the pulse of Bihar in his veins. In Gandhi's diary, penned by his shadow and grand-daughter Manu Behn Gandhi and authenticated by him, he lashed at partymen and people in his public discourses for the Partition riots.

Gandhi had warned Congressmen and the people to mend their ways and stop violence or else, "... either I will do something or die. I would not like to die in Sevagram or Delhi. I will prefer to die in Bihar, or in Noakhali."

Posted by Ajit Chouhan at 2:43 PM | Permalink | Comments