CHHATH PUJA

 

Chhath Puja", the biggest festival of the Poorvanchali is being celebrated on Saturday with traditional enthusiasm and fervour as the devotees go to a nearby river or pond to offer prayers to the setting sun in the evening.

The festival will culminate at Sunday dawn, after devotees offer Araghya to the rising Sun on the banks of rivers. Elaborate arrangements have been made to ensure a trouble free congregation at all the ghats for the two day Chhath Puja. A main festival in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, Chhath denotes the number six and thus the 4-day event begins on the sixth day of Kartik (October-November). A festival of truth, non-violence, forgiveness and compassion, it is dedicated to Lord Surya (the Sun God), Agni (the Fire God) and Kartikeya.

Chhath is the only time when the setting sun as opposed to its rising is celebrated for its glory as the cycle of birth starts with death.

People fast for the whole day and in the evening they offer Chhath Sandhya Arghya to the setting Sun by standing in knee-deep water.

A million-lit lamps with thousands hands offering Arghya makes it a delightful sight.

In the evening, Agni Puja is performed at home in an area cordoned off by four sugarcane sticks. Kheer, sweets and fruits are offered to deities and then the entire family shares it.

Chhath also connects to the folk and rural roots of worshippers. The folk songs sung on the eve of Chhath are mainly in Maithili, Magadhi and Bhojpuri dialects that mirror the culture and social mores of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and the terai regions.

According to Hindu mythology, Draupadi, wife of the Pandavas has a great power to cure any type of disease, including leprosy. She used to worship the Sun with utmost devotion. As a commemoration of Draupadi, it is performed in the form of Chhat puja

BIHAR

BIHAR

Area : 94,163 sq km , Population: 8,28,78,796
Capital : Patna, Principal Language : Hindi

HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY

Bihar finds mention in the Vedas, Puranas , epics, etc., and was the main scene of activities of Buddha, and the 24 Jain Tirthankars. Great rulers of the State before the Christian era were Bimbisar, Udayin, who founded the city of Pataliputra. Chandragupta Maurya and Emperor Ashoka and Maurya dynasty, the Sungs and the Kanvas. Then came the Kushan rulers followed by Chandragupta Vikramaditya of the Gupta dynasty. Muslim rulers made in-roads into the territory during the medieval period. The first conqueror of Bihar was Mohammed- bin-Bakhtiar Khalji. The Tughluqs and then the Mughals followed the Khaljis.

Bihar one of the major states of the Indian Union, Bihar is bounded on the north by Nepal, on the east by West Bengal, on the west by Uttar Pradesh and on the south by Jharkhand. Bihar has a number of rivers, the most important of which is the Ganga. The other rivers are the Sone, Poonpoon, Falgu, Karmanasa, Durgawati, Kosi, Gandak, Ghaghara, etc.

AGRICULTURE
Bihar has a total geographical area of about 93.60 lakh hectare, out of which only 55.56 lakh hectare is the net cultivated area with a gross cultivated area of 73.96 lakh hectares. About 30.34 lakh hectares net area and 41.97 lakh hectare gross area receive irrigation from different sources. Principal food crops are paddy, wheat, maize and pulses. Main cash crops are sugarcane, potato, tobacco, oilseeds, onion, chillies, jute and mesta. Bihar has a notified forest area of 6.22 lakh hectare , which is 6.65 per cent of its geographical area.

INDUSTRIES
Major Industries are : Railway Wagon Plants of Bharat Wagon Limited at Muzaffarpur and Mokamah; Oil Refinery of Indian Oil Corporation at Barauni; Fertilizer Manufacturing Plant of Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation Limited (HPCL) at Barauni and Pyrites Phosphates & Chemicals Limited (PPCL) at Amjhor; Cotton Spinning Mills at Siwan, Pandaul, Bhagalpur, Mokamah and Gaya; 13 sugar mills in the private sector and 15 in the public sector located in south and north Bihar with a total crushing capacity of 45,000 (Tonne). In addition, distilleries at Gopalganj, West Champaran, Bhagalpur and Riga (in Sitamarhi district); finished leather industry in West Champaran, Muzaffarpur and Barauni; jute mills at Katihar and Samastipur;
medicine manufacturing unit at Hajipur; food processing units as also vanaspati manufacturing units at Aurangabad and Patna; besides Kalyanpur Cement Limited at Banjari, are notable on the industrial map of Bihar.

IRRIGATION
Bihar has an irrigation potential of 28.63 lakh hectares. It is created through major and medium irrigation schemes and 48.97 lakh hectares through minor irrigation schemes.

TRANSPORT

Roads :

Up to March 2008, Bihar had 45721.059 km of pucca roads including 3734.38 km of national highways and 3766.029 km of state highways, 7992.65 km of major District Roads, 2828.00 km. of other District Roads and 27400 km. of Rural Roads.

Railways :
Bihar has a fairly good railway network. There is a railway bridge at Mokamaha in north Bihar. A few railway routes connecting important places like Muzaffarpur-Samastipur-Barauni-Katihar and Muzaffarpur-Chapra-Siwan have been converted into broad gauge. The main rail junctions are at Patna, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Katihar and Samastipur, etc.

Aviation :
There is an international airport at Patna, besides landing grounds in all major districts of the State.

TOURIST CENTRES
Important places of tourist interest are

• Rajgir,
• Nalanda,
• Vaishali,
• Pawapuri (where Lord Mahavira breathed his last and attained Nirvana),
• Bodh Gaya,
• Vikramshila (ruins of Buddhist University of higher learning),
• Gaya,
• Patna (ancient city of Patliputra),
• Sasaram (tomb of Shershah Suri) and
• Madhubani (known for its famous Madhubani Paintings).
• Mundeshwari Mandir (Kaimur),
• Rohtras Garh Fort (Rohtas),
• Jain Pilgrim Place,
• Kundalpur (Nalanda),
• Bihar School of Yoga (Munger),
• Manersharif Patna,
• Rural Tourist Place Nepura (Nalanda),
• Kesaria Stupa (West Champaran),
• Barabar Hills (Jehanabad) and
• Lauria Nandangarh are also important tourist places.
  

GOVERNMENT
Governor : R.L. Bhatia, Secretary: R. J. M. Pillai
Chief Minister: Nitish Kumar, Jurisdiction of Bihar High Court : Bihar