Culture
Language and Literature
Hindi is the official language of the state. Maithili (including its dialect Bajjika), Bhojpuri, Angika and Magahi are also widely spoken in the state. Maithili is a recognised regional language of India under the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India.Bhojpuri and Magahi are sociolinguistically a part of the Hindi Belt languages fold.
Golden period of Hindi Literature in Bihar
Hindi literature has flourished significantly in the state. Raja Radhika Raman Singh, Shiva Pujan Sahay, Divakar Prasad Vidyarthy, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, Ram Briksha Benipuri, are some of the luminaries who contributed to the richness of Hindi literature. The Hindi language and literature began around mid to late nineteenth century. It is marked by the appearance of Bhartendu Babu Harischandra's (a resident of Varanasi in U.P.) drama "Harischandra". Devaki Nandan Khatri began writing his mystery novels in Hindi during this time (Chandrakanta, Chandrakanta Santati, Kajarki Kothari, Bhootnath, etc.) He was born at Muzaffarpur and spent a part of his life in Tekari Estate in Gaya in Bihar. He later became an employee of the Raja of Benares (now Varanasi.) He started a printing press called "Lahari" which began the publication of a Hindi monthly, "Sudarshan", in 1898. One of the first short stories in Hindi was "Indumati" written by Pundit Kishorilal Goswami and published in 1900. The collection of short stories "Rajani aur Taare" published by Anupam Prakashan in Patna contains an extended history of the origin and evolution of the short story as a distinct literary form in the Hindi literature.
Vidyapati
Vidyapati (1352–1448), also known by the sobriquet Maithil Kavi Kokil (the poet cuckoo of Maithili), was a Maithili and Sanskrit poet, writer and polyglot.
The poetry for which Vidyapati is best remembered, however, is a collection of love poetry written between 1380 and 1406. This collection expands on what had become the cult of Radha and Krishna, subject also of the 12th-century Bengal poet Jayadeva’s celebrated Gita Govinda (“Song of the Cowherd” [Govinda is another name for Krishna]). According to the English scholar W.G. Archer, Vidyapati’s work is distinct from that of Jayadeva in both form and voice. Unlike Jayadeva’s work, which is a unified dance-drama, Vidyapati’s offering is a collection of separate love songs that examine the many moods and seasons of love and lovemaking. Jayadeva’s viewpoint is also unremittingly masculine, while Vidyapati finds Radha’s feminine sentiments and observations the more nuanced, and he does not esteem Krishna over Radha.
Nagarjun
Vaidyanath Mishra (30 June 1911 - 5 November 1998), better known by his pen name Nagarjun, was a Hindi and Maithili poet who has also penned a number of novels, short stories, literary biographies and travelogues, and was known as Janakavi- the People's Poet. He is regarded as the most prominent protagonist of modernity in Maithili.
His famous poems like Bādal kō Ghiratē Dēkhā hai (Hindi: बादल को घिरते देखा है), is a travelogue in its own right. He often wrote on contemporary social and political issues. His famous poem Mantra Kavita (मंत्र कविता), is widely considered the most accurate reflection of a whole generation's mindset in India. Another such poem is Āō Rānī Hum Ḍhōēṅgē Pālakī (Hindi: आओ रानी हम ढोएंगे पालकी), which sarcastically humiliates the then prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, for the extravagant welcome thrown by him for Queen Elizabeth.
Besides these accepted subjects of poetry, Nagarjun found poetic beauty in unconventional subjects. One of his most astonishing works is a poem based on a show called With Sharp Teeth (पैने दाँतो वाली). Another such creation is a series of poems on a full-grown jackfruit.
Maila Aanchal by Phanishwar Nath Renu
Considered to be one of the finest examples of a regional novel, Maila Aanchal expertly reflects the uniqueness of the region it is set in- a village in Bihar. The setting plays as much a role in developing the story as do the characters - because the behavioral traits, superstitions etc. are firmly rooted in the region the characters reside in.
Religion
Hindu Goddess Sita, the consort of Lord Rama is believed to be born in Sitamarhi district in the Mithila region of modern-day Bihar. Gautama Buddha attained Enlightenment at Bodh Gaya, a town located in the modern day district of Gaya in Bihar. Vasupujya, the 12th Jain Tirthankara was born in Champapuri, Bhagalpur. Vardhamana Mahavira, the 24th and the last Tirthankara of Jainism, was born in Vaishali around the 6th century BC.
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Performing Arts
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Bihar has produced musicians like Bharat Ratna Ustad Bismillah Khan and dhrupad singers like the Malliks (Darbhanga Gharana) and the Mishras (Bettiah Gharana) along with poets like Vidyapati Thakur who contributed to Maithili Music. The classical music in Bihar is a form of the Hindustani classical music. Gaya is another centre of excellence in classical music, particularly of the Tappa and Thumri varieties. Pandit Govardhan Mishra – son of the Ram Prasad Mishra, himself an accomplished singer – is perhaps the finest living exponent of Tappa singing in India today, according to Padma Shri Gajendra Narayan Singh, founder secretary of the Sangeet Natak Academi of Bihar. Gajendra Narayan Singh also writes, in his memoir, that Champanagar, Banaili, was another major centre of classical music. Rajkumar Shyamanand Sinha of Champanagar, Banaili princely state, was a great patron of music and was himself one of the finest exponents of classical vocal music in Bihar in his time. Singh, in another book on Indian classical music, has written that "Kumar Shyamanand Singh of Banaili estate had such expertise in singing that many great singers including Kesarbai Kerkar acknowledged his ability. After listening to bandishes from Kumar Sahib, Pandit Jasraj was moved to tears and lamented that, alas!, he did not have such ability himself."
During the 19th century, when the condition of Bihar worsened under the British misrule, many Biharis had to emigrate as indentured labourers to the West Indies, Fiji, and Mauritius. During this time many sad plays and songs called ''birha" became popular, in the Bhojpur region, thus Bhojpuri Birha. Dramas incorporating this theme continue to be popular in the theatres of Patna.
Cinema
Bihar has a robust Bhojpuri-language film industry. There is also a smaller production of Magadhi, Maithili, as well as Angika-language films. The first film with Bhojpuri dialogue was Ganga Jamuna, released in 1961. Bhaiyaa, the first Magadhi film, was released in 1961. The first Maithili movie was Kanyadan released in 1965. Maithili film Mithila Makhaan won the National Film Award for Best Maithili Film in 2016. The history of films entirely in Bhojpuri begins in 1962 with the well-received film Ganga Maiyya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo, which was directed by Kundan Kumar. 1963's Lagi nahin chute ram was the all-time hit Bhojpuri film, and had higher attendance than Mughal-e-Azam in the eastern and northern regions of India. Bollywood's Nadiya Ke Paar is another of the most famous Bhojpuri-language movies. However, in the following years, films were produced only in fits and starts. Films such as Bidesiya ( 1963, directed by S. N. Tripathi) and Ganga ( 1965, directed by Kundan Kumar) were profitable and popular, but in general Bhojpuri films were not commonly produced in the 1960s and 1970s.
In the 1980s, many Bhojpuri films were produced to support a dedicated industry. Films such as Mai ( 1989, directed by Rajkumar Sharma) and Hamar Bhauji ( 1983, directed by Kalpataru) continued to have success at the box office. In 90s, there was significant gap in film production
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