Bihar set to celebrate its new confidence

Courtesy : Indian Express news

Young and old will exchange greeting cards, like they do at New Year’s; there will be nukkad nataks (streetside theatre) in Patna and shram daan in every village where 99 lamps will be lit to mark the number of years since the state was separated from the Bengal presidency in 1912. Schools will display a map of the state with “Hamara Bihar” inscribed in it.

The Bhojpuri film industry, which turned 50 a few days ago, will be celebrated with shows of Bhojpuri films and documentaries and films located in Bihar — like Basu Bhattacharya’s soulful Teesri Kasam, based on Renu’s short story, shot in Araria. The newly-selected “Bihar gaan” or state anthem will be played. Entries for the anthem as well as a prarthna or daily prayer have been invited from the people by the government.

These are just a few of the things planned by the Nitish Kumar government for the 99th Bihar Divas on March 22 in what is being seen as a politically innovative way to take charge of the state’s unfolding story and find an evocative symbol of pride, aspiration and confidence.

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So long, said officials involved with this project, Bihar has been known as the country’s basket-case, sending migrants across the country, many to face Raj Thackeray-style hate campaigns. This is meant to begin changing that perception — at home.

According to Anjani Kumar Singh, principal secretary HRD, the Bihar Divas celebrations will extend from two to five days in Patna and other parts of the state; some events will continue into the next year. Celebrated officially for the first time last year, it is scheduled to be even grander in 2012, he says, when, “as in the case of the foundation days of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, it will be celebrated in other states as well”.