Bihar Diwas 2012

Bihar Day is much more than celebration. It is more than another public holiday. It is more than the pride and excitement of citizens who call themselves Biharis. Bihar Day, celebrated on 22 March to commemorate the State’s separation from Bengal in 1912, is the one day of the year where over 103 million individual Biharis, regardless of their religious beliefs, can come together in shared experience; an experience that may not be easy or necessary to articulate, but that – often unconsciously – binds them to this remarkable land and its people.

This is an important occasion to remind ourselves how lucky we are to be citizens of the most historical place in the world that is the cradle of Hinduism, the birthplace of Buddhism, Jainism and the tenth guru of Sikhs. Our cultural identities reflect the common historical experiences and shared cultural codes which provide us, as ‘one people’, with stable, unchanging and continuous frames of reference and meaning, beneath the shifting divisions and vicissitudes of our actual history. This ‘oneness’, underlying all the other, more superficial differences, is the truth – the essence of ‘Bihari-pan’ or simply ‘Biharism’.

The day is celebrated all over the world with flag raising ceremonies, tributes to our heroes and fireworks taking place in the capital – Patna. On each day by morning, crowds comprising mostly youth, begin to build up, soaking in the classy ambience that is imparted by the majestic Gandhi Maidan, the venue of a three-day long cultural extravaganza. The festivities include a number of colourful and authentic folk dances, music and theater performances, art and traditional crafts exhibitions, panel discussions on literature and cinema and a feast of exquisite Bihari cuisine.

The celebrations of the Bihar Divas on March 22, every year, crossed the boundaries of the state and the country. The foundation day of Bihar was celebrated with gaiety and fervor in several states and foreign countries. California and New Jersey in the US, Sydney in Australia, Seoul in South Korea, Dubai, Qatar and Bahrain in the Gulf, besides Canada and England are the countries which observed Bihar Day. At all these places, the celebrations were held under the banner of the Bihar Foundation. In India, the foundation’s chapters in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Bangalore organised the festivities with pomp and grandeur.

It’s also been a time of leadership and hope, as Bihar will complete 100 years of its formation on March 22, 2012.

Musical gala on Bihar Diwas:-

A treat is in store for music lovers of the city as some of the most sought-after classical, Sufi and Bollywood singers and instrumentalists would be performing at Gandhi Maidan and SK Memorial Hall during the three-day Bihar Diwas centenary celebration starting from March 22.

The cultural event on Day 1 would begin with a dance performance by 100 students of the city, which would be choreographed by Harshal and Vitthal, the choreographer duo from Mumbai, along with a team of 14 other choreographers. After this, music enthusiasts would enjoy a breathtaking performance of Bollywood singers Udit Narayan and Richa Sharma.

On the second day, Bollywood singers Ravindra Upadhyay and Babul Supriyo along with Sufi singers Murtaza Khan and Rabbani Khan &Kailash Kher and Sumedha Karmahe would gift Patnaites a memorable evening with their enchanting performances are scheduled to captivate the audience with their scintillating performances.Padma Vibhushan Pandit Jasraj, an Indian classical vocalist who belongs to Mewati gharana of Hindustani classical music, would enthrall the audience with his two-and-a-half hour performance.

A 'Tiranga' presentation featuring the performance of Padma Vibhushan Pandit Jasraj, and one of the most sought-after flautists of the country Padma Vibhushan Pandit Hariprasad 

An Indian mandolin player, Padma Shri U Shrinivas, noted tabla player Pandit Ramkumar Mishra and Rattan Mohan Sharma, a vocalist who is an expert in all forms of classical music like khayal, tarana, dhrupad, Haveli sangeet, tappa and also in light classical forms and folk music would be performing here.
Mridangam player Sridhar Parthasarthy, leading tabla exponent Shubhankar Banerjee and singer of 'Aaoge jab tum o sajna' fame Padma Shri Ustad Rashid Khan, a classical vocalist who belongs to Rampur-Sahaswan gharana, would also enthrall the audience 

The celebration at SK Memorial Hall would conclude with the performance of Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan, an eminent classical vocalist, and Sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, who would be accompanied with Mithilesh Jha and Anubrata Chaterjee on tabla.


The state government has invited Bollywood stars including Shatrughan Sinha, Sonakshi Sinha, Shekhar Suman, Prakash Jha, Neetu Chandra, Manoj Bajpai, Hema Malini and Amitabh Bachchan. Out of this list, the government is yet to receive confirmation from Amitabh, Hema and Sonakshi.