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| Culture of Bihar |
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| State of Bihar |
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 Tyagaraja, known for his extensive contributions toCarnatic music | ||||||
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| Nationalistic and patriotic songs | ||||||
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Bihar, astate ofIndia, has produced musicians likeBharat RatnaUstad Bismillah Khan anddhrupad singers like the Malliks (Darbhanga Gharana) and the Mishras (Bettiah Gharana) along with poets like Pandit Dhareekshan Mishra,Bhikhari Thakur, the shakespeare of Bhojpuri andVidyapati Thakur who contributed toMaithili Music. The classical music in Bihar is a form of theHindustani classical music.[1]
The region'sfolk songs are associated with the various events in the life of an ordinary person. The historical ballads dealing with the heroic deeds of the freedom fighter Kunwar Singh have also been immortalized through folk songs in the plain tracts of Bihar. Religiosity is the pivot around which the music and amusements of the villagefolk of Bihar revolve. There are songs likesohar - performed duringchildbirth,sumangali - associated withwedding,ropnigeet - performed during the season of sowing paddy,katnigeet - performed during the paddy harvesting season.
The influence of Bihari music is seen in regions such asMauritius, South Africa and theCaribbean, where many Bihari indentured labourers were taken during the nineteenth century as well asPakistan andBangladesh where many Bihari Muslims migrated to after the partition of India.
There is a great tradition of folk songs started byBhikhari Thakur, an artist from the Bhojpur region. In the field Bhojpuri Music and Songs, there are notable works done by Mahendar Misir, Radhamohan Chaubey 'Anjan', Pandit Dhareekshan Mishra, Laxman Pathak Pradeep, and Sharda Sinha. Other wandering folk singers include theKathaks, who travelled in groups and performed accompanied bydholak,sarangi,tamburu andmajira. Other musician classes includedRoshan Chouki,Bhajaniya,Kirtaniya, Pamaria andBhakliya.
'Harkirtan' are famous religious folk songs. 'Astajam' are also famous religious folk songs in which 'Hare-Rama, Hare-Krishna' is sung regularly for twenty four hours at Hindu religious places.
In Bihar there is Caste Bhatt (Brahma Bhatt) whose tradition is singing and music. Although with the passage of time they have left there profession. Some small groups also sings Sohar songs at the birth time. Some transgender people (Kinners) also sing for livelihood money.