Kites in Patna: the poster! Patna: at times, life can seem too serious, even unacceptably so. A bit like a friend or a relative who always brings up ‘problems’ every time you see her! Which is why, the kite festival in Patna yesterday was hugely welcome. The fact is whatever the state of the river Ganga in Patna, it does provide the city dwellers with a playground that is hugely and well, scandalously underutilized. Having come to inaugurate a ‘frivolous’ occasion yesterday, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar struck a serious note when he said d he felt like crying seeing the sorry... 

  Maitreya Buddha: 2nd century AD After a nine-year wait for land to set up the Maitreya Buddha project in Kushinagar, a dejected International Maitreya Foundation has decided to move the project to Bodhgaya in Bihar. The project with an estimated cost of $195 million included building a 500-feet tall bronze-plated statue of Buddha as its centrepiece apart from a monastery, library and facilities like an audio-visual theatre, hospitality services, lush green parks and meditation pavilions. A hospital and a school for children from nearby villages were also part of the plan. The spiritual director... 

50% subsidy for dhabas in Bihar; boost to tourism, and business along the highways!   Patna: it would seem that the Bihar government is learning its lessons in encouraging entrepreneurs, industries and businesses in Bihar. Instead of invariably wooing big players, the government has now begun to give due attention to the smaller ones with the awareness that numerous small beginnings are more worthwhile and at any rate more feasible in Bihar at this point. The power situation, the scarcity of land and other infrastructural issues certainly put obstacles in front of the bigger schemes,... 

Bihar Tourism expects 30% jump in domestic tourism this year!   Guwahati: informal reports mention that if you approach the Bihar Tourism counter at the Patna Railway station for information, they may not even offer you a brochure, and may not have more than a copy available! But the Bihar government has claimed it is expecting a 30 per cent jump in domestic tourist arrival in the state this year. This may indeed turn out to be true since with increased security and better roads, the tourist may get all his research done with no help from Bihar Tourism! To give an example, when a luxury... 

Festival time for Kesariya : celebrating local history in Bihar!   Kesariya[East Champaran]: around ten years ago, the local residents in Kesariya, a grand Buddhist circuit site took the initiative of starting an annual festival in the area. By now the task has been taken up by the Bihar government which has organized a three-day Kesariya Mahotsav from Friday. This year besides the performance of singers Malini Awasthi and Amitabh Kumar and dancer Parween Samrat, a national seminar on Lord Buddha and a Kavi Sammelan have been organized for the festival. The festival will also have a... 

Elephants still sold at Sonepur Mela: but as ‘land’   Sonepur Mela [fair]: ever wondered if the sale of elephants is not permitted by law, exactly why do they turn up in hordes at the Sonepur fair? According to the mahouts and the owners, the idea is to put them up for display. But a recent press report has revealed that elephants are still being sold at the Sonepur fair but only as ‘land’. Notably, elephant trade is a punishable offence under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1992 (amended in 2006). The report goes on to explain the mechanism of the trade as follows – the first... 

When will Vikramshila University ruins get due attention?   Patna: according to recent reports, the Archaeological Survey of India’s Patna circle has decided to give its long overdue attention to the conservation of the Vikramshila university ruins, located near Antichak village in the Kahalgaon sub-division of Bhagalpur district, about 150 km from Patna. Vikramshila university was set up in the 8th century by the Pala dynasty king Dharmapala and its remains have been lying in a state of neglect for decades. ASI Patna’s superintending archaeologist Sanjay K. Manjul told the... 

मधुबनी: दर्शनीय स्थल स किया नजरि फेरने छी सरकार   मधुबनी। मधुबनी मे मंदिर, प्राचीन मूर्ति आ पौराणिक अवशेष क भरमार अछि। एहिठाम शैव, शाक्त, वैष्णव आ बौद्ध मतालंबी स संबंधित स्थल क तादाद कम नहि अछि। पाल, सेन आ कर्नाट वंशीय शासक द्वारा... 

Soon 105 buses to ply on 30 routes between Bihar and Uttar Pradesh Patna: after a long wait, the Uttar Pradesh government has finally permitted the running of buses along 30 routes between Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The Bihar State Road Transport Corporation will soon start services on these routes in the PPP mode. BSRTC will begin its services with 105 buses that will include 12 Volvos, 25 AC buses and the rest will be semi-deluxe. If things go as planned, the service will start by the next month. Some months ago when the Bihar government sent a proposal to the UP government for the running... 

भागलपुर:बदलत  इब्राहिम खां मकबरा क सूरत भागलपुर । पर्यटन विभाग कए धीरे धीरे बिहारक उपेक्षित स्‍थल दिस ध्‍यान जा रहल अछि। एहि क्रम मे उपेक्षित रहल ऐतिहासिक इब्राहिम खां मकबरा क सूरत बदलबाक प्रयास शुरू कैल गेल अछि। एकरा लेल जिला...