Art and Culture of Sasaram
Sasaram is the city with great historic importance. The city is well woven in traditional and cultural value. Sasaram has emerged to become a city where both history and modern culture blends to present a vibrant and eclectic mixture. The city is administrative headquarter of Rohtas district in Bihar. Despite the emergence of the city as a hub of industries, the city has maintained its ethos and values. The city is home to people from various ethnicity, culture, language and region. Sasaram presents a true picture of the proverb unity and diversity. All major festivals ranging from Diwali, Eid to Christmas is celebrated in the city with great joy and fervor. The city of Sasaram posses a special place in historic because it witnessed several important historical events in past.
The city is best for history lovers where they can relive the memories of past. With the passage of time, the city has adapted and evolved a lot to match up with other metropolitan cities. Apart from historic monuments, the city has emerged as the commercial hub in the state of Bihar. Sasaram is one of the largest producers of stone chips. The growth of industries in the region has made the residents financially stable. After the industries have started their operation in the city, a huge migration rate has been observed from rural area into the city. Several people from all over the country are migrating in the city in search of employment. Sasaram is one of the best places to shop for antique and wooden items in the state of Bihar. You can get amazing gift items at reasonable rates in the local markets in Sasaram.
Religions in Sasaram
In the beautiful city of Sasaram you can find people from different religion, caste and creed living together peacefully. The city depicts true colors of secularism. The majority of population in the city of Sasasram comprises of Hindu religion. One can find several religious places and holy shrines located in the city devoted to Hindu god and goddesses. Several Hindu pilgrims visit the city to worship their deities’ every year. The number of pilgrims visiting the city increases especially during the festivals such as Navratri, Diwali, Shivratri etc.
Maa Chandi temple is one of the most worshiped temples in the city. The city has several other temples like Chaurasan Mandir, Gupteshwar, and Tara Chandi temple etc. During the medieval period the city was one of the stronghold of Muslims rulers, thus the city has several mosques and dargahs where Muslims offers their prayers. The city also has Jain and Christian population.
Languages in Sasaram
Sasaram is one of the important cities in Bihar. Most of the residents in the city speak Bhojpuri. However the residents of the city are also fluent in speaking Hindi. You can find several other people in the city who prefers speaking Marwari, Malwi and Rajsthani. The proximity of the city to Bengal encourages the usage of Bengali by few residents. Most of the communication and advertisement by the government is generally done in Hindi language in order to reach maximum number of people. Apart from Bhojpuri and Hindi, English language is used as a language of communication in most of the schools to match with the standards of the day. In all languages of the city is simple, communicable and understandable by most of the tourists in the city.Folk Songs and Dances in Sasaram
The vibrant city of Sasaram has a great history of love and respect for folk songs and dances. Sasaram has contributed a lot to Classical musical. Great Musicians like Ustad Bismillah Khan and Malliks has performed several times in the city. Under the Mughal rule, classical music’s like Drupad, Thumri and Tappa rose to fame. The musicians from all around the countries come to participate in Rohtasgarh fort. Apart from classical music, Sasasram has a very beautiful tradition of singing folk songs during local festivals. These folk songs were generally sung during special occasions like birth, marriage, birthday anniversaries etc. Mostly the folk songs were sung in groups with musical instruments like Dholak, Tabla, and Harmonium etc.
Especially during the Holi, the local people celebrate the occasion with regional Phagun songs. In the pre independence era, under the misrule of British, several people fleed from the city, during that time sad songs known as Biraha became very popular in the region. The residents of Sasaram loves watching Bhojpuri movies and dramas like other parts of Bihar. Apart from songs, the city has rich and varied history of dance form. Earlier it was believed that dancing is the best way to express ones feeling. There are several folk dance forms practiced in the region that can keep one enthralled, such as Dhobi nauch, Jhumarnach, Manjhi, Londnach, Jitiyanach, Jat jatin ans many others. People also like watching Bollywood movies.
Festivals in Sasaram
The historic city of Sasaram celebrates most of the festivals that are celebrated all over the country. People in the city celebrate Holi, Eid, Diwali, and Christmas with great joy and fervor. Prior to any festivals, one can see huge crowd at local market place. People generally tend to buy sweets, gifts and flowers during the festivals to welcome their guests. Sometime local communities organize small fair or cultural festivals where residents participate whole heartedly. The people in the city celebrates all the festival in very high spirit. With the increased modernization in the city of Sasaram, residents celebrate New Year with great enthusiasm. The city of ancient times, also celebrates an ancient festival popularly known as Dala Chhath twice a year. During the Chhath Puja people generally observes fast for a day without water. The festival is devoted to Sun god. For the residents Chhath puja is like a carnival that includes bathing in holy river of Ganga. Chhath being celebrated at the crack of the dawn is a beautiful, elating spiritual experience connecting the modern Indian to his ancient cultural roots.
The Chhath festivals has great historic importance, it is believed that mighty king Karna of Anga Desh started this custom of observing fast in honor of lord sun. Along with the famous Chhath Puja, residents also celebrate Shravani Mela to celebrate the joy of autumn. This festival almost lasts for fifteen days during which people organizes fair to enjoy the drizzling rain with cool breeze after months long scorching summer. Teej is another local festival which has huge importance among the local household. This festival is mostly observed by married ladies who prays for the well being of their family while singing folk songs dedicated to goddess “Teej Mata” along with the traditional festivals, the city also celebrates festivals like Ram Navami, Mahavir Jayanti, Rath yatra, Chitragupta Puja,Rakshabandhan, Durga Puja, Laxmi Puja, Christmas, Maha Shivaratri, Muharram, Buddha Purnima, Jivitputrika, Gurpurab, Bhai Dooj and Kali Puja with a grandeur.
Art and Painting in Sasaram
The city with historic and ancient flavor also has great knack for art and painting. The city has been known for its contribution in the field of art and craft since ancient times. Residents use rice power to paint their walls and floor of their houses. The people of Sasasram are also well aware of Madhubani and Mithila painting. One can find this distinctive art form on most of the places in Sasaram. Apart from the paintings, the local craftsmen in Sasaram are very skilled in their work.
They are experts in crafting creative items out of raw materials like bamboo, red soil, cotton and clay. One can find amazingly crafted bamboo baskets, toys, furniture in every nooks and corner of the city. One can also find beautifully woven carpets, mats and motif in the local markets. Since ages, these craft items are being exported to various countries because of their high demand. The city one known for Mughal strong hold is also known for Mughal miniature. Sasaram is great destination for history and art lovers.
Costumes in Sasaram
The city of Sasaram, once ruled by Muslim rulers loves adorning ethnic Indian dresses. Women in the city love adorning saris and salwar suit. Most of the rural women like wearing normal cotton or nylon saris. On the other hand the women in the city love draping silk saris with matching or colorful fancy blouses. Few women also adorns sleeve less blouses with chiffon saris. The city is home to several migrants who love wearing their traditional dresses. The young ladies in Sasaram can be seen wearing salwar Kameez. With the increase in western penetration, several modern outfits are also loved by the residents. Movies and internet have inspired the youth to adorn the western outfit. Men in the city like wearing kurta, dhoti and pants. However, the college going population are crazy after jeans and t shirt. Due to the closed culture, most of the people like traditional and ethnic costumes while youth can be seen experimenting with new trendy wardrobe.Literature in Sasaram
Name of the historic city of Sasaram can be found in ancient text books like Veda and Upnishadas. The exact history of Sasasram literature is unknown but it dates back to be several centuries ago. Later under the rule of Suri Dynasty, many description of ancient city has been inscribed. The city was earliest part of glorious Jaunpur Kingdom. The literature and the culture of the city were enriched and one can get the proof from the Ashoka’s edicts found in Chandan Sahid. This clearly indicates the influence of Buddhist culture and traditions.
The city also shows the existence of enriched and prosperous civilizations during the Mauryan Dynasty. During the Mughal rule, several books and scriptures were inscribed by the court of Raja Man Singh. Those scriptures were found by the Archeological survey of India and were preserved. Most of the people in the city speak Hindi and Urdu despite Bhojpuri being their native language. Thus show the impact of Mughal rulers in the city during the 15th century.
Cuisines of Sasaram
The cuisine of the city has arma of Bihar, Rajasthani, Muhal and Bengali cuisine. Majorly rice is used as staple food in the city. Cuisine of Sasaram is predominantly vegetarian because traditional conservative society, influenced by Buddhist and Hindu values of non-violence. However, several residents like non veg, being the strong hold of Mughal during the 15th century, and the city also have legacy for eating kababs and tandori. Most of the people in the city love eating smoked food that infuses strong tempting aroma in the food. The favorite dish in Sasaram is Litti Chokha, which is cooked using similar Smoked food method. Residents in Sasaram also love eating Ghugni, which is made using black gram. Apart from being tasty, Ghugni is also healthy for body because of high protein content.
Sattu, powdered baked gram, a high energy giving food usually mixed with water or with milk can be found in every household. Sometimes sattu is eating with chapatti called as “Makhuni Roti”. The vegetarians in the city love eating dishes like saag, Karela Bharwan, Palak Paneer, Kofta and Korma. Whereas the non vegetarians like relishing Prawn curry, Mutton grill, reshmi kabab, Chicken tandoori and Shaahi Jhinga Masaledaar. In sweet dish the residents like delicacies such as Khaja, Til Barfi, Rabri, Thekua, Churma, Balushahi, Khubi ka Lai, Pirikya etc. The residents prepare Kasar during the Chhath festivals using coarsely ground rice with milk and sugar.