Caves and hills of Rajgir of Buddhist significance

Buddha lived in many of the caves in the hills surrounding Ragjir which was once the capital of Magadha. Bimisara was the king then. The first Buddhist Council was held in one of the caves. Lets take a look at some of these hills and caves of Rajgir where Buddha lived and preached.

Bimbisara's jail "Bimbisarajail" by myself - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons.

Do you like chicken curry?

This is how we like our chicken. These waiting chickens have seen it all - all their friends and family killed. Can you see fear in their eyes? This is the way chicken in Patna or rest of the country is sold. You go to the shop and choose a chicken, the butcher drags it out of the cage, cuts of the neck and places it in a drum till it stops twitching and then cuts it into small pieces according to your taste. Enjoy your curry!

Chicken in Patna: Source. 

Real ghost and paranormal stories from Bihar

When I was growing up as a child, I used to visit my grandparents house “nanighar” in Munger district (Bihar) during the summer holidays. I thoroughly used to enjoy myself and had a lot of fun with other cousins. We used to go the fields and the pond (talaab) and roam whole day. However, there was one thing that really scared me. The house we used to live in seemed very scary. Some of the rooms were dark and there was no electricity to lighten the place up. In addition, there were too many ghost stories flying around one of which scared me to death. That one was about the ghost outside the toilet. You can read about it in my book. I have collected a list of real life ghost and paranormal stories in this book. It’s available on all Amazon stores. Here’s the USA and the Indian one.

Real Ghost And Paranormal Stories From India

The stories of the book:

 Introduction (This is an introduction to the types of ghosts in India)

My Great Grandfather And The Churail

My Out Of Body Experience

The Haunting In The Mirror

Death Pact With God

Ghost Near The Bedside

Possession By A Dead Man's Spirit

Ghost In The Toilet

Typical Bihari lunch

It does not get better then this. This is as Bihari as you can get. You have everything on the plate. Rice, daal (lentils), mater paneer, manchurian and naan.

Source. A CC image, 

Travelling to Bihar

Bihar is one of the major Buddhist destinations. Destinations mainly Bodh Gaya, Rajgir and Nalanda is on the top list for pilgrims not just from India but across the world. People from all over the world particularly from Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma and Japan travel to Bihar for their annual pilgrimages. However when they do visit Bihar, they get a huge shock. In fact, up to Delhi and Patna is just about fine but when they reach Gaya and Rajgir then they realise the reality of Bihar and the real India. They find poverty, backwardness and shear lack of proper services on all fronts. One of the major issues I find in these places is that the places are ridden with mosquitoes, flies and street dogs.

I can understand people from Sri Lanka or Burma may not find it that different compared to their own countries but as for tourists from Japan and Thailand, they will find that Bihar is lacking even bare essentials. Here's a book that covers health issues for those considering travelling to Bihar. 

Bihar is lagging behind all fronts - don't risk your health. Many of the pictures in this book are from Bihar. Those travelling to Bihar must consider getting this book which is available in all Amazon stores.

India Travel Health Guide: Health Advice and Tips for Travelers to India

Happy Diwali to all YouBihar readers

This is the first Diwali where YouBihar is a blog and less of a social networking site. Although the Bihar social networking still exists on Facebook. Click here to become a member of the Social Networking Site of this website.

I would like to wish all readers and members a Happy Diwali and a prosperous new year. 

Litti at Maurya Lok in Patna

This is Manoj selling littis in his stall in Maurya Lok in Patna. Littis are basically "atta" or flour filled with "sattu" or ground pulses cooked over coal. Litti is a speciality of Bihar. Although it was considered as a poor man's food but it has come off that backward label and is considered as something that is worth trying. Not only its nutritious but also very tasty particular with the choka especially if its made of "baigan".

I remember as a child we used to visit our ancestral village in Munger district and have litti chokha. My grandfather's cow-herder used to make the best litti chokha in the world. We children used to beg him to make us littis. Even today, I still remember him when I have little chokha.

Manoj Litti Bhandar: Photo by Shaleen: These littis are best cooked on coal.