Bihar Association of North America (BANA) is an organization of people of Bihar origin residing in North America. BANA was formed to preserve and promote social and cultural heritage of Bihar. The organization came into existence on March 27,
1992 and since then it is providing a common forum for cultural and social interactions
between its members. View our About BANA page for
more details
Bihar has a very rich history. It was called Magadha in ancient times. Its
capital Patna, then known as Pataliputra, was the center of the Mauryan empire,
which dominated the Indian subcontinent from 325 BC to 185 BC. Emperor Ashoka
was the most famous ruler of this dynasty. Bihar remained an important place of
power, culture and education during the next one thousand years. The Vikramshila
and Nalanda Universities, were one of the oldest and best centres of education
in ancient India but unfortunately got destroyed by the maruading invaders
during the medieval period.. More--
Education, Geography & Climate:
Education: Historically,
Bihar has been a major centre of learning, home to the universities of
Nalanda (one of the earliest universities of India dating back to the fifth
century) and
Vikramshila. Unfortunately, that tradition of learning which had its origin
from the time of Buddha or perhaps earlier, was lost during the medieval period
when marauding armies of the invaders destroyed these centers of learning.
Bihar saw a revival of sorts during the later part of the British rule when they
established a University at Patna along with a few other centers of high
learning, viz. Science College, Patna, Prince of Wales Medical College (Now
Patna Medical College and Hospital), and Bihar Engineering College (Now National
Institute of Technology, Patna). However, this early lead got lost in the post
independence period when the politicians from Bihar lost out in the race of
getting centers of education established in Bihar.
Geography: Bihar is
mainly a vast stretch of very fertile flat land. It has several rivers: Ganga,
Son, Bagmati, Kosi, Budhi Gandak, and Falgu to name a few. Central parts of
Bihar have some small hills, for example the Rajgir hills. The Himalayan
mountains are to the north, in Nepal. To the south is the Chota Nagpur plateau,
which was part of Bihar until 2000 but now is part of a separate state called
Jharkhand.
Climate: Bihar is mildly cold in the winter
(the lowest temperatures being around 5 to 10 degrees Celsius; 41 to 50 degrees
Fahrenheit). Winter months are December and January. It is hot in the summer (40
to 45 degrees Celsius; 104 to 114 degrees Fahrenheit). April, May and the first
half of June are the hot months. The monsoon months of June, July, August, and
September see good rainfall. October, November, February, and March are very
pleasant months for climate.
