Syed Altamash Ahmad

  The Kauvadol or Kawa-Dol is a small group of perpendicular granite rock on the top of the peak of the mountain situated about 4 Kilometers south-west of the Barabar Hills in Belaganj Block in Gaya District of Bihar. It is located 24 km from the district headquarters in Gaya.  The group of rocks situated about 500ft high of a mountain separate from the main group of Hills got its name from a local legend, that a huge block of stone was once lying so well balanced on the existing pinnacle of the hill that it used to rock when a crow alighted on it. But no evidence can prove this statement. The place was founded by Francis Buchanan in 1811. Later many historians like Alexander Cunningham, joseph David Beglar and many more. The place is famous among people for its Buddhist, Hindu, and Islamic importance. And especially for its connection to the Oscar award. The term ‘Kawa-Dol’ is mentioned several times by E.M. Forster in his novel ‘A Passage to India’. On which the fi...

  There are many reasons to love Gaya, some people like it because of how ancient the city is, and some people because of the religious perspectives. But there is one thing related to this place that always eludes us and that is its magnificent structures in its lanes.  A walk to the streets can change the way you think of the city. The center of attraction is the vintage historic houses, sadly many of them are now in a dilapidated condition but still can captivate you. This watch tower is one of the vintage historic structures located in Gaya. It was built between 1910 and 1914 by the-then collector George Oldham. It was renamed Rajendra Tower in 1981 after Dr. Rajendra Prasad by the administration of Jagannath Mishra, the-then Chief Minister of Bihar. According to locals, there were four clocks in the tower on each side and people used to hear the chimes of the clock from meters away.xtid=Nif5oz

The whole mountain of Umga situated in the Aurangabad district of Bihar is filled with surprising elements. From time to time many historians came to this mountain and gave different theories about the origin of the temples built here. It is believed that there were 52 temples initially but some of them got demolished over time and some by the invaders. Now there are about 5-6 temples left in good condition. One can still find so many ruins of temples and other structures all over the mountain. The main temple of Umga called the Sun Temple is still standing in a dilapidated condition following the rules of the Nagara style. As per the first inscription discovered by Markham Kittoe in 1847 the main Umga temple was built in 1496 by Bhairavendra. But the other ruins and idols indicate that it's way older than we think. There is a temple in a U-shaped cave 500 meters from the main Umga temple, known as the Umangeshwari cave temple. The deity Umangeshwari is believed that represents pr...

  This is one of the places which was not on my list during my Aurangabad tour. I saw this magnificent building in a town called Sundarganj in the Aurangabad district of Bihar when I was on my way to Maligarh fort.  Due to the lack of written history about this place, I asked the locals but they did not seem to know much about the origin. I found mixed reviews and the most common was that it wasa Kachahri (Court) built by the Zamindars Bengal. They sold this place after the abolition of the Zamindari system.    Raghwant Narayan Singh of Raipur and some other landlords of the nearby village bought it and made it their residence.  In 1996 this place was administered as a primary school called Saraswati Shishu Laxmi School. But the school closed in 2008 after the death of its headmaster.  Now this place is used by people to gamble and get intoxicated.

  The structures you are seeing in these pictures are not just some regular ruins. It is said to be more than 1500 years old and has archaeological values. Pachar village in the Rafiganj subdivision of Aurangabad district is said to be the part of ancient Jethian route from where once Buddha traveled to Somnath. Due to this belief, in ancient times monks built many structures near this village like stupas, monasteries, viharas, temples, etc. In 2007, Vikas Chauhan a resident of Rafiganj discovered this Buddha Vihara, from which many statues of Buddha were found. The bricks found here are believed to be from the Gupta period. Hal fway up the hill, there is an ancient Jain temple. where an idol of Parasnath is placed in a cave that belongs to the Pala period. There are many archaeological remains are in the villages of Rafiganj where the Archaeological Survey of India needs to focus. 

The village Siris is located in Barun, a subdivision of the Aurangabad district in Bihar. It has played an important role during the Mughal period as well as the British period.  Siris was a pargana during the reign of Sher Shah Suri (1540-1545 AD) and the Mughal Empire (1526-1761 AD). Later, it goes into the hand of one of the earliest freedom fighters of India Raja Narayan Singh (18th century).  On the west of the village, there is a historical mosque. The middle arch of the mosque contains an inscription written in the Persian language which says it was constructed in 1660 by Shamshuddin Muhammad during the Subedari of Kamgar Khan and the reign of Aurangzeb.  It is a three-domed mosque surrounded by 8 beautiful minarets, built on a raised platform bounded by a low masonry wall.

         "The first film made in Bihar" Today, India is the biggest film industry in the world which produces more than 1,800 films every year. Indian movies are liked all over the world and regional cinema plays a vital role in it. Satyajit Ray is the best example, who introduced Bengali cinema to the world. Even though when he became so famous he didn't stop working for his regional industry and used it as his identity.  But when we talk about Bihari cinema we can't even think of 10 movies that have contributed to Indian cinema in any way. We can't imagine any Bhojpuri films without vulgarity and illogical stories these days. Although some people are working hard to give recognition to Bihari cinema. With their creativity, they are breaking all the stereotypes. Still, Bihar is nowhere near achieving that goal. Its struggle to reach that goal with the ignorance of our regional language is truly an uphill battle.  But the Bihari film industry was not a...