We often talk about the economic and intellectual brain drain from Bihar and Jharkhand. Young, bright minds moving to developed states for better education and employment. This has been going on for quite sometime now and there is no trend reversal visible unless we see new employment opportunities in our state. A lot of things have been written on this topic and discussed as well. But there's a quieter, more deeper damage happening, one that touches the very soul of our identity: the erosion of our local traditions and culture. This has not drawn anyone's attention unless its the anti language movement in some of the developed states of India.
It is about the slow, deep impact of our own younger generations moving out.
When we leave home for work or higher study, we gain opportunities, but it also create a distance which cannot be shortened by train or flights- cultural distance.
Missing the Rhythm of Life: Our lives back home are structured around festivals, local customs, and traditions. Be it the Chhath Mahaparva, or the local folk songs sung at weddings, or even the dialects spoken at home.
A Brief Return is Not Enough: we take leave for the big festivals, a brief, hectic visit. But for the rest of the year, we are just observing festivals from a distant. We are not there for the everyday rituals, the small, continuous acts that maintain a cultural heartbeat. We just para drop on the final day and mark our attendance but the much needed bonding, the connect is missing. During that brief visit, we keep juggling between phone, emails, "critical" action items from office and regular festival related chores.
For initial few years, we call it "away from from roots" but slowly that 'Transplantation" happens
Slow Forgetting, Step by Step
This absence leads to a gradual, often unintentional, moving away from our roots.
Missing Out: We start by missing the events due to some critical work or leave not getting approved. We feel a pang of nostalgia, but life keeps moving.
Dilution: We try to recreate a version of the festival in our new city(visiting Chhath ghat in Hussain Sagar), but it lacks the authenticity, the specific local flavor, the community participation and above all very essence with which you can relate or connect your past celebrations. As a kid there were few memories attached to each event but with this transplantation, it's lost.
Forgetting: Slowly, we begin to forget the finer details: the specific songs, the preparation steps for a traditional dish, the connect. These are the very things that make us Bihari or Jharkhandi.
The Looming Future
The real concern lies with the next couple of generations. Its visible in every day life-while i could 100% understand bhojpuri and can try to speak but the next generation is not even there. For them Chhath puja is something where papa takes them to Hussain Sagar or listen to Sharada Sinha songs on youtube. They never experienced the puja preparation, walking down few kms to Chhath Ghat with whole family. The joy and a sense of accomplishment once you complete the morning arghya on last day of Chhath-they have never experienced it.
Our children, born and raised in metros will never experience the festivals or the village life firsthand. Their connection will be secondhand, through stories and fragmented phone calls.
This subtle shift is happening right now. It's not a loud political or economic crisis, but a silent erosion of a cultural legacy. We must find ways—through digital means, community building in new cities, or conscious effort—to keep the connection alive, or risk seeing the rich, unique fabric of Bihar and Jharkhand's culture slowly fade into nostalgia.
