Cultural Documentation of River Ganga from Gaumukh to Gangasagar – Begusarai District

This Namami Gange project is being undertaken for the Jal Shakti Ministry, Government of India, under the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) scheme. INTACH is assisting the Ministry in the capacity of a knowledge partner. Three divisions of INTACH namely; Natural Heritage (NH), Architectural Heritage (AH) and Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) divisions have been engaged in the cultural mapping project, of three aspects natural, tangible and intangible assets along Ganga.
The objective of the project is to conduct field investigation and document existing cultural assets on either side of the river Ganga (within a radius of 5Kms, starting from its source, i.e. Gangotri, down to its point of dispersal at Ganga Sagar) and to produce for the ministry a detailed, illustrated report based on the primary and secondary resources available.

Begusarai District

The report detailsthe history of the region, the various sagas related to the epical and mythological stories of the Ganga and the different empires that played a crucial role in contributing to the imagery of the Ganga, both as an imperial symbol and as a sacred element. The language and literary traditions of Begusarai, festivals like the Ardh-Kumbh, Kartik Purnima Snan, and Simariyaor Kalpvas Mela have an interwoven narrative with the Ganga.

Along with the prevalent Saktah traditions of Ugratara Temple at Mahishi, the many contributions of local folk music, theatre, and art-craft traditions of this regionhave been highlighted in the report, especially Mithila paintingand Sujni embroiderywork. Mithila painting, depicting various milestones in people’s lives, was traditionally done on freshly plastered mud walls of the hut but is today also done on cloth, handmade paper, and canvas. Patna Kalam art has also been documented with details of its techniques and forms.

Check out more on the INTACH ICH Archive:
https://icharchive.intach.org/Detail/collections/81