While clichés and stereotypes of states and cities often attribute to India’s cultural diversity, for the longest time many of us have been unkind with our perception of Bihar. Granted, most of it comes from a place of ignorance and poor taste owing to the state’s politicized history, it however has come at the cost of us ignoring the beauty and the spectacle it beholds.
“It is not how people make it out to be. It has malls, cafes and everything. It’s like any other city”, says Rishi Raj, a NIFT student who grew up in Bihar. Rishi and his friend, Ashish Kaushik have also made a splendid video title ‘Bihar Unexplored’ capturing the beauty of Bihar. While the video starts off on a sombre note highlighting the plight of Bihar’s damaged reputation conjured up by mainstream media over the years, it’s followed by some of the most mesmerizing shots of nature and architecture you might’ve encountered.
“Bihar has had a politicized history so media has always shown the negative side. The label ‘Bihari’ is always associated with something bad. People always think of mugging, robbery and crime. But we’ve so much to offer”, says Ashish. Both are talented young creatives who have a lot to offer and a long way to go, however, both admit facing some form of racism in metropolitan cities of Delhi and Bangalore.
To counter this perception and show Bihar’s true beauty, they embarked on a project capturing the state’s unexplored side. Below are some pictures by Rishi which will likely give you a glimpse into a world you’ve not seen and hopefully change your take on it.
Featured Photography by Rishi Raj.
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