Art & Culture in Purvanchal

Purvanchal has basically 4 divisions for culture and language, 1-Eastern-Awadhi in the west, 2- Western-Bhojpuri in the east, 3- Baghelkhand region in the south and 4- Nepal region in the north. Most of the part of Purvanchal is the plane area and it connects with western Bihar reason and has mixed cultures in this area.

Due to the good agricultural land of this area, and high earthworm density most people are involved in agriculture work for the survival of their families.

Art in Purvanchal

Varanasi (Benaras) is the hub of arts and crafts in Purvanchal. The major industries are silks and brocades with gold and silver threadwork, carpet weaving (a carpet-weaving centre is at Bhadoi), Wooden toys, bangles made of glass, ivory work, perfumes, artistic brass and copper wares and a variety of handicrafts. The cantonment graveyard during British Raj is now converted to Varanasi’s Arts and Crafts location.

Gorakhpur Terracotta is world famous and you will find some very interesting ones here. The Terracotta Town is about 9 to 17 km from Gorakhpur city. There are many villages famous for terracotta products.

Bhadohi, Shahjahanpur and Mirzapur are famous for their carpets. Carpet weaving is a major occupation here.

Music & Entertainment

One of the main features of Purvanchal's culture is a tradition of folk songs and folk dances. Folk songs are also performed at various festivals during the year. The Kaharwa is sung at Deepawali, the Alha and the Kajari during the rainy and winter nights, and the Phaag during Holi. One of the biggest parts of Purvanchal’s culture is the tradition of folk songs and folk dances. This is a very artistic vivid part of Gorakhpur’s culture. After a long day of work, they unwind by singing and dancing. They have different dances and songs for special occasions also. Folk songs are performed at different festivals and seasons during the year.

They sing the Kaharwa at Deepawali, the Alha, Kajri, and Barahmasi during the rainy and winter nights, and the Phaag during Holi. The people of Purvanchal use the harmonium, dholak, manjira, mridang, nagara, thali, and nagara as musical instruments when they perform. Some of the most popular folk dances are saved for the special occasion of festivals, fairs, and marriages to celebrate.

As elsewhere in India, cinema is the most popular means of entertainment in Purvanchal. There are more than a hundred cinemas in the area with a combined capacity of six thousand seats. Documentaries and mobile cinemas cater to the rural areas of the state. Drama/theatre and circuses groups also visit the district. Dangal (wrestling matches), nautanki (indigenous open-air dramatic performances), bhajan and qawwali programmes, and mushaira are also arranged at different places from time to time. Ram Leela and Krishna Leela provide alternative entertainment

Also, Gorakhpur and Varanasi have recently become a hub of Bhojpuri films as Bhojpuri is widely spoken here due to its physical proximity to the state of Bihar. Many channels like Mahua Bhojpuri channel have opened their offices in Purvanchal and conduct talent hunt sessions. There is also a Bhojpuri film city in Purvanchal. However, now you may also find many local functions, fairs and events are organised at different places from time to time, mostly during festivals.