“Land of Diverse Culture and Tradition”

East India would be a rather not-so-vernacular term to classify the 7 sisters in the northeast, the Andaman and Nicobar islands, and the states of Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, and West Bengal together. We`ll refer to the 7 sisters as the northeast, these states have cultural and linguistic similarities. East India is where the sun rises first.

The northeast is well known for its friendly natives and cleanliness. The regions of Bihar and Jharkhand are storehouses of India’s coal and iron reserves. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are not just a tourist attraction but are also of great strategic importance for the Indian navy, and the infamous north sentinel island is also a part of the union territory

Cultures and Traditions :

The majority population of the northeast is descendants of inhabitants of Myanmar, China, and Thailand, who settled here. The people residing in Bihar and Jharkhand are mainly three ethnic groups, Bhojpuris, Maithils, and Magadhis. Bihar came under the Nanda, Maurya, and Gupta Empires. Bihar is also the motherland of two religions, Buddhism and Jainism. Bodh Gaya, the famous place where Gautam Buddha achieved Enlightenment is also in Bihar.

West Bengal being a coastal state has always been open to the outside world and it is rather difficult to find the original race to which the habitants belong, however, the population here is said to be a mixture of five different racial strains

The settlers of Andaman and Nicobar island are called the Andamanese who settled here some 26,000 years ago. The north sentinel island is one of the much smaller islands of the union territory, what is so special about this island is that it has not been in contact with the rest of the world.

East India is rich in its culture and traditions where despite the higher poverty rates, frequent natural calamities, and Tough terrain, the people here have strong value systems and principles, the Durga pooja is one of the many examples where the vibrance and ethnic essence can the experienced at its full glory.

Language and Dialects :

The northeast comprising of the 7 states namely Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Manipur has over 200 different languages and dialects. Assamese is considered the mother language of most of the languages in the region. The Northeast also has international influence in language, Nepali is spoken in some parts of Sikkim, which shares international borders with the country of Nepal. Some of the commonly spoken languages are Assamese, Bodo, Meitei, Santali, Khasi, Jaintia

The languages of Bihar are Angaki, Maithili, Bajjika, Magahi, Bhojpuri.

The People of Andaman and Nicobar are well-versed in the mainland languages like Bihari, Malayalam, Bengali, Tamil, and Telegu, the inhabitants speak the Andamanese.

Oriya or Odia is the main language of the people of Odisha. In West Bengal along with Hindi and Bengali the other commonly spoken languages are Urdu, Gurmukhi, Nepali, Ol-Chiki, and Oriya.

Dance and Musical Artforms :

The Dance forms in the Northeast are different for each state and the variety is so much so that even within a state one can find different folk dances among different communities.

The Dance forms are also recognised as Classical dances such as the Sattriya from Assam and Manipuri dance from Manipur. This has given multiple talented personalities time and again, who have represented India on a global scale. Some notable dance forms are Bardo Cham from Arunachal Pradesh, Wancho Dance – from Arunachal Pradesh, Ponung – from Arunachal Pradesh, Bagurumba –from Assam, Ojapali – from Assam, Jhumur/Jhumair – from Assam.

Dance forms in West Bengal have been performed for over a period of 500 years. Some of the notable folk dance forms are Baul dance, Santhal dance, Fakir, Bitra, Lathi, Gajan, Ranpa, and Chhau.

The Dance forms in Bihar are Kajari, Paika, Jhijhian, Karma, and Jhumar, Jhijian is a famous folk dance performed only by the women in the town of Mithila. Bidesia is another famous dance form revered for its unique and admirable hand movements and Theatrical performance.

The Andaman and Nicobar islands are especially famous for their Nicobarese dance performed on the occasions like the Ossuary festival (Pig Festival).

Folk Music of the northeast includes the use of Dhol, Madol, and Khram. famous personalities from the northeast are Mahapurush Srimanta Shankardev, Sri Sri Madhabdeva, Bhupen Hazarika, etc..Assamese music sounds and is performed, like oriental Chinese music, this is because of the effervescent influence of the central Asian country in this region. The melodies on which the famous Bihu dance is performed are indigenous to the state.

The young generations of the northeast have been greatly influenced by Hard Rock music and western Instruments like Guitar, Drums, Violin, and Xylophone have found their way into the music festivals like the NH7 Weekender and the Ziro Festival.

Music from Bihar is rather popular as Bhojpuri music in the modern world, but true classical music is played on classical music instruments like Dholak, Bansuri, Tabla, Harmonium, and Shehnai. The Music and dance performances can be experienced on festivals like the Chath puja and Sama Chakeva in the city of Mithila

The music from Odisha is Popular because of its raw and unmodified form similar to Hindustani music, several music festivals are organized every year, like the Kalinga Mahotsav, Chandan yatra, Sital Shasti, etc. Bengal has given some very famous music artists like Manna De

Cuisine :

Entire East India consumes a fair amount of meat and seafood in their diet. Northeast Cuisine has similarities with Chinese and Tibetan cuisine. The food items are mostly boiled or steamed and the use of spice is limited, locally available spices and herbs are used. The region is famous for its beverages like Green tea, Black Tea, etc. Local delicacies include the Thukpa, momos, Shaphaley, Duck meat, Fish stew, Eromba etc.

The people of Bihar on the contrary are fond of spicy foods, the famous litti-chokha is enjoyed by the Biharis as lunch and dinner.

Bengali cuisine has wide use of rice and fish, their cuisine also uses variety of spices to give aroma and taste to the food. Rasogolla and Misti doi are some of the famous Bengali sweet dishes consumed not just in the state but in the entire sub-continent.

Costumes and Attires :

The traditional dress of Bengal is the dhoti and kurta called “Panjebi” for men and Sari or Salwar kameez for women, The famous noteworthy dress from the northeast include the “Mekhela” which is a saree worn by women, women also wear a wraparound skirt with a saree pallu on top. The famous tribes of Manipur namely the Garo, Khasi, and the Jaintia wear their traditional tribal dress such as Jainsen, Tap-Moh Khlieh, and silk drapes.

Festivals :

Some of the noteworthy Festivals from the northeast are The Hornbill festival, Where multiple different tribe members come together to celebrate, Dance, perform rituals, and have sports events.

Bihar and West Bengal celebrate the Famous Chath puja and the Durga puja

Odisha is famous for its festivals like the Durga puja, Mahabisuva Sankranti, Sitalsasthi carnival