About us:The Bhojpuri centre is an island of identity in the sea of critical and creative learning that the university stands for. Yet it is much more than mere showcasing of a particular identity. It is an effort to create a genuine understanding of the culture and civilization of a people unravelling their organic relation with their land, climate and other local characteristics. Situated in a picturesque location in the Banaras Hindu University, the Bhojpuri centre aspires to showcase the lively ingredients of Bhojpuri culture and civilization stretched over large areas of Bihar, U.P., Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. This linguistic region has been the life line of Northern India. Bhojpuri centre, a departure from the usual curriculum oriented university structure, strives to give a feel of the very structure of a civilization. It is the civilization that gives an authentic insight into the cultural paradigms of a community.
The University system is meant for the critical study of any subject matter, but the Bhojpuri centre has a much broader vision. It is an effort to recreate a fading civilization and empathize with it because therein lie the roots of our identity. This centre is the mind�s inward journey to one�s own roots and anchorage. It is perhaps the only centre of its kind which cuts across all the disciplinary barriers and addresses the heart of every individual in the university.
Through the Bhojpuri centre a paradigm of holistic regionalism is introduced in the compartmentalized paradigm of the university knowledge system. The term �holistic� is important here. Our own university system is based on compartmentalization of universal knowledge culminating into super compartmentalization.
The Bhojpuri centre brings in a novel approach towards knowledge acquisition. It starts with the assumption that a people or a society is in sync with its climate soil, topography and other natural features and resources.
An interplay of these factors shape the culture, lifestyle, art and other characteristics of a people-- giving them a distinct identity of their own. Identity is synoptic, so should be the understanding of it. To put it in other words: from the ontological truth of the organic and interactive nature of the structure of a community�s identity, its self-image, to the epistemological uncovering of the network of all those interdependencies-- is a straight perception that goes into the foundation of the vision of the Bhojpuri centre.
Still, a pertinent question remains to be answered: Why? What for ? What is the purpose of such a comprehensive regional study at all ? let it be clarified at the outset that the pupose of the courses is not purely academic. Had it been so, there would have been no need for a new centre, for; the ontological and epistemological sensibilities behind it are not wholly unknown to the pre-existing mainstream disciplines in the university fold. Our purpose is psychological, for it has to do with the identity of a community, something which should ideally be the raw material of genuine nation-building. The centre, therefore, seeks to highlight the merits and strengths of the longest Indian dialect, one having a sizeable international presence, but popularly rated as risqu� and crude. This depraved popular misconception is an unfortunate stigma on the Bhojpuri culture. The truth, however is that this culture is the matrix to which we owe our mainstream north-Indian culture. By highlighting the respectable and praiseworthy side of the language of the largest Indian community, the centre seeks to rectify the damage done to its image by films and the tinsel entertainment industry of the country. Let the Bhojpuri (speaking ) people take pride in their language instead of being apologetic about it. It is a great tragedy that very little is known of a language which is the language of the heart for millions of people. It is rather the emotional life � line for those teeming millions in India and abroad. People from the Bhojpuri region have settled in various cosmopolitan cities in India. Much earlier, history tells us that after the uprising of 1857, the British Empire refused employment to Indian in the army, and as a poor alternative, offered to deport them to its far flung colonies as bonded labor. These deported Indians, which actually comprised the Bhojpuri population of north India, had a tough, nearly subhuman existence there. Nevertheless, in due course, by dint of their hard work, they thrived and prosperd there. But their hearts always pined for their native land. They longed for a feel of their roots, for their language and the ethos of their homeland. Various hues of their nostalgia colored their memories and it is here that the entire Bhojpuri diaspora is one. From Indian metros like Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi, to erstwhile colonial Islands like Mauritius, Surinam, Trinidad and Fiji, this diaspora yearned to have a feel of that milieu which was theirs� but had to be left behind for the sake of survival. Today they are rich businessmen, successful bureaucrats, poor laborers or small shop keepers, but their longings are the same. It is a large, heterogeneous group but nostalgia and emotional starvation for their �paradise lost� are the common bonds that unite them.
However, to take into account subtle differences, it may be mentioned that the Bhojpuri diaspora, abroad has a somewhat different story to tell. It is not as nostalgic as its Indian counterpart. The reasons for this difference are fairly obvious. Some two or three generations back the former�s forefathers migrated to alien lands and were gradually integrated with the native population there. A hybrid generation and a similar culture developed as a result � one that was peculiar to their own country. The successive hybrid generations, led by the memories inherited from their forefathers, now want to discover the Bhojpuri roots of their culture and identity. The cultural and civilizational traits of the Bhojpuri region have a symbolic though precious importance for them.
For these inheritors of the Bhojpuri connection and for other first or second generation migrants living in different parts of India, the Bhojpuri Centre, with its authentic depiction of the regional architecture, artifacts, lifestyle and literature, will certainly prove to be an emotional pilgrimage. For this, the centre plans to develop within its folds, a living museum.
The prefix �living� is important, for it is suggestive of the distinctness of the endeavour. As a museum, it shall house various inhabits, but not for the sake of preserving some ancient, bizarre objects, as is generally presumed in the ease of a museum. It will judiciously and thematically house such artifacts that bring out the philosophical worldview of the Bhojpuri community, its traditional eco � friendly practices and life style, its creative and aesthetic richness & fineness and most prominently, its innovative genius.
The culture would be judiciously depicted in the sense that efforts will be made to bring out its holistic and indigenous qualities, without compromising on the genuine feel and texture of the Bhojpuri milieu. The use and re � use value and the emotional quotient of artifacts will all be kept in mind while making selections for the museum. All the traditional artifacts and practices shall be judged on their potential for adaptability or applicability in modern conditions.