Bihar

Crisp wheat-and-jaggery cookies pressed in wooden moulds. The sacred prasad of Chhath Puja.

Roasted-gram flour stirred into cold water with lemon and cumin. Bihar's protein-rich summer cooler.

Wholewheat balls stuffed with spiced sattu, roasted and dipped in ghee, served with a smoky mash of brinjal, tomato and potato.

Flaky wholewheat flatbread stuffed with spiced roasted gram flour, a filling breakfast across Bihar.

Steamed rice-flour dumplings filled with spiced chana dal paste, a Bihar favourite in winter.

Flattened rice with thick curd and jaggery, the traditional meal of Makar Sankranti in Bihar.

Black gram cooked with onion and spices, eaten with chura or puffed rice as a breakfast or evening snack.

Mutton slow-cooked with whole garlic and spices in a sealed clay pot over coals, from the Champaran region.

River fish cooked in a pungent mustard and garlic gravy, a pillar of Maithil food and ritual.

Fish slices marinated in mustard oil, turmeric and chilli and shallow-fried until crisp.

Thin strips of mutton marinated in raw papaya, mustard oil and spices and grilled over charcoal.

Gram-flour fritters soaked in a tangy curd and besan curry, eaten with rice on Sundays and festivals.

A Mithila folk dance-drama in which women act out the love, quarrels and hardships of a husband (Jat) and wife (Jatin).

A Mithila dance by women who balance clay pots with lit lamps on their heads during Navratri, praying to protect the village from evil.

Bhojpuri folk theatre of song, dance and drama about men who leave home to work far away and the families they leave behind.

A lively dance and song of women held at the bride’s or groom’s home on the night of a wedding, full of teasing and humour.

A Bhojpuri folk dance in which male performers dress as women and dance and sing at weddings and village festivities.

Four days of fasting and prayer to the Sun, offered at sunset and sunrise while standing in water.

The New Year of Mithila, on Mesha Sankranti in mid-April. Elders bless the young by putting cool water on their heads, trees and plants are watered, and food cooked the day before is eaten.

Four days of worship of the Sun and Chhathi Maiya, six days after Diwali. Devotees fast without water and offer arghya to the setting and the rising sun while standing in rivers and ponds.

A Shakti Peetha at Gaya, where Sati's breast is said to have fallen. The Goddess is worshipped here as Sarvamangala.

A Shakti Peetha at Mahishi, Saharsa district, where Sati's left eye is said to have fallen. The Goddess is worshipped here as Tara.

A Shakti Peetha at Arrah, Bhojpur district, where Sati's right thigh is said to have fallen. The Goddess is worshipped here as Aranyani.

The birthplace of Guru Gobind Singh (1666).

Where the Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree; a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The capital of Magadha where the Buddha taught on the Griddhakuta (Vulture's Peak) hill; the first Buddhist council was held here.

Where the Buddha preached his last sermon and the second Buddhist council was held; also the birthplace of Mahavira.

The ruins of the ancient Buddhist university, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Where Bhagwan Mahavira attained nirvana; the Jal Mandir stands in a lotus pond.

The place where Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree and became the Buddha; the holiest site in Buddhism.

Ruins of one of the oldest universities in the world, a great centre of Buddhist and other learning for about 800 years.

The first capital of Magadha, set in a ring of hills and sacred to Buddhists, Jains and Hindus.

Seat of the ancient Licchavi republic, birthplace of Lord Mahavira, and a town the Buddha visited several times.

One of the five Takhts of Sikhism, built at the birthplace of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru.

A grand red sandstone tomb rising from the middle of an artificial lake, built for the Afghan ruler Sher Shah Suri.

A tiger reserve of sal forest and grassland at the foot of the Himalaya, bordering Nepal.

Ruins of a great Buddhist university founded by the Pala kings, on the banks of the Ganga near Bhagalpur.

Where Siddhartha attained enlightenment and became the Buddha.

One of the world's oldest universities, a centre of learning for 800 years.