Today after a long interval I am writing something like a blog post of Mithila. Though this should be the first blog post, the post itself describes the place, their people, their culture, their tradition, living conditions, etc. There was a time when the people of Mithilanchal used to wear ‘kurta-dhoti’, but because of the development and urbanization, people are wearing modern clothes too. So, there is no surety of dress codes of people but the aged or elder people still wear traditional clothes. You might see people keeping cotton towels known as ‘gamchha’ or ‘gamchhi’ (on their shoulders) whatever, depends on locality and changes from place to place. Most of the Brahmins and especially priests wear these kinds of clothes. People give priority to fried vegetables in their food locally known as ‘bachka’ or ‘tarua’. There are also other things which are famous among the food of Mithila. Some of them are:-
(1) Chuda-Dahi ( Beaten Rice- Curd)
(2) Maanchh-Bhaat (Fish-Rice)
(3) Badi-Bhaat (Besan k pakode-Chawal/Rice)
Curd is the most favorite milk product for the people of Mithilanchal. Almost in all the reception, it is distributed. Now the modern trend is suppressing it. Paan (Betel Leaf) is being given after the end of the reception party. Makhana and Makhana (Singhaar) are also among the famous fruits (grown on the surface of the water) of Mithilanchal. One thing which is controversial and is a part of the discussion between the Maithils and people of other places is that almost every people of Mithilanchal eat fishes. Whether they are from Brahmin caste or not, unlike in other places Brahmin avoids eating fishes. I don’t know the logic or thought behind this but this shouldn’t be a matter of concern for me and for you too. We are only interested to know about Mithila. “Aircanchan” (A large vegetable leaf looking likes betel leaf) is one of the favorite vegetables among the Maithils. We Maithils love the fried leaf (In Besan) of ‘tilkora’(A small vegetable leaf looking like betel leaf). There is a medical reason too for including ‘tilkora’ in our food items. It prevents children from excretion and from doing toilets while sleeping. There is a statement made by our ancestors regarding the receptions in Mithila:-
“aadi ghee ant dahi, tahi bhojan ke bhojan kahi”
That means if in a reception in Mithila, in starting ‘ghee’ is not given and at the end ‘curd’ (dahi) is not given, then that reception is not said to be a good reception. But now these things are disappearing. Rice is included every day in the meal. The name of some of the famous food items of Mithila are:-
(1) Adaudi (6) Ghorjaur (Rice made in Curd)
(2) Oal (7) Kat-hal (Kat-har)
(3) Kumhrauri (8) Murauri
(4) Parwal (Parore) (9) Bidiya (Madeby Saag/Green Leaves)
(5) Fried Potato/Brinjal/Ladyfinger (10)Murhi
You need not worry about the meaning of these things you just have to be aware of that. If I talk about festivals, Mithila is full of festivals. The most popular festivals are:-
(1) Tusari (6) Sama-Chakeva
(2) Madhushravani (7) Anant Chaturdashi
(3) Naag-Panchami (8) Chauth-Chand
(4) Saanjh Paawain (9) Jitiya (Othgan)
(5) Kojagra (10) Harishaun
The only and only language used is Maithili. Though People are speaking English, Hinglish :), Hindi too but the Maithili language can be found in use in every school like other local languages. The bad thing about our Mithila is that people are more superstitious rather than rational and practical. We have to overcome that. People are more inclined towards the worshiping of God. There is an almost equal ratio of Hindu and Muslim. A painting which is famous all around the world is ‘MadhubaniPainting’ or ‘Mithila Painting’ which shows the creativity of Maithil girls and women. Rajnagar, Janakpur (though in Nepal), Madhubani, Darbhanga, Samastipur, Sitamadhi are the visiting places of Mithilanchal. We have to work on that part also. Paag and Shawl are given to honor people and scholars.
I think I have written enough about Mithila but this is not the end. I will write more things related to Mithila in further Blog Posts.
