IPS officer Amitabh Kumar Das. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Patna, Jan. 27: He is a senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer with a knack for music and lyrics.

Bihar Military Police (BMP) commandant Amitabh Kumar Das, stationed at Jamalpur in Munger, has penned a “rajya geet” (state song) for Bihar. The 1994-batch IPS officer has sent his composition to the human resource development (HRD) department, which has invited compositions from people from across the state. A cash reward of Rs 1 lakh has been announced for the best composition to be selected by a team of experts appointed by the state government.

The last date for sending compositions for “rajya geet” and “prarthana” is February 4. The HRD’s official notification, published in the local dailies on January 12, said: “The state government has decided that it should have its own state song to be sung at different programmes and functions. The two-minute song should include introduction of the state, its glory, feeling of respect and essence of the soil (Bihar).” Similarly, the prarthana (prayer), to be sung by students of government schools, should be in simple language, be inspirational, positive and thought provoking. It should be a three-minute song.

The best composition for the prayer would fetch a cash reward of Rs 1 lakh. The HRD, however, has made it clear that only one composition of a person would be selected either for the state song or the prayer.

“In any case, one person’s composition for both rajya geet and prarthana will not be accepted,” the official notification issued by the HRD said.

Talking about his composition, the IPS officer said: “It is simple in language and depicts the significance of different parts of the state, its rivers, places of historical importance and above all those important personalities who have been associated with Bihar.”

The first four lines of his composition read, “Ye Bihar ka geet, hum milkar gayen aaj,/apne is sube pe humko, bahut-bahut hai naaz./Saran, Champaran, Tirhut or Mithila iske hai ang,/Kosi or Magadh bhar dale, maan mei nayee umang”

Das, who originally hails from Darbhanga district, has also described the historical importance of places like Rajgir, Nalanda and Vaishali in his song. Das is not the only IPS officer of Bihar cadre to have composed songs. Another senior IPS officer, Arvind Pandey, has composed bhakti songs. Cassettes of his album are available in market.