Bhojpuri.us is also part of the project

Ranchi, June 10: Centuries-old rituals will soon unite millions of Bhojpuri-speaking people across the world and that too virtually.

In a bid to connect the Bhojpuri population — especially the second generation — who are fast losing identity after getting settled in foreign shores, the Jharkhand chapter of the Akhil Vishva Bhojpuri Vikas Manch has decided to design video music albums featuring ceremonies.

A large number of Bhojpuri-speaking people lives in the US, Canada, Guyana, Mauritius, Surinam, Trinidad, Fiji, Singapore, Holland, Malaysia and Uganda.

The elaborate ceremonies observed at the time of marriages, childbirth, sacred thread ceremony, naming a child and first shaving of the head (mundan) would be part of the music albums and would also simultaneously be communicated through several Bhojpuri websites, including www.bhojpuri.us, www.bhojpuri.com, www.anjoria.com and www.bidesia.co.in.

The video music albums will also be sent to the Bhojpuri Association of North America (Bana), which brings Bhojpuri-speaking communities in the US and Canada together, Indian Social Clubs and Bhojpuri Convention operational in Mauritius, Surinam and Fiji, which would distribute the video music albums in the respective countries.

B.N. Tiwary, the president of the Jharkhand chapter of the Akhil Vishva Bhojpuri Vikas Manch, said that he had taken this initiative after getting a request from senior citizens residing in the countries who looked forward to apprise the new generation of Bhojpuri rituals.

Tiwary added that in the first phase a five-member team would visit countries like Mauritius and Fiji to carry out a survey to find out whether the new generation was aware of the rituals, which are followed back home. “In this way, we will be able to analyse the problems and accordingly prepare ourselves through various means to keep them connected to their roots,” Tiwary said.

The music albums will be released in a couple of months after the team visits Mauritius within a fortnight to get a feedback and also find out the existing cultural gaps in these Bhojpuri-speaking countries.