Chhath (Hindi: छठ, also called Dala Chhath) is an ancient Hindu festival dedicated to the Hindu Sun God, Surya, also known as Surya Shashti. The Chhath Puja is performed in order to thank Surya for sustaining life on earth and to request the granting of certain wishes. The Sun, considered the god of energy and of the life-force, is worshiped during the Chhath fesival to promote well-being, prosperity and progress. In Hinduism, Sun worship is believed to help cure a variety of diseases, including leprosy, and helps ensure the longevity and prosperity of family members, friends, and elders.

The rituals of the festival are rigorous and are observed over a period of four days. They include holy bathing, fasting and abstaining from drinking water (Vratta), standing in water for long periods of time, and offering prashad (prayer offerings) and aragh to the setting and rising sun.

Although it is observed most elaborately in Bihar, Jharkhand, Eastern UP and the Terai regions of Nepal in modern times, and is more prevalent in areas where migrants from those areas have a presence, it is celebrated in all regions and major urban centers in India. The festival is celebrated in the regions including but not exclusive to the northeast region of India, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Chandigarh, Gujarat,Delhi,Mumbai and Mauritius.

Sharda Sinha (born October 9, 1952) is a folk-singer and music teacher from Samastipur, Bihar. .

Sharda Sinha sings Maithili and Bhojpuri songs, has received Padma Shri for her contribution to music. Prayag Sangeet Samiti organised Basant Mahotsava at Prayag where Padma Shri Sharda Sinha presented numerous songs based on the theme of spring season, where the advent of spring was narrated through folk songs. She regularly performs during Durga Puja festivities. She performed when the Prime Minister of Mauritius Navin Ramgoolam came to, Bihar. She has sung in many movies such as Maine Pyar Kiya and Hum Aapke Hain Kaun and has also produced several music albums such as Dulhin, Pirittiya and Mehndi. Bihar 'kokila' Sharda Sinha performed at Pragati Maidan in the Bihar Utsav, 2010, New Delhi. Sinha started the programme with her patriotic song "Maiya bharti pukarela jawan babua tora hathawa mein deshwa ke shaan babuwa". Her other songs, included "Paniya ke jahaj se paltaniya bani ahiya piya lele ahiya ho sindurwa Bengal Ke," "Kahe to se sajani hamaar jogiya," "Sutal chaliya baba ke bhawanwa," "Sun ho pardesia," "Sasuji se lutri," "Apna sajaniya ke" and "Dulhin dhire dhire chalio."

Anuradha Paudwal is a popular playback singer in Bollywood in India. She has sung songs in Hindi, Marathi, Oriya, and Nepali.

She studied at Xavier's College in Mumbai. She was married to the late Arun Paudwal, who worked with music director S. D. Burman as his assistant. Her singing career started in 1973 with the movie, Abhimaan, (starring Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan) in which she sang a Shloka (a Sanskrit verse). In the same year she also made her Marathi film debut with "Yashoda" (music by Datta Davjekar). In 1974, she brought out a record of Non-film Marathi songs or "bhav geeten" which became very popular.

In 1976, she got her break as a playback singer in Hindi films with Kalicharan (starring Shatrughan Sinha and Reena Roy). Her first solo was in the movie, Aap Beati, (starring Hema Malini and Shashi Kapoor). Laxmikant-Pyarelal were the music-composer duo for that movie. She also occasionally sang songs for composers Rajesh Roshan (Des Pardes), Jaidev (Dooriyan, Laila Majnu), Kalyanji Anandji (Kalaakar, Vidhaata), and Usha Khanna (Souten, Sajan Bina Suhagan).

Nitish Kumār (born 1 March 1951) is an Indian politician who has been a Union Minister and is the Chief Minister of Bihar, an eastern state of India, since 2005. He belongs to the Janata Dal (United) party. As Chief Minister, he gained popularity by initiating a series of developmental and constructive activities including building of long-delayed bridges, re-laying roads that had ceased to exist, appointing over 100,000 school teachers, ensuring that doctors worked in primary health centers, and keeping crime in check.

Nitish Kumār was born in Kalyanbigha, Bihar to Kaviraj Ram Lakhan Singh and Parmeshwari Devi. His father was a freedom fighter and was close to the great Gandhian Bihar Vibhuti Anugrah Narayan Sinha, one of the founders of modern Bihar. His nickname is 'Munna'. He is a teetotaler, does not smoke, and is a frugal eater.

He has a degree in electrical engineering from the Bihar College of Engineering, Patna now NIT Patna. He joined the Bihar State Electricity Board, but almost halfheartedly, and later moved into politics.

Manoj Kumar Tiwari (born 1 February 1971) is a singer, actor, television presenter and music director^{[clarification needed]} from Bihar, India. He has acted in the Bhojpuri genre of the Indian film industry and in 2005 was reported to be one of the two leading male stars of that genre.

Manoj Tiwari was born on 1 February 1971, one of the six children of Chandra Deo Tiwari and Lalita Devi. His birthplace was Atarwalia, a small village in Kaimur district of Bihar.

Prior to Tiwari's involvement in cinema, he had spent ten years working as a singer.

In 2003, he took a role in the film Sasura Bada Paise Wala. The BBC reported that the production costs of US$ 65,000 were turned into takings of US$ 3 million, while The Hindu reported a 35,000–40,000 lakh cost resulting in takings of 4.5 crore. Indian Express reported a figure of 6.5 crore as the takings. The Bihar Jharkhand Motion Picture Association saw this production as being a turning point for Bhojpuri cinema. He followed this with the successful films Daroga Babu I Love You and Bandhan Toote Na. Tiwari is reported to have said in 2005 that although the Bhojpuri genre had generally kept to its traditional storylines, "Gone are the double entendres, thin story lines and poor technical quality. Films have been slick and producers are willing to put in close to Rs 80 lakh in a film because the returns are not bad,"