Shiv Gulam Mishra, originally from Munger in Bihar, who came to Australia in 1991 jests, “None of the Biharis are businessman. We are hundred per cent job people. We are also not into sports with few exceptions such as M S Dhoni (former captain of the Indian national cricket team).”
Though keeping a light tone, Mishra’s observation of the community’s homogeneity may not be far from the truth. “We have a WhatsApp group of 288 members. Out of 288,250 are all IT professionals,” says Mishra, a mechanical engineer who graduated from IIT Delhi.
Those who immigrated into Australia in the 1990s and earlier were permanent residents (PRs) who came via the skilled migrant visa 456 class, says Mishra. But that is also true of other Indians from other communities then.
“There were few Bihari family initially, but they kept growing every five to ten years especially with the government opening up immigration policy,” says Mishra. As a result, the Bihar Sabha Melbourne was formed.
But in 2000, when Jharkhand was carved out of the southern part of Bihar, Mishra recalls how families were suddenly scattered. “Someone’s wife was from Ranchi, the husband from Jharkhand, so much of mix up. So we became the Bihar Jharkhand Sabha Melbourne (BJSM),” he says.
Also in the early 2000s with the arrival of many IT professionals into Australia, Mishra credits Canberra-based Sanjay Pandey with creating the website bjsm.org.au that fostered a connection among newcomers and those who are already in Australia.
Today, the Bihar Jharkhand Sabha of Australia and New Zealand that was started in Melbourne has further spread to other major cities of Australia and New Zealand. “Undoubtedly, it has generated significant interest among our people in Canberra, Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, Darwin, Perth and Auckland. .. and Melbourne members are still continuing their tradition of meeting four times a year,” the organisation states.
BJSM has a full-fledged committee. Mishra, who was its president since it became registered, says he stepped down last year to pass on the baton to the younger generation.
But it wasn’t until 2016 that BJSM was formally incorporated as a ‘not for profit’ community organisation. “We came to know around 2015 that the government gives some support to organisations like ours,” says Mishra.
In many ways, the Bihar Jharkhand Sabha fits the profile of other Indian communities. Few families met in “backyard parties” and as the numbers kept growing, they formed their own organisations.
Likewise, BJSM celebrates all major cultural events including Holi and Diwali.
Surprisingly, what presented an early conundrum for the community was celebrating the Chhatt Puja, which Bihar, the eastern Indian state is famous for.
Chhatt Puja is associated with the worship of the Sun God with people offering their gratitude for his support to life on earth. Worshippers gather at the banks of the river and after a dip, offer their prayers while performing important festival rituals. The festival lasts for four days generally.
Vinit Sharma, an active BJSM member, says it took a while for Chhatt Puja to take off in Melbourne because it has to follow a continuity. So once a person initiates the rites relating to the puja, it becomes compulsory for him/her to perform it every year and also teach their children to do the same when they grow up. The festival can be skipped only if there has been a death in the family. If a person stops performing the puja without any reason, he or she cannot get involved in the festivities in the future ever again.
“So nobody wanted to start the Chhath Puja here,” says Mishra. “Because 99 per cent of the time it has been parental, it never stops until that person passes on. For instance, a mother does Chhath Puja for her son till she is alive and then passes on to the wife, and so on. It is a tradition.”
But there is no hard and fast rule that one cannot start it. Around 2015-16, BJSM members joined the Madhesi community from Nepal in Victoria to celebrate Chhatt Puja. The two communities celebrated the festival together for few years.
However in 2019, just before the pandemic, BJSM started its own Chhatt Puja at Karkarook Park in Moorabbin given that many members within the organisation were doing it.
“Luckily, the pandemic never stopped us doing Chhatt. There was relaxation of rules around the time each year. So we had it in 2020 and 2021 as well with limited people,” says Mishra.
This year will be the fourth year of celebrating Chhatt Puja for the Bihar Jharkhand Sabha and one of the biggest in its history, says Sharma, who has been busy with the planning of the festival. “We are expecting about 1,000 people.”
The puja, which will commence on the evening of 30 October, will be held at Karkarook Park and will continue on the morning of 31 October.
The organisation has also invited popular Indian folk singer and Padma Shri awardee Malini Awasthi who will be performing at a concert at the Rowville community hall.
Sharma says it is a big and unique event, and a multicultural event. “We welcome people from other communities to come and join the festival.”
For the people of Bihar and Jharkhand, holding on to festivals such as Chhatt Puja—is a strong multiculturalist privilege, one that can be shared and celebrated in a country like Australia.
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The Bihar Jharkhand Sabha fits the profile of other Indian communities. Few families met in “backyard parties” & as the nos. kept growing, they formed their own orgs. Likewise, BJSM celebrates all major cultural events inc. Holi & Diwali. #TheIndianSunhttps://t.co/pbv5Ut327P
— The Indian Sun (@The_Indian_Sun) October 26, 2022
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