Current Time in Begusarai, India

Begusarai lies in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, on the northern bank of the Ganges about a hundred and twenty kilometres east of Patna. The land around it is flat, fertile alluvial plain, cut by the Burhi Gandak river and dotted with ponds and seasonal wetlands. Summers are long and hot, the monsoon brings heavy rain and occasional flooding, and winters are short and pleasantly cool.

The city has a population of roughly a quarter of a million, while the district as a whole is home to around three million people, making it one of the most densely settled parts of India. Begusarai is widely described as the industrial capital of Bihar. The Barauni oil refinery, a large thermal power station, a fertiliser plant and a dairy complex stand on its outskirts, and together they give the district an industrial profile unlike anywhere else in the state.

The town grew in the nineteenth century as an administrative and trading centre, and it became a separate district in 1972. Its modern character was shaped in the 1960s, when the refinery and power station were built with Soviet technical assistance. That period also gave Begusarai a strong tradition of left-wing politics and trade union activity, which earned it the affectionate nickname of the Leningrad of Bihar and still colours local public life.

The most remarkable natural site nearby is Kanwar Lake, an enormous oxbow wetland left behind by the shifting course of the Burhi Gandak. Long regarded as one of Asia's largest freshwater oxbow lakes, it was designated a Ramsar site of international importance in 2020 and attracts large flocks of migratory birds each winter, including ducks, storks and waders. On its edge stands the temple of Jaimangla Garh, reached across the water and busy with pilgrims during festivals.

The other great gathering place is Simaria Ghat on the Ganges, a bathing and cremation site whose month-long Kalpvas fair draws hundreds of thousands of devotees. The nearby Rajendra Setu, one of the first road and rail bridges across the lower Ganges, opened in 1959 and remains an important link between north and south Bihar.

Begusarai takes great pride in its literary heritage. It is the birthplace of Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, one of the most celebrated Hindi poets of the twentieth century, whose patriotic verse is still recited across India, and the town has produced other well-known writers and journalists. Local culture centres on Maithili and Hindi language, folk music, wrestling akharas and the great festivals of Chhath, Durga Puja and Holi.

Barauni Junction is a major railway hub with services towards Patna, Delhi, Kolkata and Assam, and national highways link the city to the rest of the state. Several colleges affiliated to Lalit Narayan Mithila University, together with engineering and polytechnic institutes, serve local students.

Begusarai matters as Bihar's industrial engine, a wetland of global ecological value and a district with a lively intellectual and political tradition.