Arrah (also transliterated as Ara) is a city and a

municipal corporation Municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally o ...

in Bhojpur district (formerly known as

Shahabad district Shahabad district or Arrah district, headquartered at Arrah (now part of Bhojpur) was a Bhojpuri speaking district in western Bihar, India, making the western border of Bihar with Uttar Pradesh. In 1972, the district was split into two distri ...

) in the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 subnational entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into 800 districts and smaller administrative divisions by the respe ...

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

. It is the headquarters of Bhojpur district, located near the confluence of the

Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

and

Sone The sone () is a unit of loudness, the subjective perception of sound pressure. The study of perceived loudness is included in the topic of psychoacoustics and employs methods of psychophysics. Doubling the perceived loudness doubles the sone ...

rivers, some from Danapur and from

Patna Patna (; , ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paṭanā''), historically known as Pataliputra, Pāṭaliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, ...

Typonym

According to a Jain inscription found at Masarh village near the town, Arrah is mentioned there as ''Aramnagar'' ( transl. City of Aramas). That "Aramnagar" later become "Arrah". According to mythologies, the word "Arrah" or "Ara" is derived from the Sanskrit word ''Aranya'', which means forest. It suggests that the entire area around modern Ara was heavily forested in the old days. Arrah has also historically been known as Shahabad, a name given to it by

Babur Babur (; 14 February 148326 December 1530; born Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad) was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his father and mother respectively. He was also ...

in 1529, when he camped here after his victory against the Afghans of Bihar. The name "Shahabad" means "city of the king" and was used in the former

In mythologies

According to the Hindu epic ''

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

'', sage Vishwamitra, the Guru of

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

, had his ''

Ashram An ashram (, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions, not including Buddhism. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (< Taraka. In

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

it was the home of the powerful demon called ''Bakra'', whose daily food was human being supplied either by villages of ''Bakri'' or Chakrapur (or Ekchakra), as Arrah was then called.

Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, aɳɖɐʋᵊ IAST: Pāṇḍava) is a group name referring to the five legendary brothers, Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, who are central figures of the Hindu epic ''Mahabhara ...

came to Ekchakra during their wandering and they were entertained by a

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

whose turn it was to supply a human for the demon. On hearing this,

Bhima Bhima (, ), also known as Bhimasena (, ), is a hero and one of the most prominent characters in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. As the second of the five Pandava brothers, Bhima was born to Kunti—the wife of King Pandu—fathered by Vayu, the ...

decided to go himself to the demon as he has eaten a Brahmin's salt, and killed the demon.

History

Ancient

This place is also described by

Xuanzang Xuanzang (; ; 6 April 6025 February 664), born Chen Hui or Chen Yi (), also known by his Sanskrit Dharma name Mokṣadeva, was a 7th-century Chinese Bhikkhu, Buddhist monk, scholar, traveller, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making ...

as the place, where the ''Demons of the Desert'' abused their strength and power and feasted on blood and flesh of man. In ancient India, it was the part of

Magadha Magadha was a region and kingdom in ancient India, based in the eastern Ganges Plain. It was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas during the Second Urbanization period. The region was ruled by several dynasties, which overshadowed, conquered, and ...

. In 684BC Arrah was the part of the region ruled by

Haryanka dynasty The Haryanka dynasty was the ruling dynasty of Magadha, according to the Buddhist text Mahavamsa between 544 BC and 413 BC though some scholars favour a later chronology (5th century BCE to first half of 4th century BCE). Initially, the capi ...

. During

Chandragupta Maurya Chandragupta Maurya (Sanskrit: elp:IPA/Sanskrit, t̪͡ɕɐn̪d̪ɾɐgupt̪ɐ mɐʊɾjɐ (reigned 320 BCE – c. 298 BCE) was the founder and the first emperor of the Maurya Empire, based in Magadha (present-day Bihar) in the Indian ...

Arrah was the part of the great

Magadh Magadha was a region and kingdom in ancient India, based in the Indo-Gangetic Plain, eastern Ganges Plain. It was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas during the Second Urbanization period. The region was ruled by several dynasties, which overshado ...

empire. The Pillars of

Ashoka Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...

are found at the Masarh village in Arrah tow

During 200 CE it was part of Gupta dynasty. Bhojpuri Folktales of Chandragupta II, Vikramaditya like Singhashan Battishi, Baital pachisi are still famous in the town and other Bhojpuri speaking area. It was also the part of

Pala Empire The Pāla Empire was the empire ruled by the Pala dynasty, ("protector" in Sanskrit) a medieval Indian dynasty which ruled the kingdom of Gauda Kingdom, Gauda. The empire was founded with the election of Gopala, Gopāla by the chiefs of Kingdo ...

and Chero empire. Bihiya and Tirawan were the capitals of Chief Ghughulia and Raja Sitaram Rai respectively.

Medieval

In 14th century Chero lost Western Bihar along with Arrah to

Ujjainiya The Ujjainiya Parmār (also spelled as Ujjaini or simply Ujjainiya) are a Rajput clan that inhabits the Bhojpur region in the state of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. They were an offshoot of the Parmara Rajputs that claims Agnivanshi descent. They ...

Rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

s under the leadership of Hunkar Shahi. They named the territory "Bhojpur" on the name of their ancestor Raja Bhoja. In 1607, a number of Chero chiefs combined to launch a spirited attack against Ujjaniniyas. One of the descendants of Sitaram Rai, Kumkum Chand Jharap drove out Ujjainiyas from the Bhojpur region and captured major parts of the territory. In 1611, Ujjainiyas defeated Cheros and recaptured the lost region again.

Sher Shah Suri Sher Shah Suri (born Farid al-Din Khan; 1472 or 1486 – 22 May 1545), also known by his title Sultan Adil (), was the ruler of Bihar from 1530 to 1540, and Sultan of Hindustan from 1540 until his death in 1545. He defeated the Mughal Empire, ...

also defeated Chero during the early 16 century and made Sasaram its capital after defeating the Mughals. In 1604 Chieftain Narayan Mal got a land grant from

Jahangir Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim (31 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was List of emperors of the Mughal Empire, Emperor of Hindustan from 1605 until his death in 1627, and the fourth Mughal emperors, Mughal ...

. After that Raja Horil Singh shifted the capital to Dumrao and established

Dumraon Raj The Dumraon Raj was a feudal principality in the Bhojpuri region, Bhojpur region ruled by the Ujjainiya dynasty. The principality was founded when Raja Horil Singh founded a separate capital for himself in the town of Dumraon. The name Dumraon ...

. Babur pitches his camp in Arrah in 1529 A.D and took control over it.

Modern

After the

Battle of Buxar The Battle of Buxar was fought between 22 and 23 October 1764, between the forces of the British East India Company, under the command of Major Hector Munro, against the combined armies of Balwant Singh, Maharaja of the Benaras State; Mir Qa ...

the British took control over Arrah. Arrah was one of the centres of revolt in 1857. During the

Indian rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...

, a group of 18 British civilians and 50 Indian soldiers was besieged in the ''Little House at Arrah'', by a band of 2500–3000 armed soldiers and around 8000 others under the command of 80-year-old Veer Kunwar Singh, the Zamindar of adjacent Jagdishpur. A British regiment, dispatched to their assistance from Danapur, was repulsed, but the group withstood the siege for eight days until they were relieved by other

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

troops. In 1911 the king of England George V visited Arrah and prayed at the Holy Saviour Church. Between 1901 and 1911 the town suffered severely due to Plague. As a result, the population in 1911 became 38,549 which was 46,170 in 1901.

Geography

Arrah is located at the elevation of 192 m from the sea level at the bank of

Son river Sone River, also spelt Son River, is a perennial river located in central India. It originates near Amarkantak Hill in Pendra (Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi district), Chhattisgarh and finally merges with the Ganges river near Maner in Patna, Biha ...

, Ganga River and Gangi River. Arrah lies at the confluence of the

Ganga The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary riv ...

and the

Son River Sone River, also spelt Son River, is a perennial river located in central India. It originates near Amarkantak Hill in Pendra (Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi district), Chhattisgarh and finally merges with the Ganges river near Maner in Patna, Biha ...

, other small rivers that flow in the town are Gangi River, Badki Nadi and Chhotki Nadi. The Ganga river acts as northern boundary of the town and due to alluvial deposit the area is very fertile and considered as best wheat growing area of Bihar. The eastern boundary of the town is the Son river which separates and Bhojpuri and Magahi speaking regions of Bihar. During the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

Arrah was the part of Bengal presidency. The land of the city is fertile and most used for cultivation with very low forest cover. The main crops that are grown here are rice, mango and mahuaa.

Climate

The climate is characterised by relatively high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. The

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

sub-type for this climate is " Cwa" (Humid Subtropical Climate).

Demographics

As per the 2011 census, Arrah Municipal Corporation had a total population of 261,099, out of which 139,319 were males and 121,780 were females. It had a sex ratio of 874. The population below 5 years was 34,419. The effective literacy rate of the 7+ population was 83.41 per cent.

Languages

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

is the official language with

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

being the additional official.

Bhojpuri Bhojpuri may refer to: * Bhojpuri language, an Indo-Aryan language of India and Nepal * Bhojpuri grammar, grammatical rules of the language * Bhojpuri nouns, nouns of the language * Bhojpuri people, people who speak the language * Bhojpuri region ...

is the most commonly spoken language, followed by Hindi and

Government and politics

Administration

The Arrah sub-division (

Tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a Zila (country subdivision), district including the designated populated place that ser ...

) is headed by an IAS or state Civil service officer of the rank of

Sub Divisional Magistrate A sub-divisional magistrate, also known as assistant collector, sub collector, revenue divisional officer, or assistant commissioner, is the administrative head of a Subdivision (India), sub-division in an Indian district, exercising Executive (g ...

(SDM).

Blocks

The Arrah Tehsil is divided into 8

Block Block or blocked may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting * W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...

s, each headed by a Block Development Officer (BDO). List of Blocks is as follows: # Arrah # Agiaon # Barhara # Koilwar # Udwant Nagar # Sandesh # Sahar # Garhani

Civic administration

Arrah is the headquarters of the Bhojpur district. On 1 June 1865, the town constituted into a municipality which later became municipal corporation, which currently divides the city in 45 wards. Each ward elects its ward commissioner and, the Mayor is chosen through indirect election in which ward commissioners from respective wards cast their votes. Police in Arrah is headed by a

Superintendent of Police Superintendent (Supt) is a rank in the British police and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries, the full version is superintendent of police (SP). The rank is also used in most British Overseas Territori ...

, who is an

Indian Police Service The Indian Police Service (IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became Partition of India, independent from the British Empire. Along with the Indian Admini ...

(IPS) officer.

Economy

The city has industry area located near Koilwar. The mineral which is abundant here is sand of Son river. The alluvial deposits of Ganga river is considered suitable for brick making, the city mainly produces the revenue through building materials like sand and bricks. In last three year, 300 million

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...

s of sand has been mined which has produced a royalty of ₹2800 crores.

Culture

Arrah's native language is

. Bhojpuri cuisine includes Litti-Chokha, Makuni (

Paratha Paratha (, also parantha/parontah) is a flatbread native to the Indian subcontinent, with earliest reference mentioned in early medieval Sanskrit, India. It is one of the most popular flatbreads in the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East. ...

stuffed with roasted gram flour), Dal Pitthi, Pittha, Aaloo Dum, Jaaur (Kheer). The main snack and sweets are Khurma (sweets made of

Chhena Chhena () or chhana () is a kind of acid-set cheese originating in the Indian subcontinent that is made from water buffaloDalby, A 2009, ''Cheese: A Global History'', Reaktion Books, p. 73, Kapoor, S & Kapoor, A 2006, ''Sanjeev Kapoor's No-oil V ...

), Thekua, Pudukiya, Patal ke Mithai, Anarsa, Gargatta and Laktho. Some of the drinks are Satuā, Amjhor, Taadi and Māthā.

Notable sites

Arrah is a holy place for Jains and there are 44 Jain temples in the city. There is a centuries-old Jain temple of Parashanatha in the Masarh village. Some notable places of Arrah are:

Aranya Devi Temple

This is a temple of Aranya Devi (Forest Goddess). She is said to be the deity goddess of Ara town. Here one statue is of Adi Shakti and the second is established by the Pandavas. The temple is very old and draws many devotees every day. It is situated at the top of stone boulders.

Maulabagh Mosque

This Masjid was built in the 18th century by John Deane, the collector of Shahabad. He had a

Mohammedan ''Mohammedan'' (also spelled ''Muhammadan'', ''Mahommedan'', ''Mahomedan'' or ''Mahometan'') is a term for a follower of Muhammad, the Islamic prophet. It is used as both a noun and an adjective, meaning belonging or relating to, either Muhamm ...

wife with whom he lived 20 years with 6 children. After his death in 1817, he was buried in the outer garden of Maulabagh Mosque (called as Bibi Jaan ke Hata or Handa) where his tomb can still be seen. This mosques is also mentioned by British officers in their writings.

Koilwar Bridge

Koilwar Bridge, also known as Abdul Bari Bridge, is a 1.44 km long, 2-lane wide rail-cum-road bridge built in 1862 over

connecting the city of Arrah to Patna.

Ramna Maidan

Ramna Maidan is a park with 60 acres of land, one of the largest urban parks in Arrah.

Arrah–Chhapra Bridge

Arrah–Chhapra Bridge, also known as Veer Kunwar singh Setu, connects Arrah and

Chhapra Chhapra (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Chaparā'') is a city and headquarters of the Saran District in the Indian state of Bihar. It is situated near the junction of the Ghaghara River and the Ganges River. Chhapra grew in importance as a river-based mar ...

. It is the world's longest multi span

extradosed bridge An extradosed bridge employs a structure that combines the main elements of both a prestressed box girder bridge and a cable-stayed bridge. The name comes from the word ''wikt:extrados, extrados'', the exterior or upper curve of an arch, and refe ...

in the world with a length of 1920m.

Masarh

Masarh is a village 10 km from Arrah. Lion capitals of Mauryan period have been found here. Masarh has been identified with Mo-ho-so-lo of the Chinese pilgrim Huen Tsang.

Arrah House

Arrah House Maharaja College is a constituent college of Veer Kunwar Singh University, Arrah in the Bihar State of India.Maharaja College Official Website https://maharajacollege.ac.in/ It was founded on 13 September 1954. It is one of the oldest co-educa ...

is a small British building in the premises of Maharaja College.

Holy Saviour Church

Holy Saviour Church is a church in Arrah, built by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

in 1911, when King of United Kingdom

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

visited the city.

Transport

The Arrah city is very well connected by roads, highways and Rail routes to various cities like

, Danapur, Bihta,

Buxar Buxar is a nagar parishad city in the state of Bihar, India, sharing border with Balia and Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh. It is the headquarters of the eponymous Buxar district, as well as the headquarters of the community development ...

Sasaram Sasaram (), also spelled as Shahasaram, is a historical city and a municipal corporation region in the Rohtas district of Bihar state in eastern India. The city served as the capital of the Sur dynasty during Sher Shah Suri's rule over India in ...

and

in Bihar; and

Ghazipur Ghazipur, is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ghazipur city is the administrative headquarters of the Ghazipur district, one of the four districts that form the Varanasi division of Uttar Pradesh. It is located on the Ganges (Ganga) ...

Mughalsarai Mughalsarai (; English language, English: ''Mughal tribe, Mughal Tavern''), officially known as Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Nagar, is a city and a municipal board in the Chandauli district of Uttar Pradesh. Located around from Chandauli town ...

and

Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

Roads

* Patna-Arrah-Buxar ( NH-922) * Arrah-Dinara-Mohania ( NH-319) * Arrah-Chhapra Bridge * Arrah- Bikramganj-

( SH-12)

Railway

* Arrah Junction: ARA (0 km) * Koilwar railway station: KWR (14 km) * Udwantnagar railway station: UWNR (5 km) * Bihiya railway station: BEA (21 km)

Airway

* Patna Airport (50 km) * Bihta Airport (30 km)

Bullet train

The Varanasi-Howrah high-speed rail corridor (HSR) is proposed to pass through Bhojpur district with a Bullet train station at Udwant Nagar. It will cross the

Sone River Sone River, also spelt Son River, is a perennial river located in central India. It originates near Amarkantak Hill in Pendra (Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi district), Chhattisgarh and finally merges with the Ganges river near Maner in Patna, Biha ...

near Jalpura Tapa and enter

Patna district Patna district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state in eastern India. Patna, the capital of Bihar, is the district headquarters. The Patna district is a part of the Patna division. The Patna district is divided into 6 Subdivisio ...

Education

Schools in Arrah are either government-run or private schools. Schools are affiliated by

Central Board of Secondary Education The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is a national-level board of education in India for public and private schools, controlled and managed by the Government of India. Established in 1929 by a resolution of the government, the Board ...

and Bihar School Examination Board.

Veer Kunwar Singh University Veer Kunwar Singh university was established on 22 October 1992 with its headquarters at Arrah, under the ''Bihar University Act 1976'' s amendment Act 9 of 1992 It is named after Kunwar Singh, the well-known national hero and a distingui ...

is located here. Harprasad Das Jain College, Maharaja Collage, and Jagjiwan College are some of the premier institutions for higher education. Jain Siddhant Bhawan is a Jain Library in Arrah which is illustrious for collecting centuries older manuscripts in various languages. In 2018, Bihar government has opened Government Engineering Colleges in each district of Bihar under the Department of Science and Technology. Government Engineering College, Bhojpur located south of Ramna Road, beside Maharaja College.

Sports

Cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

is the most popular sport, however other sports such as volleyball, basketball, and athletics are also played. Veer Kunwar Singh Stadium is the stadium situated in the Ramna Maidan which hosts various cricket, football, and hockey tournaments. Other grounds in the town are Ramna Maidan, Maharaja college ground, Airport Ground, and Jain College Ground. From 5–7 December 2019, East Zone Inter University

Kabaddi Kabaddi (, ) is a contact team sport played between two teams of seven players. It is one of the traditional games of South Asia. In this game, a raider enters the opposing half of the court to touch defenders and attempt to return within 30 ...

championship took place in the premises of Maharaja College in which 47 universities of 12 different states participated.

Popular culture

In folk tradition

* There is a very famous Bhojpuri saying about this place, Ara jilā Ghar Ba ta, kawana bāt kē dar bā" ( trans. If you belong to Arrah, there is nothing to fear). * Arrah also has mentions in many Bhojpuri Folk songs like Arrah Hile Chhapra Hile Baliya Hilela. * The famous bhojpuri song "Tu lagawelu jab Lipistic, hilela Arrah district" sung by Pawan Singh.

Films and songs

* Some shots of the feature film ''

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...

'' were shot in Arrah near the Koilwar bridge. * Shots of the first Bhojpuri film '' Ganga Maiyya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo'' were shot at Arrah railway station. * The story of the Bollywood film '' Anaarkali of Aarah'' was based on a dancer of Arrah and her confrontation with the Vice-chancellor of Bir Kuber University (originally Veer Kunwar Singh University).

Books

* English book Two Months In Arrah, written in 1857, by a surgeon in British army named J.J. Halls, is an account of the Siege of Arrah.

Notable people

Villages

Arrah block contains the following 115 villages:

References

External links

Official Website of Bihar State
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Bhojpur district, India