Rampur Samastipur
| Rampur | |
|---|---|
| Village | |
  Rampur Location in Bihar | |
| Coordinates: 25°33′42″N 85°31′28″E / 25.56159°N 85.52446°ECoordinates: 25°33′42″N 85°31′28″E / 25.56159°N 85.52446°E | |
| Country |
 India |
| State | Bihar |
| District | Samastipur district |
| Languages | |
| • Locally Spoken | Urdu |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
Rampur is a small yet prosperous and economically developing village in the Samastipur district in the Indian state of Bihar.
Agriculture
Soil type
The type of soil found here is the fertile alluvial soil which covers the entire northern plain. Alluvial soils as a whole are very fertile. Mostly these soils contain adequate proportion of potash, phosphoric acid and lime which are ideal for the growth of sugarcane, paddy, wheat and other cereal and pulse crops. Due to its high fertility, regions of alluvial soils such as Rampur are intensively cultivated and densely populated.
Crops
Commercial purposes
Tobacco is the main commercial crop grown here. The farming of tobacco is the main source of income for many of the households in the village. Usually the residents of the village don't practice the farming of tobacco themselves. They rent out plots of lands to small or landless farmers. The farmer is required to pay the renter a certain amount of money or percentage of the income gained from selling the crop. This amount is decided between the two parties in advance. Other commercial crops include wheat, corn, chilli, oilseeds(sarson), garlic, rice etc.
Self consumption purposes
Apart from this many houses have a small attached garden called a Baadi in the local language. A variety of vegetables such as ladyfinger, brinjal, cucumber, bottle guard, tomato, marrow etc. are grown in these. Other crops that are grown are chillies, lemons and different type of saags. Various herbs such as mint, coriander and fenugreek are also grown.These gardens at times also contain fruit trees such as guava, mango. papaya, banana and custard apple trees. All these are used to fulfill the day to day requirements of the household.
Fruit crop farming
There are many tree orchards(called gachi in the local language) on the outer part of the village. These are owned by different individuals from the village. The most prominent tree orchard lies adjacent to the village madrasa on the side of the road. The trees grown in these orchards are mango trees which compromise of most if not the entire orchard. The Jamun tree, Jack fruits are the only other trees found in the village orchards. The fruit crops obtained from these orchards are either sold off or used for self consumption. During harvest season one can see mangoes come in by the thousands. When kept for self consumption, the fruits are enough to feed the farmer and his extended family for four to five months.
Economy
The economy of this region is quite tense as most of the people are wage-less.
Connectivity
By railway
The nearest station to the village is the Kishanpur Railway Station. The village is about a 5 km drive from this station.
By road
Unlike other villages in the area, Rampur has very good road connectivity. A broad road passes through the center of the village. Some of the rich villagers hire a car to go to Patna. The duration of a trip from the village to Patna by car would be 3 to 2 and a half hours considering no traffic on the Gandhi Setu. However heavy traffic could mean it could take as long as 4 hours to reach Patna.
Locally, the increased road connectivity has benefitted children from various other villages. They come in the morning, by hired tempos to schools, in and around Rampur and return to their respective villages in the evening.
By air
The Patna International Airport also known as Jaiprakash Narayan Airport is the nearest airport to the village. One has to cross the Mahatma Gandhi Setu to reach Patna from the village.
Culture
Food
The people here are both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. They eat a variety of food ranging from the vegetables which are grown in their gardens to the occasional kababs brewed during Id al Adha and special occasions.
Clothing
The climate conditions of the village have led to the evolution of traditional clothing. With changing times the clothing of the people is also changing.
Upper wear
People can be seen wearing T-shirts, shirts, Kurtas and banyans. Owing to the hot weather conditions and lack of regular and continuous electricity supply, men and children of the village can commonly be seen wearing a half sleeved banyan.
Below waist wear
People wear a variety of things such as pajamas, jeans pants, which is more common to the young children and youth and Lungis. The lungi is worn by the majority of the villagers who are quite use to it as they have been wearing it since their childhood years. The lungi worn in the village is unique and quite unlike the lungi worn in West Bengal and Southern India. The type of lungi worn is quite common in Bihar and neighboring Uttar Pradesh.
Language
The language spoken by the people of the village can be identified as Urdu. However the dialect in which it is spoken is unique. The language is spoken in a very polite tone. Apart from this some villagers know the languages of the neighboring villages to facilitate communication with them. Languages of the neighboring areas include Maithili.
Religion
Islam is the religion followed by most of the people. The people follow the Sunni sect of Islam. They follow Hanafi (Arabic: حنفي Ḥanafī) school of thoughts which is one of the four religious Sunni Islamic schools of jurisprudence (firqah).It is named after the scholar Abū Ḥanīfa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit (d. 767)
Education
Madrasa Zeya ul Uloom
Madrasa Zeya-Ul-Uloom is an Islamic School situated in Rampur, Samastipur, Bihar, India. It was established in 1949 by the Islamic Scholars of Rampur. The madrasa is located slightly on the outskirts of the village or it can be said that it begins just within the premises of the residential parts of the village. The madrasa is a highly respected institutions. It has produced the best students of the holy Quran.
The Primary school
The primary school lies just beside the school library and in front of the village graveyard. It is a small building which can house up to
Qaumi Qutubkhana rampur
This is the local library. It lies adjacent to the village graveyard. It was established
Wild life
Animals
Herds of Nilgai, which is the largest Asian antelope can be seen in the outskirts of the village. Nilgai are a crop menace, causing large-scale damages, to the crops. In order to curb their menace, the farmers often have to resort to killing these animals in order to scare them away. They face little or no restriction by the local authorities as the Nilgai has been declared a vermin in northern India, and they may be legally hunted after obtaining a permit.
On summer nights, foxes often wander into the village. They can be seen by the villagers who often place cots in the front yard and gather and chat about their days work and other things such as local politics and developmental issues.
Birds
Apart from these a variety of migratory birds can be found. These include storks and some other kinds of birds which can be seen during cold winter mornings, standing in small shallow pools of water formed because of water gathering in low-lying field areas.
On summer nights, owls and bats can be spotted flying from one place to another. The ripening of the mangoes attracts the Koel or the cuckoo bird whose melodious voice can be heard echoing in the mango groves at early morning hours.
Dairy practices
Dairy farming
Many villagers own cows and buffaloes. Some of the rich villagers own a herd of cow or buffalo which they give to poor workers to tend for and take care of. Apart from these some poor villagers who live on the outskirts of the city also own cows and buffaloes. They take care of them themselves. They get additional income from selling off the milk obtained from these animals. They dry the dung obtained and mix them in the soil of their fields to increase its fertility. They also use the bulls to plough their fields and often they tend for the calves of their animals and sell them off when they are fully grown for a hefty sum.
Poultry
Although hens of local variety have been kept by village households for the purpose of eggs for a long time, no one had considered the idea of poultry on a large scale. However recently, some youth in the village have come up with the idea of opening poultry farms and accordingly 3 to 4 small farms have been set up by different individuals. However, it is too early to speak about the success of these. It would require time for them to get established.
Pisciculture
Fishes are usually farmed in small lakes by the local fishermen. Some of the most commonly farmed species are rohu and catla. These are farmed by the local fishermen who eventually sell them in the local market.
Apiculture
Few of the villagers tend to farm bees for the production of honey. However this is not done on a commercial scale but rather for self consumption. One among them is Mr.Aamir Ali Wajidi known to the villagers as their Gauhar Babu. One can see large boxes in his house which contain honeycombs housing a large number of honeybees. The honeybees are quite adapted to his house and cause no disturbance to the residents of the house. They can be seen collecting nectar from the beautiful rose and marigold bushes bordering the verandah.
Domestic pets
Almost all the Muslim households keep a male goat. They tend and care for it for the entire year till it finally is slaughtered in Eid al Adha. They then buy another goat about two to three months of age and tend to care for it till the next Eid al Adha. Having a strong and healthy goat is considered a matter of pride and people go to great lengths to ensure that their goat is fit and healthy.
Apart from goats, many households keep hens for the purpose of egg.
Apart from hens and goats, the villagers have passion for another pet. Popularly believed to be the royal pets of the great nawabs, the pigeon can be found in many households in the village. Although they are just kept for the serving the purpose of pets, the young ones of pigeon are also killed and served as delicacies to special guests. They are also cooked at special occasions. This serves the purpose of curbing there population growth as a fast increasing population would mean any empty pot or unattended vessel would be turned into a nesting site.
Places of worship
For Muslims
There is a central mosque in the village. It has two floors in addition to a ground floor. Although not that big in area, it is more than sufficient to house the Muslim population of the area. There is a second mosque which is present as an attachment to the local madrasa.
For Hindus
There is a temple located near the central market place. This temple is dedicated to the Hindu goddess Kali.
Law and order
The nearest police station is the Warisnagar Police station. Apart from that, the law and justice system of the village consists of local small level courts known as panchayats which are held at different places at different times depending upon the nature and the place of a particular conflict. The decisions in these cases are made by the judges whom the two conflicting parties have agreed upon to hear their case. In most cases, if not all, the panel of judge consists of the village headmen and some influential personalities of the village.