Bihar got its own state anthem and state prayer. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar released CDs. Earlier, a special Cabinet meeting declared the selected songs as “Bihar Gaan” and “Bihar Prarthna Geet”.

The state government has prepared around 1 lakh CDs of both songs. These will be distributed free in 76,000 schools across the state, informed the Chief Minister.

The exercise to have a state anthem and a prayer specially for Bihar had been on for the past many months. The state government had invited entries from singers, writers and the general public.

Out of 1,500 entries, the selection committee shortlisted 96 for the state anthem and approximately 50 for the state prayer.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar made the final selection after hearing all the shortlisted ones.

Bollywood’s renowned duo Shiv-Hari (Shiv Kumar Sharma and Hari Prasad Chaurasia) composed the music. While Udit Narayan and Sadhana Sargam sung the state anthem, Udit Narayan gave his voice to the state prayer.

The lyrics of the state anthem have been written by a Patna-based poet, Satya Narayan, who is a history teacher and state government employee.

A teacher at a Urdu middle school in Muzaffarpur district, MR Chisti, has written the state prayer “Meri raftaar pe suraj ki kiran naaj kare”.

Praising both Satyanarayan and Chishti for their masterpiece the music of which has been provided by noted music duo Shiv-Hari, Shiv Kumar Sharma, and Hari Prasad Chaurasia, the Chief Minister said that the tune of the state song was very inspirational and would help motivate the young children of Bihar.

Education Department Principal Secretary Anjani Kumar Singh said that the state song was selected out of 1932 entries that was received by the government.

Among those present on the occasion included Cabinet minister Shyam Rajak, Shahid Ali Khan, Vijay Kumar Chowdhary, Sunil Kumar Pintu, Sukhda Pandey, Parveen Amanullah, Satyadeo Narain Arya, Awadhesh Kushwaha, Director General of Police (DGP) Abhayanand, and a number of senior bureaucrats.

Biharis will get their own state anthem and a state prayer song that would speak about their close ties with their motherland and also about the progress of the state, on the occasion of this year's Bihar Diwas

The state government claims that it is taking this step with a view to strengthening unity among Biharis across the world. Several months back, the state government had invited entries for selection of state anthem and prayers song. Out of about 1,500 entries received,