Mokama

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Mokama is a city and a municipality in Patna district in Bihar. It is located 90 KM east of Patna and is on the rail route connecting Kolkata and New Delhi via Patna.Mokama is situated on the southern banks of the Ganga. The landscape here is absolutely plain. Here the land strip along the north of Ganga is called Diara which submerges in Ganga during monsoons, On the south of Mokameh is the "Tal" region which also gets submerged with the backwaters of Ganges during the monsoons.Not surprisingly, the main occupation is agriculture. Traveling through the city, one can hardly see anything, other than crop fields. Main crops are, Lentils, Chickpea, mustard and vegetables. Papaya is also grown here. However, major portion of the Diara and Tal lands remain submerged for 3 months, giving an impression of sea. Mokameh, once was developing as a market and a trading place. But it has suffered because of rise of local criminals and huge haftas demanded by them. Mokama boasts of factories of McDowell's and Bata Shoes, along with Bharat Wagon and Engineering.Most people speak Magadhi here, a dialect called Magahi locally. However, it changes considerably across a couple of Kilometres. Families are very traditional, and often large. However, as people are getting education, they are becoming liberal. Marriages are generally arranged and they involve a large sum of dowry, although illegal. Bride and groom meet only after marriage. Caste system is ingrained in the social fabric of the place in the same way as it exists in other parts of Bihar. Consequently caste based politics plays an important role in the life of the people here. The continuously diminishing infrastructure and unemployment have forced the people to migrate to other parts of India for better opportunities. The common attire of the people includes dhoti, kurta and gamchha, a large rectangular cotton cloth on their shoulders or tied round heads. Women dress in sarees. The most awaited and widely celebrated festival is Chhath, a festival where people worship the setting and the rising Sun in the month of October/November.