Ah, the joy of watching movies in Patna back in the '60s and '70s, way before television had made its impact on the Indian society! 

 Ask any diehard Patna'ites; he or she will have many tales to tell about his or her experience of watching Hindi films with family members or friends. Teenagers skipping schools during summer to catch the latest release in the afternoon, or family members getting together to see the "evening show" when it was not so warm, or couples getting away from the daily hoopla of family life to enjoy the "night show"; indeed there are many stories to be told. 

Remember the days when you didn't have enough money to shell out for a "balcony" ticket so you had to settle with a Rs. 1.05 seat in the front row, which, by the way, was bought in black market for Rs. 2.50? Or how about using your college I.D. Card to get a discount on the ticket? Or, better yet, get a girl or a woman to buy tickets for you from the "ladies-counter" so as to avoid the crazy rush at the regular ticket counter? And how many of you remember eating peanuts or "Tan-tan Bhaja" in every Patna theater? Well, there you go!

And who can forget the live entertainment shows in Patna during Durga Puja in '50s, '60s, '70s and even '80s? Anybody who was anybody in the show business had to come to Patna during this highly anticipated festival. Celebrities like Sitara Devi, Godai Maharaj, Birju Maharaj, Bismillah Khan, Mukesh, Sunil Ganguly, just to name a few... were almost regulars at Patna's Dussehra musical nights. People went in hordes to watch these shows all night long from place to place, from Gardanibagh to Station, from Machhuatoli to Harding Park, from Engineering College to Boring Rd. Truly, it was the season of goodwill as well as enjoyment.

Patna has it's own share of entertainment places, be it movie theaters, stage shows, or just a passing-by, seasonal carnival, like Somvari Mela or the Sonepur fair just across from the water. 

Would you like to share your own personal experience with us? If you have any funny or amusing experience about entertainment in Patna, please send an e-mail to us by clicking here. We will publish them on this site for other people's enjoyment. Remember, we can't publish all the stories but we will do our best to include your story. We may edit the letter for space and clarity reasons.

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