On the cover: Chhath ghat by ShravanOne
Chhath puja is mainly celebrated in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and their neighbouring states. During these four days, streets are beautifully decorated, markets bustle with Chhath essentials, Chhath songs echo on loudspeakers everywhere.
Houses glow with lights, families reunite to celebrate the festival together creating an atmosphere of happiness and devotion.
Preparations begin long before the festival starts. Homes and kitchens are thoroughly cleaned. Ghats are prepared alongside the riverbank, where families set up their small spaces. The Sun god is worshipped with devotion, and worshippers pray for health, prosperity, and happiness for their loved ones. Very often people make wishes to god, promising to do Chhath Puja if their prayers come true.
Day 1: Nahaay Khaay
The festival begins with nahaay khaay (bathe and eat) by taking a bath in a holy river like the Ganga. Devotees fast until this sacred bath, after which they have a satvik meal including rice, lentils, pumpkin curry, seasonal vegetables and other simple side dishes. This wholesome meal is shared by everyone, symbolizing unity.
Day 2: Kharna
On the second day, the devotees follow a day long fast without water. The heart of the day is Gud kheer, a golden jaggery and rice pudding simmered slowly on an earthen stove with wooden fire whose sweet aroma fills the air.
In the evening this kheer is neatly arranged on a fresh banana leaf along with chapati, bananas, and sweets and offered to god by devotees. After this ritual the fast is broken and the devotees savor every bite of this prasad as a blessing. It is then shared among family and neighbors. After the rituals of kharna, the waterless fast resumes.
Day 3: Sandhya Arghya
The making of thekua, an iconic sweet offering, marks the beginning of the third day of Chhath Puja.
Thekua is made up of wheat flour, bound with jaggery and grated coconut. Each piece is carefully shaped and pressed on a traditional wooden mold to give it a beautiful design, then deep fried until it turns golden brown.
As the evening approaches, everyone gets dressed in traditional attire. Ghats are occupied and decorated by children with flowers, diyas, and banana leaves. Men carry dorra (wooden basket) on their heads. Those baskets are filled with fruits, thekua, sweets and other offerings, a diya is lit on its top. The devotees walk barefoot showing purity and faith. The dorra is then placed on the ghat where women sit beside it, waiting for the sun to set.
As the sky turns orange the devotees step into the holy waters and offer prasad to the setting sun. After this sacred ritual, everyone heads back home, though the fast continues, carrying the devotees into the final day.
Day 4: Usha Arghaya
Alarms ring at 3 a.m. and everyone including children wakes up, takes a bath, and heads to the ghat again. Dorra is carried the same way. Children save crackers from diwali and burn them at ghat to celebrate. There are often tea stalls near ghats where people have their morning chai. As the sunlight starts to appear in the sky the devotees enter the water and make the offerings to the rising sun.
After the rituals are done many children splash and play in the river, laughter echoes around the ghat. Families then return home, and the fast is finally broken. Prasad is served to everyone and the heartfelt festival comes to an end.