The festival of Chaath
The festival of Chhath is one of the most beautiful festivals especially in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, now spreading to different states where Bihari’s reside. The beauty of this festival stems from the fact that there is no high priest to do the puja. The entire family participates in performing it. Great care is taken to ensure that everything is clean. The streets are clean as the ones who perform the chhath walk barefoot to the ghat. Everything is new, the fireplace, mango tree branches, sugarcane everything is from the land, sustainable and no room for plastic.
The ones who perform the chhath puja begin their fast on the day of ‘kharna’, when they perform the puja in the evening and eat roti, kheer without salt. This is a sacred puja people visit the homes the whole night and take the Prasad. Women and men also do the chhath puja after their meal not even a drop of water or saliva is taken.
The next day in the evening around 3.30 crowds go to the ghat and the ones doing the chhath with a sieve in which all the offerings are kept, immerse themselves in the water, taking the blessing of the setting sun. They then all return home carrying the heavy baskets on their head.
The next day in the early hours of the morning they begin their journey to the ghat to do the offering before the rising sun. there is such austerity, awe, reverence as the puja is being performed. What is amazing hat Chhath cuts across all religions - Hindus, Muslims, Christians perform this puja. Everyone holds the person who is doing the puja in great respect and reverence. The roads are lit up so that people have no difficulty in moving out in the night and in the early hours of the morning.
All religions draw us to the one who dwells within us and gives us meaning to our life. The acceptance and respect of newness is practiced at different times in different religions, drawing the dots of commonality, we can now move towards a Global religion. Not belittling any but embracing our differences and the rich inheritance that has been ours.