Jamshedpur : Hundreds of thousands of Hindu devotees in Jamshedpur observed Chaiti Chhath. After taking a dip in the rivers , men and women offered prayer to the rising sun before eating rice, dal, and vegetable made of ‘kaddu’.
As always, volunteers and private organizations stepped up to clean the roads and by-lanes leading to the Ganges.
The festival lasts four days comprising elaborate rituals of bathing, prasad-making, fasting and maintaining cleanliness.
“Chaiti Chhath” is held after Holi in the month of Chaitra, somewhere between March and mid April. To facilitate the activities and rituals, the state administration also offers full support, as all the ghats of the rivers and roads need to be kept spotlessly clean while the whole city is illuminated.
Seeped in traditional Vedic beliefs, the Chhath puja remains unmatched in the epic-level rituals and celebrations.
As tradition goes, after offering the ‘arghya’ at sunset, devotees and their relatives sing ‘geet’ and hyms dedicated to Lord Surya.
Devotees pay obeisance to the Sun God by offering rice, sugarcane, home-prepared ‘thekua’ or wheat cakes and various fruits in bamboo baskets or ‘soop’.
The ‘arghya’ on the fourth day along the river banks is the final one and a ceremonious affair. On this very auspicious occasion, family and friends visit the devotees’ house for ‘prasad’ and blessings.