Jamshedpur: Chhath begins with ‘nahay-khay’, ghats to be decked up

Jamshedpur, Nov 8: One of the biggest festivals of Bihar and Jharkhand Chhath started today with the ‘Nahay-Khay’ rituals on the first day. People of the Bihari community come together to celebrate Chhath and invoke the Sun God. The vratis (who follow the rituals and fast) started following the rituals from today will end with offering the arghya to the rising sun.

The first day is marked by taking a dip at the river and cleaning the house. Also the vratis take one meal this day which is rice and bottle gourd. Nahay Khay is followed by ‘Kharna’ which will be organised tomorrow on the second day.

The Chhath is considered as one of the toughest rituals in Hindu religion with many strict rules to follow. Women will start fasting for 36 hours from ‘Kharna’ on Monday. Women would offer their first ‘arghya’ on Wednesday (sanjhiya) in the evening and the fast and rituals will be over on the second ‘arghya’ to the rising sun (bihaniya). The festival is celebrated with an aim to express thanks to Sun God for offering energy to earth continuously enabling the environment suitable for the people to live.

“It is a festival connected with purity, devotion to the Sun God who is considered as the source of life on this earth and is regarded as wish fulfiller. All the preparations have been done and we started with having ‘lauki bhaat’ today,” said a resident of Birsanagar.

Vratis are a bit happier this time as the cost of the fruits and puja paraphernalia have remained similar to last year. Inspite of the inflation and price rise, bottle gourd was available at Rs 60 a kg which otherwise is sold at Rs 80 especially this time of the year. Coconut was also available at Rs 45 a kg and sugarcanes was being sold at Rs 50.

“The supply is good this time, so we need not increase the price. Anything which has a good availability in the market is available at a justified cost. In fact we had sold bottle gourd at Rs 30 a kilo when the market started but it was reduced to Rs 10 after 11 am as there were hardly any takers,” said a vegetable seller at Sakchi market.

 “Chhath is celebrated six days after Diwali. It is associated with faith, purity and devotion to the sun, the only god we can see. We took a bath in the holy river and cleaned ourselves before preparing food,” said a housewife sporting a new cotton sari, especially bought for the occasion.

It is perhaps the only time of the year that people, forgetting differences of caste, colour and creed, stand alongside and pay obeisance to the Sun.

Makeshift markets have come up in different localities of Jugsalai, Bisutpur, Sakchi to sell fruits and other commodities like baskets and `soonp’, used by Chhath devotees for paying obeisance to the Sungod.