With those fresh smelling fruits and the sweet odour of coconut says that yes the festival of Chhath has arrived. The bundles of sugarcane and the well arranged diyas kept in a sequence provides a different sense of spirituality. Chhath is not just a festival; it's a feeling in itself. Togetherness and cleanliness is what it symbolises the most. Celebrated mainly in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, this festival does not believe in idol worship. It rather dedicates to the worship of Sun and his sister Usha (Chhathi Maiya) or Katyayni form of Goddess Durga as mentioned according to the mythology. The festival includes offering arghya and prasad to the setting and rising sun, holy bathing in the water and keeping fast (vrat). Mainly cleanliness is the main concern of this festival as a lot of rituals are done on these 4 days of the festival.
The festival of Chhath has a different vibe in itself making the whole environment spiritual. The latest trend these days has come to support financially weak people who have an urge to celebrate this festival but they can' because of lack of finance. For devotees as such, a group of people come forward to help them. So, basically Chhath is a festival where everybody can contribute in some or the other way. One can worship and the other can help them in fulfilling their devotion. 'Sankalp – A Pledge to Change' is an NGO based in Jamshedpur which works for the betterment of the society through different ways catering to the needs of people. Sankalp is run basically by the alumni and students of National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur.
Since 3 years this NGO is helping the economically weak people in taking up their devotion and urge of celebrating Chatth high by providing them all the valuables free of cost that is needed for worshipping. This year they distributed around 501 'soop' and fruits to all the devotees who wanted to celebrate Chhath but could not because of financial condition. Without any expectation of getting something in return, the needy ones are helped with great love and respect. This initiative by Sankalp team is not just something to appreciate but to learn from it. In every city where this festival is celebrated, there are certain groups who come forward to help the needy people in fulfilling their wish of celebrating this festival joyfully.
To help and to nurture is what we learn from the Chhath festival. In Patna, the capital of Bihar, Chhath is celebrated in the holy river Ganga where all the devotees come together and celebrate this festival with complete devotion and faith in nature. Whereas all the Ghats are cleaned by different organisations and groups who somehow want to contribute their efforts for this festival. So, basically it's not just about fasting and offering Prasad.
But the festival is about get together of family and close ones explaining what Indian culture is all about, preserving and worshipping the nature, spread harmony and equality and preserving our culture that is on the verge of extinction. Most importantly, this festival talk about valuing not just the rising sun but also the setting sun equally as both has its own significance. With this it also draws the attention towards treating both the men and women equally with respect. The idea behind Chhath is basically to meet everyone and have a get together which is the core value of our culture and people are getting devoid of it due to the mechanised world and work.
It would be great to see if more and more people come forward to meet and help the ones who really need support of the privileged people in celebrating Chhath. The ones who are already doing it are really the fortunate ones who are getting an opportunity to serve others and earn more of the good deeds for themselves. Once in a year every human being is treated with harmony and equality on this festival. Be it the fruit vendors, shopkeepers or the ones who make bamboo products and sells it for their living, this festival brings an earning and happiness in everyone's face. Let's take a pledge on this festival to respect and preserve the nature and also keep our universe clean because Chhath is not just a festival but a complete feeling of joy.
