Since the ‘Garib Rath’ direct route from Bhubaneswar to Dhanbad has been cancelled now (courtesy – the Jharia CoalField fires), we had to first take a train to Kolkata and then run for our lives to board another train to Dhanbad from a different railway platform. We were almost on the verge of missing this train due to overlapping timelines of our Indian railways. Perhaps, this thrill set the mood for my journey to Dhanbad – the Coal Capital of India!
Travelling for the second-time after marriage to my husband’s city, was already giving me goosebumps. Once we reached the Dhanbad railway station, we decided to take an auto-rickshaw to home. On the way, I saw that the roads were lined with temporary local shops on both sides. The smell of camphor, ghee, sandalwood, incense sticks from these shops was so captivating. Similarly, the wide display of puja thalis, fruits, betel nuts, white flowers, wheat, rice, lamps and bamboo baskets called for a visual delight. There was an air of festivity around, which was quite contagious. We’d arrived on the second day of Chhath puja and the people around us were already in a festive mood.
Chhath Puja is a popular festival celebrated in North India (mostly Bihar, Jharkhand, UP) in reverence to Sun God.
As per popular belief, this festival is to seek blessings for a longer, healthy and prosperous life. As soon as we reached home, it was a huge family gathering and ofcourse, there were awesome food items galore for everyone’s tastebuds. Though I’ve never confessed this before, but I absolutely love the smell of my mother-in-law’s kitchen. The house was completely spick and span (abiding by the first rule of Chhath puja) – the way I loved it best.
Coming from another state, my introduction to this grand festival in North India had begun!
Preparation for the festival was in full swing. After a sumptuous family lunch, the guys set out to help purchase essentials for the prasad offerings in the evening, which mostly included bananas, sugarcane, radishes, jaggery, milk etc. Later in that evening (popularly called ‘kharna’), a special prasad called ‘kheer’ was prepared. This was a unique sweet dish, which was mostly made of ingredients like rice, milk and jaggery and offered to Chhathi Maiya (deity worshipped, along with Sun God). My mother-in-law broke her day-long fast with this prasad and later, it was distributed amongst family and friends. This is the only time when the devotees eat or drink anything from the starting of the day, till the last day of Chhath. Trust me on this – presence of jaggery in kheer definitely adds a unique flavour to it!
The next day began with preparations again – this time for a very popular prasad offering called ‘thekua’. This is an Indian dry sweet, used as an offering to God, during the festival of Chhath. It is made by preparing a dough of wheat flour, jaggery, melted sugar, dry fruits and ghee. The dough is then divided into flattened balls and deep-fried in ghee, until they become reddish-brown.
The unique aspect of this prasad preparation is that it can be prepared only by the womenfolk who are fasting and have not even consumed a drop of water since the previous evening.
Yes, it sounds like a bit of torture but they have been following these rituals as part of age-old traditions. On a personal note, I don’t really believe in unrealistic fasting and posing health risks to oneself. Anyway, I’m sure they will continue observing these rigorous fasts, in the guise of rituals, until it starts taking a toll on their bodies.
This third day is the main festival day of Chhath, wherein the delicious ‘thekuas’ are prepared and the puja thalis are set for the evening ‘argha’. We quickly got ready by late afternoon and were all set with our share of things to be carried to the local pond for offering ‘argha’ (offering of fruits, sweets and prayers in reverence to the setting sun). After reaching there, I realised that these days those ponds have become commercialised and you need to book a spot beforehand for performing the Chhath rites with family.
As the sun was about to set and the dusk was approaching, the skies were coloured with a shade of deep orange and crimson-red. Just then, the countless ‘diyas’ lit up alongside the banks. What a sight it was!
All the prasads (‘thekuas’), fruits and savouries were offered to the Sun God, one after the other. The vibe of this festival needs to be experienced first-hand, to get the real feel. While we walked back home, there was a strange mix of silence and an air of festivity.
This same event of offering ‘argha’ was continued even the next day, in reverence to the rising sun. We were again ready by 4 AM in the morning, the next day and reached the pond to witness the grandeur of this festival for one last time this year. The ‘argha’ was offered and surya namaskar was offered in reverence to the rising sun. And finally, my mother-in-law broke her strict fast of nearly 36 hours. Trust me, I was the most relieved!
Amidst the grandeur of this beautiful festival, we didn’t realise when the days came to an end and we all had to get back to our regular working days. Whenever in India, try and experience the extravaganza of the Chhath festival, especially in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand and UP.
This post is based on my experience in Chhath Festival 2017 in Dhanbad.
