Kolkata, 27 October (H.S.): The first day of Chhath Mahaparv in West Bengal concluded peacefully on Monday with immense devotion and discipline. Lakhs of devotees thronged the ghats across the state — including Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, North and South 24 Parganas — to offer Arghya (holy offering) to the setting sun, marking one of the most significant rituals of the four-day festival.
The ghats were abuzz with spiritual fervour and vibrant sights as married women, dressed in colorful sarees with vermilion applied from nose to the crown of their heads, stood in waist-deep water in rivers, ponds, and lakes holding bamboo baskets filled with fruits like bananas, apples, coconuts, oranges, and pears to worship the setting sun.
The festival will conclude on Tuesday morning when devotees will offer Arghya to the rising sun, symbolizing the end of the Chhath rituals. Devotees, especially women, observe a rigorous fast of over 36 hours without food or water as part of their devotion to the Sun God and Chhathi Maiya.
Large numbers of priests also entered the waters of the Ganga in Kolkata to assist devotees in performing the rituals. The city administration and police made elaborate arrangements to ensure safety and order. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation installed lighting, cleaned the ghats, and arranged for public announcements, while police personnel were deployed across the capital to maintain law and order.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited a Ganga ghat on Monday afternoon to extend greetings to the devotees and wished for the festival to conclude peacefully. The metropolis and several industrial areas with large Hindi-speaking populations were illuminated with colorful lights. Local clubs and community members cooperated to facilitate smooth movement to and from the ghats.
To ensure complete safety, additional police forces were deployed from the roads to the riverbanks. The Kolkata Police River Patrol teams also maintained round-the-clock vigilance in the Ganga to prevent any untoward incident.
Chhath Puja, also known as Shashti Puja, is observed on the sixth day of the Shukla Paksha in the Hindu month of Kartik. This unique festival of sun worship is primarily celebrated in Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh, and the Terai regions of Nepal. Although rooted in Hindu traditions, the festival has transcended religious boundaries, with people from other faiths also participating. Today, it is observed globally by the Indian diaspora as a symbol of faith and purity.
The festival began in West Bengal on Saturday with the traditional ritual of Lauki-Bhaat (boiled gourd and rice), marking the start of the four-day-long devotion to the Sun God.
Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh
