Lakhs gather at Juhu beach for Chhath Puja

Devotees at Juhu beach on Thursday.  (Express Photo by Janak Rathod)

Lakhs of people gathered at Juhu beach on Thursday to celebrate Chhath Puja, which is celebrated six days after Diwali to pay obeisance to the rising sun. While the puja will be conducted on Friday morning at 6.30 am, people gathered at the beach a day before for the celebrations. The event, organised by the Bihari front, is in its 20th year this year.

On a large stage erected on the beach, bhajans will be sung until late into the night. “We have invited Bhojpuri and Maithili singers to perform bhajans. Around 2 lakh people come to our event from different parts of the city,” said Sanjay Nirupam, the head of the Bihari front and president of the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee.

While people from nearby areas return home at night, those who come from far-flung places, like Kalyan and Dombivli, stay back on the beach through the night.

Compared to previous years, the celebrations this year, however, seemed to have toned down. “The spirit of festivals in Mumbai has reduced. Whether it is Ganeshotsav or Dahi Handi, there are a lot of restrictions. For Chhath Puja, we aren’t allowed to invite any celebrity or public figure. Now, I’m only making sure that the puja is held,” said Nirupam.

For those who have been participating in the celebrations for years, this year felt a lot more mellowed down.

Tony Mandal, a Bihar native and a resident of Kandivali has been visiting Juhu beach for Chhath Puja since childhood. “In our childhood, there were a lot of entertainment options here. There would be dance performances and joy rides. But now, we only come to sleep here and leave after the puja in the morning. The provisions have also been poor this year. We found cockroaches in drinking water. It was much better organised a few years ago,” he says.