Thousands throng ghats as 4-day Chhath festival begins

PATNA: Thousands of devotees dressed in colourful attire thronged different ghats here as the four-day Chhath festival began with ‘nahay-khay’ on Monday. The Ganga ghats reverberated with devotional chants and melodious folk songs that created a soothing and vibrant ambience since morning.
Chhath vratis and their family members took dips in the holy water of the Ganga to wash away their sins, cleaned their houses and utensils with the Ganga water and cooked prasad like rice, chana dal and bottle gourd on ‘nahay-khay’. As per the belief, the vratis consume this prasad to purify the body before the actual rituals and 36-hour-long fast.
The devotees were seen fetching water in brass pots at Gandhi Ghat where maximum footfall was registered on Monday. Devotees, mostly married women singing devotional songs dedicated to Sun Lord, were seen drying wheat and rice for ‘kharna’ prasad at the ghats.
Soni Devi (43), a resident of Prithviraj Path, said after bath and prayer, she cooks prasad on earthen stove using dry mango woods. “I have bought all the materials at ghat. We could not perform the rituals at the ghat last year due to Covid restrictions,” she said.
Rama Sahay, another devotee who was accompanied by her husband, daughter and sister-in-law at Digha Ghat, said she has been observing fast during Chhath for the past 12 years. “It is the festival when all the family members gather and help each other to perform rituals,” she said.
Ragini Kashyap, a devotee at Kali Ghat, said, “I use the Ganga water to prepare prasad. The fasting begins after eating kaddu and rice. Now, I will eat only kheer on kharna,” she said.
Several devotees hailed the arrangements made at the ghats by the district administration.
Kamalkant Singh, a resident of Arya Kumar Road, said the arrangements were better than previous year at the Law College Ghat. “The ghat is much cleaner and there are several changing rooms and urinals apart from the drinking water facilities. My wife, Deepali, observes the fast and I also join her in offering arghya,” he said.