Decorated makeshift tanks brighten Chhat Puja celebration 

Chhat Puja ends with ‘Bihaniya Argha’ with similar worship of rising sun in the wee hours on Saturday.     
Women offering prayers in makeshift tanks on Chhat Puja in Rourkela | Express
Women offering prayers in makeshift tanks on Chhat Puja in Rourkela | Express

ROURKELA: With the pandemic ban on Chhat Puja rituals at banks of rivers and water bodies, devotees across Sundargarh district made use of makeshift water bodies erected in homes on Friday.  Adapting to the new normal, family members of ‘Chhat Bratis’ (women who keep 36 hours fast) constructed makeshift tanks at homes or in the neighbourhood, for the ritual ‘Sandhya Argha’ on the third day of the four-day festival. 

Traditionally, thousands of devotees accompanied by family members visit 16 river ghats along Brahmani and Koel rivers and dozen of ponds for ‘Sandhya Argha’ where they move in circles in waist-deep water to pray to the setting sun. This time, however, the district administration banned  ‘Sandhya Argha’ at community level. 

Social activist and former Vice-President of Bihar Sanskrit Parishad VP Tiwari of Sector-16 has created a makeshift rectangular pool in his courtyard with flower petals strewn in it. The four sides of the tank are packed with bricks, a large plastic sheet is fixed to retain water and the bed is filled with sand to prevent skidding. 

Tiwari said, “I felt no loss of faith or dedication for not being able to visit any river ghat. In fact, the home environment was filled with a divine aura. My wife who is fasting was also relieved from the pain of visiting the distant river ghat. She along with my sister-in-law performed the rituals together on Friday,” he said.

Tiwari shared that gated communities in Patna (Bihar) have constructed permanent concrete tanks for the purpose.  Chhat Puja ends with ‘Bihaniya Argha’ with similar worship of rising sun in the wee hours on Saturday.     

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