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The ‘ultimatum’ published in a Hindi daily that all north Indians should leave the state on February 25 saw many link the two different issues as not many seemed to know that the festival is normally celebrated around Diwali in October-November.
The other pertinent fact for a large number of Biharis who have come to study, work and even chosen to settle down in Pune is that it’s always been difficult to perform chhat puja here as there are very few clean water bodies available.
Observed mostly by the people of Bihar, the festival of chhat is dedicated to the worship of the Sun God and therefore, is also known as SuryaShashti.
The word Chhat denotes the number ‘six’ and thus the festival begins on the sixth day of the month of Kartik in the Hindu lunar calendar, corresponding to late October and mid-November, depending on the year. And it goes on for three days.
“Not a single Bihari will ever show disrespect towards chhat puja. It is such an important part of everyone’s life in Bihar. I’ve been in Pune for last four years and we prefer to celebrate the festival at home, since the river is very unclean and we cannot take a dip in it. So we dig a small hole in the ground nearby and fill it with water, big enough to dip our feet before performing the puja,” says Pravir Kumar Sinha, lecturer, Indira School of Communication.
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