For the second year in a row, Chhath Puja was celebrated with much fanfare at Uniworld City. About 20-25 families took part in the rituals but prasad, that was distributed for the first time, was partaken by close to a thousand neighbours. The public rituals were also streamed live this year on the YouTube page of Uniworld City Cultural Association (UCCA).
On Kharna, the second day of the four-day Chhath Puja, the vrati, or the devotee who undertakes the vrat, cooks roti or puri along with kheer. This kheer is sweetened with jaggery, not sugar, as the latter is considered impure.
“This year, we had arranged for a maharaj (cook) to prepare prasad on a large scale. Gas stoves were purchased and the gas cylinders were washed. The space designated for cooking was whitewashed. We went to the doorsteps of the vratis and collected a bit of what they had cooked to mix with and consecrate the largescale prasad we were preparing,” said Pritesh Kumar, joint secretary of the complex’s cultural wing. All residents were invited to queue up for the prasad which was distributed in sal leaf plates. The devotees also took the prasad cooked by themselves in the evening and began a fast for 36 hours.
The main outdoor rituals took place on the third day at sunset and the fourth day at sunrise. Inflated tubs had been arranged for the vratis to pray and make offerings to the sun god. “This system was introduced last year so that we did not have to go to the ghats and get exposed to the crowd in these Covid times. This has proved to be highly popular among the Bihari residents here,” Kumar said.
Lina Thakur has been observing Chhath at home for four years now. “In the initial years, we used to do it standing in the water fountain. Since last year, the individualised inflated pools have started being used by the committee. This year my aunt from Banka district in Bihar, who was visiting us for Diwali, heard about the Chhat puja arrangements and agreed to stay back,” she said.
The association opened a YouTube channel last year. “This was done to stream Durga puja rituals as residents were not confident about stepping out. Since then, the channel is being utilised for every festival. Imagine how exciting it is for children settled outside the city to watch their family keep the vrat,” said Kumar, who manages the channel on behalf of the association.
Even on the last morning, thekua and jujia were given away as prasad. “Everyone wanted a bite. I got so many requests in our residents’ groups to keep a few thekuas for them as they would not be able to reach the place of worship at day break,” Thakur smiled.