Chhath festival begins with ‘Nahay Khay’; Banana worth Rs 40 million imported for Chhath in Janakpurdham

Mahottari / Nov. 17: Ardour of the Chhath festival has taken over the Mithila region. People’s mobility has upped in and around the region ahead of the four-day grand festival where the ‘Sun God’ is worshipped with devotion.

The devotees begin the festival from today onward with ‘Nahay Khay’. The devotees have adopted ‘Araba Arabain’ method on Thursday by giving up impure food such as boiled rice, millet, lintel and flesh on the third day of Kartik Shukla.

There is a tradition that the fasting starts on the third day after consuming regular meal. Songs are being chanted signifying the Sun God and Chhathi Devi (Goddess) now in the Mithila region.With the advent of the Chhath, the Mithila-based ponds and river premises having religious importance are decorated as bride. Though there is a traditional belief that devotees, irrespective of gender, can observe fasting in the Chhath, mostly women are seen taking fast and worshipping the Sun God.

On the day today that marks the beginning of the Chhath celebrations, devotees take their holy dip and only eat pure food items with a resolution for rigorous fasting. This method is named as ‘Nahay Khay’. The festival has increased busy mobility of the people in market places and public areas.

Devotees are seen busy in managing materials for Chhath celebrations across the Mithila region. The Chhath festival is being observed as a common cultural symbol of Tarai/Madhes. The festival is dedicated to the Sun God, with offerings made to the rising and setting Sun.It is observed for four days, from Kartik Shukala Chaturthi to Kartik Shukla Saptami as per the lunar calendar. The Sun considered as the God of energy and of the life-force, is worshiped during the Chhath festival to promote well-being, prosperity and progress.

This year, the festival will conclude on coming Monday with the rising sun.The ritual of Chhath festival includes taking holy bath, fasting and worshiping the Sun for a long time and offering prasad and argha (curd) to the ‘Rising and Setting Sun’.

Chhath is a festival of bathing and worshipping that follows a period of abstinence and segregation of the worshiper from the main household for four days. During this period, the worshiper observes purity, and sleeps on the floor on a single blanket.The devotees offer their prayers to the setting sun, and then the rising sun in celebrating its glory as the cycle of birth starts with death. It is seen as the most glorious form of Sun worship.

Banana worth Rs 40 million imported for Chhath in Janakpurdham alone

For the Chhath festival, bananas worth 40 million rupees have been imported from India in Madhesh Province capital Janakpurdham alone. Bananas are considered essential during the Chhath festival.

On the occasion of the Chhath festival, there is a tradition of offering whole bananas to God as an offering. Bishweshwar Yadav, Chairman of Janakpur Fruit and Vegetable Traders Committee, said that the demand for bananas during Chhath is high and when the supply is low, they have to be imported every year. According to him, even though Nepali land is considered suitable for banana production, the production here is insufficient to meet the demand.

“Last year, bananas worth over two million rupees were imported in Janakpur,” he said, “This year, about 70 trucks of bananas have been imported.”

In Janakpur, bananas of Gopal and Vanshibhog varieties have been imported from Bhardah, Vantabari and Inaruwa in Saptari district. Malbhog, Mirichman, Chini Champa varieties of bananas have been procured from India’s Assam, Gohati, Bengal, Hajipur, Thakurganj and Champaran, said Bhuwaneshwor Purve, secretary of the committee.

He said that with the Chhath festival just a couple of days away, the price of bananas has increased by 25 percent this year compared to last year. “As the number of people celebrating Chhath increases every year, the demand for bananas has also increased. According to market demand, 15/20 more truckloads of bananas have been harvested this year than last year,” he said. RSS