Chhath Festival: Celebrating the Sun God in Varanasi

Offering to the Sun God

It has been exactly one month since we arrived in India. I have just realized that almost every day we had the possibility to attend a religious festival or celebration. So many things are holy in this country and the indian people are the most fervent devotees ever. Our western brains (and especially the French ones, probably the most atheist culture) definitly have to change the chip to understand and enjoy this lively spiritual life.

In Calcutta we could live at the same time Diwali (the indian equivalent for Christmas) and Kali Puja (I will write soon a post about Calcutta where I will explain these celebrations. Sorry I have delay with the rythm of my blog, so I will start to oblige myself to get a certain discipline with writing…).  Then in Bodgaya we witnessed the preparations of Chhath, a festival that we attended afterwards in Varnasi (or Benares, the ancient name of the city). Originally from the state of Bihar, the Chhath festivity was started in Varanasi in the 1990’s after its initation by handful people from Bihar who resided in the city. Since then, this Hindu festival gained much fervour in the city and people gather beside the holy Ganga river to celebrate it.

The 6th day after Diwali, when the sunset began, married women immerse partially in the Ganga after a 36 hour fasting. They offer to the Sun God fruits and flowers layed in Dawa (bamboo baskets). The day after on sunrise, devotees goes back on the ghats (banks of the river) to continue the festivity with puja (prayers) and traditional music. Inspired by the aura and energy of the Sun God, the festival gives the women an opportunity to worship something that they encounter daily in their lives.  There is a popular belief that all the desires of the devotees are always fulfilled during Chhath. Also, an element of fear is present among the devotees who dread the punishment for any misdeed during Chhath. The city remains safe and experiences peace during this time when criminals too prefer to be a part of the good.

Once again I will repeat myself, saying that India is the country for magical experiences… I woke up this morning, on the second day of the Chhath, with an incredible view from my bedroom: the sunrise, the Ganga and a colourful devotee crowd. The show gave the impression that it was the end of the world. Even though it was 5am and hard to get up, I ran to the ghat to become impregnated of this hindu ritual that you can discover through these pictures and the following video:

See the full photo album here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/celineroux/sets/72157622657482584/show/