RAJESH MOHANTY, OP
Rourkela: Thousands of devotees of ‘Chhath Maiya’ offered their obeisance to the rising sun at 17 ghats specially created for them here, early Friday morning marking the end of Chhath, one of the most celebrated festivals of the country. Amidst bursting firecrackers and reverberating songs of late Sarada Sinha, one of the most celebrated Chhath singers who passed away November 5 this year, the devotees welcomed the rising sun on the river ghats.
Chhath is one of the festivals with strict rituals observed by women for the well-being and overall development of their progeny. “This year my penance was for my ailing son, who got cured completely after I did the ‘vrat’ for two years. I am going to observe it regularly,” said Upasana Singh, one of the women devotees at Jhirpani Ghat. There were many with the same story. Their wishes were fulfilled after going through the tough rituals for four days, remaining without food for 36 hours, and finally braving the cold to take the early morning dip in the river to offer ‘arghya’ to the Sun God. “My mother-in-law and I, did not even swallow saliva for the last 36 hours,” said Lili Jha, who observed Chhath for the first time at Koel Nagar Ghat. The administration had made arrangements at 17 river ghats for the devotees. “The best part is that celebration at all the places remained peaceful. There were no disturbances. This is the spirit of the celebration,” said one policewoman posted at Panposh. Over five platoons of policemen were pressed into service at the 17 ghats.
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Most of the devotees sat all through the night braving the cold breeze on the river banks. Early in the morning, they offered offerings like sugarcane, batapi – a citrus fruit, thekua – a famous sweetmeat associated with the festivity, and other preparations brought from home.