A Dalit woman prepares a soop with bamboo strips in Patna. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Patna, Nov. 4: The festival of Chhath is a great leveller in Bihar. For full six days, festive fervour overrides caste differences and brings together devotees of all sections to the same ghats.

The offerings made to the sun god during the festival are often arranged in baskets made of bamboo strips, called soop. These baskets, considered sacred by the devotees, are made by Dalits (scavengers) who are still a victim of untouchability practised in the upper caste society.

These Dalits generally live in smaller settlements on the outskirts of the city and rear pigs and clean toilets for a living.

Come Chhath Puja, they get busy making soop, which not only becomes a good source of income for them but also boosts their morale and confidence.

Diwali Ram, a scavenger living in a settlement near Poddar Bhawan, said: “We have been making soops for more than 10 years now. Everyone uses soops made by our community during Chhath. Earlier, we were not allowed even in the vicinity of the houses of the upper caste people. Now they treat us as equals during Chhath.”

The soops assume huge significance during the Chhath Puja. Men carrying the prasad in the soop hold it high over their head to prevent it from coming in contact with other devotees. An earthen lamp covered with a cotton cloth, dyed in turmeric, is always kept in the soop, as it is considered super sacred.

The number of soops offered to the god depends on the promises made by the devotee. Generally, one devotee offers more than one soop as he/she does it on behalf of the entire family. Sometimes, even relatives and neighbours approach the family performing the puja with their soops and the person fasting offers them to the sun god on their behalf. So the demand for soops is always high, even though some people, with financially sound background, buy brass soops for the festival.

Kavita Devi, another scavenger, said: “Many Hindus consider our hands to be the most pure as this festival was started by Karna, a shudra putr, who used to worship the sun god.” According to Hindu mythology, the eldest brother amongst Pandavs was Karna who was brought up by Adhiratha — a charioteer of the king Dhritrashtra. Adhiratha was a Shudra, a lower caste man considered untouchable by the upper castes.

“Chhath Puja has given us identification and made us a part of the society,” Kavita added.

She further said that the festival has also enabled the Dalits to improve their social and economic conditions.

Another Dalit Chinta Devi from Chajju Bagh area said: “Making the soop looks simple but has great relevance and meaning attached to it. It makes us feel important and gives us that acceptance in the society that we have been deprived of.”

Speaking on the business of soop during Chhath Puja, Ramdayal, a Dalit from Yarpur area, said: “We make around seven to 10 soops in a day as it takes at least two hours to make one soop. The cost of one soop is around Rs 20 to Rs 25 but during Chhath it goes up to Rs 30.”

He further said: “We belong to the down trodden section of society. We have worked as scavengers and sweepers for generations. Scavenging had given us a negative social image but thanks to Chhath, we are trying to get a certain kind of respect and status in society.”