Devotees perform Chhath on the banks of the Kuakhai river (file picture)

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 31: Grand preparations have been made in the city to observe Chhath, a popular family festival observed by members of the Bihari community. The rituals of the festival will take place on the banks of the Kuakhai river on the outskirts of the city tomorrow evening.

About 15,000 devotees are expected to attend the event and participate in the festival, which is dedicated to the Sun God. As per tradition, the devotees get into the river and offer fruits and flowers decorated in bamboo baskets to the sun at sunset. Therefore, a number of changing rooms and appropriate lighting arrangements have been installed for the event.

“The rituals will begin at 4.30pm and arrangements have been made by Bihar Social Welfare Assistance Society (Biswas) and the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation,” said Deba Shankar Tripathy, president of Biswas. “The river bank and water was cleaned up. This took over a week. A number of changing rooms for women have also been set up,” he said. Biswas has been organising Chhath here for more than 10 years.

Chhath is believed to have its roots in mythology. The legend behind the festival is the episode in the mythological epic Mahabharata, when Karna worshipped the Sun God for the entire night continuously, while immersed in the river. The tradition continues today in form of the four-day festival.

“Chhath begins with Nahaiye-Khaiye on the first day when we bathe at dawn and perform purification rituals, wear new garments and eat sweets. This was observed on Sunday,” said Chandrakanti Mishra, a homemaker.

“On Monday, we started fasting from evening after having milk and consecrated food. We will break the fast on Wednesday morning,” she said. Devotees visit water bodies such as rivers, ponds and lakes and worship the sun at sunset on the third day.

Again, at sunrise on the fourth day, food is offered to the Sun God by the riverbank, after which it is distributed among the family members and other devotees.

Sweet dishes such as thekua made of wheat powder, sugarcane, radish, sprouted gram, coconut, orange, apples, bananas and other fruits are offered to the sun on the occasion. Held on the sixth day from Kartik Amavasya, the festival is mostly observed by women who pray for the prosperity of their husbands and children.