KATHMANDU, Nov 7: Prakash Kapar, 58, of Mathiani Municipality, Mahottari, sat on the shore of Kamalpokhari in the capital with his two Indian friends as the pond started lighting up with decorative lights on the eve of the Chhath celebration to be held on Thursday. This is the seventh consecutive year that Kapar is away from home to celebrate Chhath, a festival predominantly celebrated by the Madheshi community. As his wife, three daughters and two sons celebrate the festival back home, he finds solace in watching the celebration by the hill community at Kamalpokhari.
“I watch the celebration here at Kamalpokhari and feel like my village is here,” he told Republica, “My eyes fill up with tears every year, sometimes due to the pain of being away from my village, other times due to the joy of getting to see the people from the hill community celebrating the festival.”
As per the rituals of the festival, devotees offer prayers to the setting sun on Thursday, and to the rising sun on Friday, completing the Chhath festival. The government has declared Thursday, the main day of Chhath, a public holiday to mark the festival dedicated to worshiping the sun god.
Eight Chhath ghats set up in Kathmandu to celebrate Chhath
Senior Advocate Satish Kumar Jha, originally from Rautahat, has been setting up a Chhath ghat on the bank of the Bagmati river next to the Thapathali bridge for the past 33 years. Since he started the practice to help out devotees, he has never charged any family that celebrates the festival at the Thapathali Chhat ghat.
Satish’s son Shivam, 22, of Lalitpur Metropolitan City-1, Kupondole, has started aiding his father’s desire to serve his community by stepping in the shoes of the organizing committee for the Thapathali Chhath ghat. As per him, the number of participants in the Chhath festival celebration has seen an increase in the past few years.
“While the ghat we set up used to be the only one on the bank of the Bagmati river, in the last three years, we have seen an increase in the number of ghats,” Shivam told Republica, “There are three ghats beside the one we set up within a few hundred meters.”
The district administration offices of the three districts in the valley have also observed an increase in the number of participants in the festival over the years. As per the Assistant Chief District Officer of Bhaktapur district Dorendra Niraula, although the district has the least number of people celebrating Chhath, the district has observed a spike in such individuals in the past three years.
“Although Bhaktapur sees a lower turnout for Chhath festival compared to the other two districts in the valley, we have seen an increase in the number of ghats in the past few years,” Niraula informed Republica, “More families and communities in the district, regardless of their background have started celebrating the festival.”
According to Jivesh Jha, the author of ‘Beneath The Sun: Equality for Everyone, The Spirit of Chhath Festival’, the increasing trend of Chhath celebration among the hill community is fuelled by the quintessence of the festival including equality, inclusivity, biodiversity conservation, promotion of agriculture, and food security; which align with the broader sustainable development goals across the world.
“In Chhath, as we worship nature, there is no distinction between gender, caste or creed on who can celebrate it,” Jha told Republica, “This invites individuals from various communities to celebrate the festival.” He added that the non-existence of stringent procedures or the need of priests to celebrate the festival has also attracted people who have personal ideologies aligning with the theme of the festival.
_20211110163458.png)
