Page 4 - Mann Ki Baat, October 2022
P. 4

My dear countrymen, Namaskar!





                                                                                           My     dear    countrymen,     made of bamboo is used. Earthen
                                                                                       Namaskar.  Today, ‘Chhath’, the    lamps have their own significance.
                                                                                       great festival of sun worship is   Through this, the importance of
                                                                                       being celebrated in many parts     farmers who grow gram and small
                                                                                       of the country. Lakhs of devotees   entrepreneurs making batashas
                                                                                       have reached their villages, their   has  been established in  the
                                                                                       homes, their families to be a part   society. Without their cooperation,
                                                                                       of the ‘Chhath’ festival. I pray that   the worship of Chhath, simply
                                                                                       Chhath Maiya blesses everyone      cannot be completed. The festival
                                                                                       with prosperity and well being.    of  Chhath  also  emphasizes  on
                                                                                           Friends,  the  tradition  of   the importance of cleanliness
                                                                                       worshiping the Sun is a proof of   in our lives. On the arrival of this
                                                                                       how deep our culture, our faith, is   festival, roads, rivers, ghats, various
                                                                                       related to nature. Through this puja,   sources of water, all are cleaned at
                                                                                       the importance of sunlight in our   the  community  level.  The  festival
                                                                                       life has been illustrated. Along with   of  Chhath is also  an  example  of
                                                                                       this, the message has also been    ‘Ek Bharat- Shreshtha Bharat’.
                                                                                       conveyed that ups and downs are    Today,  wherever  the people  of
                                                                                       an integral part of life. Therefore, we   Bihar and Purvanchal are in any
                                                                                       should maintain a uniform poise in   corner of the country, Chhath is
                                                                                       every  situation. Various fruits  and   being celebrated with great pomp.
                                                                                       Thekua are offered in the worship   Chhath  is now  getting organized
                                                                                       of Chhath Maiya. The fasting in this   on a large scale in different
                                                                                       is  also  not  less  than  any  difficult   districts of Maharashtra along with
                                                                                       sadhna. Another special thing      Delhi, Mumbai and many parts of
                                                                                       about Chhath Puja is that the items   Gujarat. I do remember that earlier
                                                                                       used  for worship  are  prepared   in Gujarat, Chhath Pooja was not
                                                                                       by myriad people of the society    performed to this extent. But with
                                                                                       together. In this, a basket or supli   the passage of time, the colors of

                                                                                       “I pray that Chhath
                                                                                          Maiya blesses
                                                                                          everyone with
                                                                                          prosperity and
                                                                                            well being.”












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