Page 5 - Mann Ki Baat, October 2022
P. 5

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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