Chhath — A festival for which New Normal arrived early.

Chhath — a festival known to many by the name, thanks to the brain drain of Bihar, but it’s essence is to be experienced to fully appreciate this festival celebrating no lords. True, the festival is not about any lord but about Mother Nature and her elements which makes life possible.

A decade back, visiting the river side of Ganga (a holy river in India) to celebrate Chhath was a norm. The entire stretch of the Ghat would be packed with people with barely an inch to move about. Waves of humans moving around to get their turn to get into the river, perform the rituals and take a few pictures. The picture would later be posted on Orkut (yeah, Facebook was not a big deal back then).

Fast-forward a few years, the concept of nuclear celebrations and comfort over ritual seeped in which pushed the same set of people to celebrate Chhath on their rooftop. The experience of dipping into river Ganga was replaced with that of dipping into a swimming pool or swimming tub, the uncertainty and rush to occupy a good space on the river side got replaced with the certainty of a reserved space. Effectively, the element of chaotic exuberance got replaced with steady certainty.

While the transition may seem off putting. I feel so too as I love the hustle involved in celebrating a festival. However, this worked like a charm this year when celebrating chhath in a communal sense would have been a foolish decision. It seemed as if the last few years were sort of a rehearsal, a transition to celebrate chhath in the new normal. The divine world has its own mysterious ways of preparing us mortals for the times ahead. Maybe that’s how divinity operates or maybe it’s my sleeplessness talking and it’s all just a coincidence. Whatever it is, surprisingly, chhath this year felt not that different.

PS ~ Keep Smiling!!