Bihar's most revered religious festival Chhath began on Wednesday with the 'Nahai-Khai' part of the event as thousands of men, women, and children rushed to various ghats of the Ganges to take a dip in the cold water while offering prayers to the rising sun.
After the morning 'arghya', the families observing Chhath served the traditional dish of rice and lauki, a member of the squash family, which incidentally, was selling for three times higher the normal price.
Tomorrow the devotees would be observing 'Kharna' and fast all day only to break their fast in the evening by consuming 'kheer with Gur' (Rice mixed in milk and jaggery) and on Friday, the final 'arghya' would be offered at the Ganges to mark the end of the festival.
As always, the city administration had swept the roads with water sprinkled on them to make the journey from homes to the ghats comfortable for the Chhath observers. Folk songs related to Chhath were playing throughout the city adding to the atmosphere of the festival.
Heavy crowd was seen at Patna's Collectorate Ghat, Digha Ghat, Kurji Ghat, Rajapur LCT Ghat, Mahendru Ghat, Patna College Ghat, and areas at the bank of the river.
Men and women were seen filling in their pitchers with the holy water of the Ganges to be used in the puja for the next two days.
