By Kritika Tiwary
RANCHI: Following the practices of the past two years, a large number of devotees in the capital have arranged for their personal pools to perform the rituals of Chhath Puja.
As people learned to alter their ways of observing the festival in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, they embraced various unique means to access a water body on the occasion. This year as well, a majority of people have either built their own pools on their terraces, dug a mini pond on their courtyard or bought big tubs to be filled with water in a bid to avoid gathering at ghats on the puja day.
Saroj Yadav, a resident of Dhurwa, said: “Following the Covid-19 pandemic, we prefer to perform the puja on our home yard. We, along with our neighbours, have already dug a temporary pond on the yard and filled it up with water. Instead of performing the rituals at a crowded ghat, it is much simpler and convenient for all the family members to access the water body on our private yard.”
While many devotees have preferred hygiene and peaceful atmosphere over crowded ghats and chaos, several enthusiasts have also booked space at river and pond banks to perform the puja rituals.
Devandra Rajak, a resident of Ratu Road, said: “Over the past three decades, we have been performing the puja rituals on our rooftop. We usually purchase a large tub, fill it with water and decorate it with flowers. This gives us a profound feeling of worship in peace as the water in public ponds is dirty and the ghats remain crowded. We do not like to go there.”
Prashant Kumar, a resident of Upper Bazaar, said: “We have already constructed a small pool on our roof in order to celebrate the Chhath Puja there. Since everyone wants to avoid the crowd and enjoy solitude, it is convenient for us and even all of our neighbours to celebrate the occasion here.”
Satender Singh, a Plaza Chowk resident, said, “We will perform the puja along with others at the Bada Talab ghat.”
RANCHI: Following the practices of the past two years, a large number of devotees in the capital have arranged for their personal pools to perform the rituals of Chhath Puja.
As people learned to alter their ways of observing the festival in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, they embraced various unique means to access a water body on the occasion. This year as well, a majority of people have either built their own pools on their terraces, dug a mini pond on their courtyard or bought big tubs to be filled with water in a bid to avoid gathering at ghats on the puja day.
Saroj Yadav, a resident of Dhurwa, said: “Following the Covid-19 pandemic, we prefer to perform the puja on our home yard. We, along with our neighbours, have already dug a temporary pond on the yard and filled it up with water. Instead of performing the rituals at a crowded ghat, it is much simpler and convenient for all the family members to access the water body on our private yard.”
While many devotees have preferred hygiene and peaceful atmosphere over crowded ghats and chaos, several enthusiasts have also booked space at river and pond banks to perform the puja rituals.
Devandra Rajak, a resident of Ratu Road, said: “Over the past three decades, we have been performing the puja rituals on our rooftop. We usually purchase a large tub, fill it with water and decorate it with flowers. This gives us a profound feeling of worship in peace as the water in public ponds is dirty and the ghats remain crowded. We do not like to go there.”
Prashant Kumar, a resident of Upper Bazaar, said: “We have already constructed a small pool on our roof in order to celebrate the Chhath Puja there. Since everyone wants to avoid the crowd and enjoy solitude, it is convenient for us and even all of our neighbours to celebrate the occasion here.”
Satender Singh, a Plaza Chowk resident, said, “We will perform the puja along with others at the Bada Talab ghat.”
