Chhath unfolds across four disciplined days: Nahay Khay, Kharna, the evening arghya and the morning arghya. Its public image may be the riverbank at sunset, but the observance begins much earlier—with cleaning, fasting, preparing food, arranging daura and soop, travelling home and sharing work across the family.
The setting and rising sun are both honoured. Water, songs and repeated journeys to the ghat create an experience that is at once intimate and collective, extending from villages and cities across Bihar into a worldwide diaspora.
Food is inseparable from that practice. Thekua, Kharna’s kheer and roti, and the carefully composed offering basket each have their own place in the Prasad collection. Recording Chhath fully means recording the people, vessels, produce, songs and labour around those offerings—not only the final ritual moment.
Starting references