|
French woman performs Chhath
in Bihar for Belgian husband
Patna,
Nov 6 (IANS) A French woman performed Chhath puja, a Hindu
festival in which prayers are offered to the sun god, in Bihar’s
Bodh Gaya town for the long life of her Belgian husband.
Axlle,
a French woman in her late 20s, offered prayers to the rising
sun early Wednesday on the bank of Niranjana river at Bodh
Gaya, about 110 km from here.
Her
husband Vianney, a resident of Belgium, joined her to offer
prayers along with his two friends from Belgium near the river
in Bodh Gaya, which is considered the birthplace of Buddhism.
It was here that Buddha attained enlightenment over 2,550
years ago.
Clad
in a bright violet sari and with vermillion in the parting
of her hair, carrying the traditional bamboo tray known as
`soop', Axlle followed the prayer rituals strictly.
“I
was impressed by the spiritual concept behind offering prayers
to the sun god and decided to perform Chhath, a new experience
for me and my husband,” said Axlle, a nurse.
She
said that she offered prayers to the setting and the rising
Sun god for the long life of her husband. "It was all
I wish and seek blessing of the sun god,” she said.
“My
husband was happy that I offered prayers to the sun god for
his long life,” she added.
Axlle
and Vianney were visiting Bodh Gaya during their trip to India.
The
family members of Shankar Yadav, a local resident, helped
her and provided fruits, home-made sweets and milk for the
rituals.
Yadav's
family members said that a few years ago, a woman from Denmark
offered prayers to the sun god in Bodh Gaya to mark Chhath.
The
festival, once limited to Bihar, is fast becoming popular
across India due to the large-scale migration of workers from
Bihar.
The
festival was widely celebrated this year in metros like Kolkata,
New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad and states like
Assam, Punjab, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and even Tamil
Nadu.
The
four-day-long celebrations started Sunday with shopping and
preparation of traditional sweets. A large number of people
thronged the river banks to bathe before preparing simple
vegetarian food on handmade earthen hearths.
The
devotees Monday prepared sweet dishes as part of the festival,
celebrated by Hindus six days after Diwali, the festival of
light.
Indo-Asian
News Service
Prabuddha
Bharata>>>
Vedanta
Kesari>>>
Vedanta
Mass Media>>>
|
