Photo Essay – Chhat Pooja, India Gate

The Delhi walla‘s pretension in writing makes me want to lodge a bullet in his balls – Blogger Nimpipi, the woodchuck chucks
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Delhi’s several colours.

[Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi]

Each year as the winter sets in, the east Indian state of Bihar gets down to worship the sun. The festival is called Chhath Pooja.

Since a large number of Delhiwallas happen to be Biharis, this is the Capital’s carnival, too. On the penultimate day of the four-day-long festivities, the devotees wade into a water body (it could be a river, stream, canal, or even a puddle), fold their hands into a namaste, and pray to Surya Devta as he sinks into the western skies.

On the evening of October 24th, 2009, The Delhi Walla went to the India Gate maidan, the open green ground usually crowded with picnickers. There I stood by the pond to witness how people from faraway lands, in search of a better life, make a new home in an unfamiliar city, and ends up enriching its cosmopolitan culture.

As you look at the images, remember that the Bihari community continues to be unfairly perceived in this city due to various reasons. You may read more on that here. Happy Chhath.

Delhiwallas