For families from Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh, Chhath is the festival that brings everyone home. In Delhi, Noida and Gurugram, where many such families now live, the four days of Chhath are kept with the same devotion, whether at a ghat on the Yamuna, a society pond in Greater Noida West or a water tank set up on a terrace in Gurugram.
This guide explains the four days of the vrat, what the vrati and the family do each day, the options for arghya in Delhi NCR, and how a Pandit can guide the sankalp and katha. Customs differ between families and villages, so treat this as a starting point and follow the way your elders have always kept it.
What Chhath is about
Chhath is the worship of Surya Dev, the Sun, and Chhathi Maiya, revered in folk tradition as a protector of children. It is one of the very few observances in which both the setting and the rising sun are honoured, a reminder that every ending is followed by a new beginning.
Families associate the vrat with the wellbeing and long life of their children and household, and once a family member takes up Chhath it is often continued across generations. The festival is known for its discipline: the vrati keeps a nirjala fast, without water, through the most demanding part of the vrat, and every offering is prepared with great care for purity.
The main Chhath falls in the month of Kartik, a few days after Diwali, and some families also keep Chaiti Chhath in the month of Chaitra. Your Pandit confirms the dates and arghya times for your city each year.
The four days of Chhath
- 1Day 1: Nahay KhayThe vrati bathes, preferably in a river or with water brought from one, cleans the home and eats a single pure meal, often lauki, chana dal and rice cooked without onion or garlic.
- 2Day 2: KharnaThe vrati fasts through the day and in the evening prepares kheer of jaggery and rice with roti. This is offered and taken as prasad, after which the nirjala fast begins.
- 3Day 3: Sandhya arghyaIn the evening the family goes to the ghat or pond. The vrati stands in the water and offers arghya to the setting sun with milk and water while Chhath songs are sung.
- 4Day 4: Usha arghya and paranaBefore dawn the family returns for arghya to the rising sun. The vrati then breaks the fast and prasad of thekua and fruits is shared with everyone.
Where families offer arghya in Delhi NCR
Delhi has a long tradition of Chhath on the banks of the Yamuna, and the government and local bodies set up ghats across the city in the Chhath season. Families from East Delhi, Laxmi Nagar, Mayur Vihar, Shahdara and the trans Yamuna colonies often go to the riverside ghats, while others use ghats arranged in parks and colony ponds.
In Noida and Greater Noida West, many large societies create a temporary pond or tank inside the premises so that residents can offer arghya together. Gurugram families often use society tanks, community ponds or ghats arranged by resident associations, and some go to the Yamuna in Delhi.
A growing number of families keep Chhath on the terrace or in the society garden with a clean tank or a large tub filled with water. Tradition allows the arghya to be offered wherever clean water and a view of the sun are available, so this is a valid choice when travel to a ghat is difficult.
Ghats on Chhath evening are very crowded. Reach early, keep a torch, and agree on a meeting point in case family members get separated.
What to prepare
- Bamboo soops and a daura (basket) for the offerings
- Thekua made of wheat flour, jaggery and ghee, and kasar laddoo of rice flour
- Sugarcane with leaves, banana, coconut, citrus, water chestnut and other seasonal fruits
- Haldi, ginger and radish plants
- Milk and a copper or brass lota for the arghya
- Ghee diyas, cotton wicks, sindoor, roli and akshat
- New clothes for the vrati as per family custom
How a Pandit helps with Chhath
Chhath is largely performed by the family itself, and customs pass from mother to daughter in law. Even so, many families invite a Pandit, especially when someone is keeping the vrat for the first time or the family is observing it away from their native place.
A Pandit can guide the sankalp in the family's name, recite the Chhath katha, help with the order of the offerings, chant the mantras for the arghya and answer questions about what is and is not permitted during the fast. Families with elders back home often find this reassuring, since the vrat can then be kept with confidence.
The prasad and why it matters
Chhath prasad is prepared with special care. Thekua, the best known offering, is made from wheat flour, jaggery and ghee, shaped by hand and often pressed with a wooden mould. Kasar laddoo of rice flour and jaggery, fresh fruits, sugarcane and coconut complete the daura. Many families prepare everything in new or freshly cleaned vessels, and the vrati and helpers avoid onion, garlic and non vegetarian food in the house during the festival.
Purity is the heart of the observance. Families traditionally keep the prasad separate from everyday cooking, and no one tastes it before it has been offered to the Sun. In city flats, families often clear one part of the kitchen for Chhath cooking and prepare thekua in batches over two evenings.
Supporting the vrati
The person keeping the vrat carries the heaviest part of the festival, often fasting without water for more than a day while also cooking, travelling to the ghat and standing in water for the arghya. The rest of the family traditionally takes care of everything else so that the vrati can focus on the ritual.
In practice this means sharing the cooking, arranging transport, carrying the dauras to the ghat, keeping a dry change of clothes and a warm shawl ready, and making sure elders and children are looked after. Families often take turns walking ahead to the ghat early to keep a spot near the water.
- Keep a folding chair or mat for the vrati to rest between rituals at the ghat
- Carry a towel and dry clothes for after the arghya
- Keep the prasad covered and away from crowds
- Arrange for someone to stay with young children while the family is in the water
If the vrati has a health condition, speak to a doctor before the nirjala fast. Many families adapt the fast for elders or those who are unwell, and tradition allows for this.
Practical tips for Chhath in a city
- Plan the thekua and prasad preparation a day ahead, since the Kharna and arghya days are tiring for the vrati.
- Arrange transport to the ghat early; roads near major ghats are often closed or diverted.
- If you are using a society tank, coordinate with the RWA on water, lighting and cleanliness.
- Keep warm clothing for the early morning arghya, since mornings in Delhi NCR can be cold in Kartik.
- Keep elders and children close, and carry water for family members who are not fasting.
Keeping Chhath for the first time
Many young women in Delhi NCR take up the Chhath vrat for the first time after marriage, often guided by a mother in law who lives in another city. Others take it up after a family prayer or a vow, known as a mannat. Starting the vrat away from the native place can feel daunting, because the customs are usually learnt by watching elders over many years.
A good way to begin is to speak with the elders in your family well before the festival and write down how they keep each day: what is cooked for Nahay Khay, the exact items in the daura, the songs sung at the ghat and any family specific customs. A Pandit can then help fill the gaps, explain the sankalp and walk you through each step on the day.
It is also common for the first year to be kept in a simpler form, with the vrati learning alongside an experienced relative. Tradition places far more value on devotion and care than on getting every detail perfect, and families add to their practice year by year.
- Ask your elders for the family's list of offerings and songs
- Practise making thekua once before the festival
- Decide early whether you will go to a ghat or use a society tank
- Book a Pandit for the sankalp and katha if you would like guidance
Cost and booking
With PujaKarma, Chhath puja guidance starts at ₹7,100. The amount depends on whether the Pandit attends both arghya, whether the katha and sankalp are done at home, and travel within Delhi, Noida or Gurugram. Samagri can be arranged on request.
Message us on WhatsApp with your area and which days you need a Pandit. Demand is high in the Chhath week, so it helps to book well before Diwali.
