Mumbai: Thousands of people will gather on Mumbai’s beaches and on the banks of water bodies at sunset on Thursday and sunrise on Friday to witness the main rituals of Chhath Puja, the biggest festival in Bihar and India. east of Uttar Pradesh, which lasts four days.

The festival began on Tuesday on chaturthi or the fourth day of the shukla paksha (bright moon) phase of the month of Kartik. Thursday is “Chhath” or shashti, the sixth day of the month. The festival will end on saptami or the seventh day of the month. The four days take place in 12-hour fasts and prayers.

Devotees worship the sun and ‘Shashti’ or ‘Chhatti Maiya’, an incarnation of Devi, during the festival. Shashti Devi is the goddess of children. The festival is also called Surya Shashti Vrat. The festival is linked to the Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. It is believed that Draupadi observed fast on these days to pray for the success of the Pandavas exiled from their kingdom by their cousins. Sita was blessed with twins after prayers during this period.

UK Singh, secretary of the Bihar Association, said the festival is also a thank you to nature. “People go knee-deep in water to offer water to the Sun in recognition of the life and light that God offers,” Singh said.

For this reason, any place with a body of water becomes a place of rituals. If there is no natural body of water, prayers are offered near artificial reservoirs and specially created ponds.

The largest gathering in Mumbai will take place at Girgaum Chowpatty at sunset on Thursday, but devotees will also gather at Madh Island; Juhu; Dadar Chowpatty; Nala Sopara; Bhayandar Creek; Aksa Beach, Malad; Zion Talao, Hiranandani Lake, Powai; Palm Beach Road, Vashi and 100+ other locations in the city.

Manoj Singh Rajput, spokesperson for the Bihar government-backed Bihar Foundation, said the festival dedicated to sun worship is as old as human civilization. “There are no pandits or mantras. It is sun worship and the communication is directly between you and God,” Rajput said.

“Chhath Puja is the biggest annual celebration in Bihar, even bigger than Diwali,” said Singh, who added that the festival has gained popularity over the past few decades in Mumbai with the increase in the number of residents hailing from the Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

The Bihar Foundation organizes Chhatt Puja at 29 locations across the city. Bihar Front, an organization led by Sanjay Nirupam, former MP from Mumbai, will hold a rally at Juhu beach on Thursday evening. Cultural programs, with music and devotional songs, will be held in Juhu, Malad and Bhiwandi.