MUMBAI: With Chhath puja the festive season ended in the country. The festival is called "Mahaparv" in Bihar and "Sarabhai vs Sarabhai" actor Rajesh Kumar was lucky to do it last year. He even shared a pic on his social media account and talking about it said, "It was my first Chhath puja. My mother has been doing Chhath for 53 years now and this is one of the toughest fast anyone can keep."

"Women fast without consuming water in Karwa Chauth for 14-16 hours, but in Chatth people fast without water for 36 hours. So last year, when I did it for the first time, it was very tough. It was really difficult to be without even a single drop of water, but it's the test of your will-power, it's the test of the purity of the festival. So, when I got the chance, I took it because I got a chance to celebrate it with my mother, so the whole intention was that and I also wanted to know what the festival is. And I got to know it is 'mahaparv' because it takes a lot of courage for all the Chatthvrati to keep this fast," he added. 

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Talking about the festival, the "Baa Bahoo Aur Baby" actor said, "The whole festival is so pure. In Bihar, the roads and streets are cleaned and decorated especially for this festival, and you can hear Chatth songs playing everywhere. The whole atmosphere is very charged and very pure, you won't find any mishappenings during this time. There are many people who do 'dandwat' till the ghats where the puja happens." 

"Like Ganpati is for Maharashtra and anyone who is out of Maharashtra they miss being home during this festival. I think Chhath is the same, and I can see it going global because now Biharis are all over the world. I miss it a lot because Bihar is very different during this time. It's a completely different atmosphere post-Diwali because of this festival," he added. 

The "Excuse Me Maadam" actor further said that the festival brings back a lot of childhood memories and also shared how it brings together anyone and everyone.  "This festival means a lot to me because it also brings back a lot of childhood memories and it's like an extension of Diwali. Even with so much crowd at one place during this festival, there is still so much calm and everyone is very helpful and especially the approach of the people towards the ones who are doing Chatth is completely different, its very heartwarming. People get unified and everyone comes together to celebrate it together. I just hope the way people treat each other during Chatth, the way they see each other, and the way they help each other, continues during the rest of the year too," Rajesh concluded. 

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