Chhath Festival on the banks of the Brahmaputra River in Dibrugarh, India

I began my trip to Nagaland (northeast India) in early November beginning in Dibrugarh in the State of Bihar. By a happy coincidence I arrived at the last day of the four day Chhath Festival.

 

Although   there are many festivals celebrated by the Hindus of Bihar, there is only one   Hindu festival that is uniquely Bihari, and that is the festival of ‘Chhath’.   Observed mostly by the people of North Bihar, it is dedicated to the worship   of the Sun God and therefore, is also known as ‘SuryaShashti’. Chhath is considered   to be a means to thank the Sun for bestowing the bounties of life on earth,   as also for fulfilling particular wishes.

The word Chhath denotes the number six and thus the festival begins on the sixth   day of the Hindu month of Kartik in the Hindu lunar calendar. It is one of   the holiest festivals for Biharis and extends for four days.   By   the time I arrived at the Brahmaputra River both banks were lined with   thousands of devotees with their offerings, candles and colorful temporary   changing rooms for after wading into the river.     Everyone   in the area I was photographing made me feel very welcome. I received many   invitations to join in for snacks and tea. I was invited to photograph entire   families and gangs of boys. They could not have been friendlier.