WASHINGTON: Hundreds of Indian-Americans gathered on the banks of the historic Potomac River in the suburbs here to perform Chhath Pooja with several women attired in colorful saree worshipping the Sun God.
Chhath Pooja entails worship of the Sun God, embodied in cosmic energy, and is observed mainly by people from Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh.
The Chhath celebration expanded this year as Indian- Americans in New Jersey for the first time gathered on a lakeside in Monroe township to perform the pooja.
Hundreds of Indian-Americans from in and around Maryland and Virginia area gathered on the banks of the Potomac river as nearly a dozen fasting women entered the river water on Thursday evening and early morning on Friday to worship the Sun God.
“From just me and my family members and a few friends, this has now become a big community event,” said Anita Singh, who has been organising the event for the past ten years now.
Started by the Singh couple – Kripa and Anita — Chhath Pooja celebrations on the banks of the Potomac river attracted people from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Atlanta in addition to the Greater Washington area of Maryland and Virginia.
The Singh family have been doing this for a decade now at the same place on the river bank, which in addition to hundreds of Indian-Americans have also started attracting several curious onlookers.
An individual initiative so far, the Chhath celebrations this year attracted dozens of volunteers from near and far who helped the Singh family in every aspect of the festival from elaborate rituals, to the big community event on the river bank.
They volunteered to provide free snacks to the visitors on Friday morning.
Given the large turnout of the community members in the few years, Kripa Singh said they have now started looking for a parcel of land on the bank of Potomac river which can be developed into a traditional “Ghat” – steps leading to the river – for the annual celebration of the Chhath festival.
Inspired by the Chhath Pooja celebrations on the Potomac river bank, the Bihar Jharkhand Association of North America (BAJANA) organised the festival for the first time ever in New Jersey.
Over 300 devotees from all around New Jersey and the tri-state area got together at the lakeside of Thompson Park, Monroe township to offer their prayers to the rising and setting sun.
“Volunteers got together in advance to make prasad for the members attending the pooja. The cold weather and frozen feet did not stop the devotees from entering the water and offer the ‘Arag’ to the Sun God,” said Alok Kumar from BAJANA.
“Everyone was emotional attending the event because they were attending it for decades! Having the chance to attend it here at home in New Jersey was a dream come true,” Kumar said. (AGENCIES)cause of these two that we could pull the game back.”
In the previous series against Australia, their captain Steve Smith too had rated Bumrah and Kumar among the best in the business.
India outplayed Australia 4-1 but were stretched to the limit by a spirited New Zealand, who eventually failed to win the big moments despite competing hard. Asked to compare the team’s performance in the series, Rohit said both the contests were equally tough.
“Firstly there are no easy wins. Yes, even when we played against Australia, they tested us a number of times and we responded well to the situations and won the games,” Rohit said.
“Against New Zealand, the first game in Mumbai I thought we did not put enough runs on the board. 280 on a Wankhede wicket was never going to be easy to defend. But again the last two games we played we showed a lot of character, we came back from tough situations. That is the hallmark of this team,” he added.
The 30-year-old right handed batsman said his side’s bowlers have delivered under pressure many times in the recent past.
“We knew that it was not going to be that easy because there was a lot of dew on the field. But our bowlers did exceptionally well to come back every now and then. Whenever they are put under pressure, they know how to come back.
“It’s not happened once, it has happened many times now. It’s a good thing for the team going forward. If you can respond to these situations really well and handle that situation really well, as a team you are only going to grow,” he said.
Like Bumrah, Rohit too rose to the occasion in a must win match after failing in the previous two matches. Rohit struck his 15th ODI hundred, his second in as many ODIs at this venue after the 150 he made against South Africa two years ago. Rohit was satisfied with his effort.
“I started off I started off very cautiously because I understand the threat of Time Southee and Trent Boult with the new ball. And once the shine of the ball was gone, it was about me not making mistakes and getting out.
“I have played here a few times now and I understand the nature of the wicket. So unless you make a mistake, you are not going to get out. And the most important thing about my batting was the partnership. Because once you get stuck in the partnership, it’s always difficult (for the bowlers),” said Rohit.
He revealed that he consulted assistant coach Sanjay Bangar after the failure in Mumbai and Pune.
“I did not make any mental change. There will be failures at times. It does not mean you need to change a whole lot. You need to focus on little things. I was trying to do that. Watching my videos, talking to our batting coaches,” Rohit said.
“I like to follow my routine, which is to just understand the nature of the wicket and what shots you need to play.” (AGENCIES)
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