People pick pools over Gomti for Chhath puja

LUCKNOW: For this year's Chhath puja, many people are opting for pools and tubs to worship Sun to avoid crowded ghats.
It is a way of meeting friends, neighbours and relatives for Arun who organizes Chhath in his house-garden in Eldeco and invites over 200 people. "It is the only festival when all can come uninvited, even those who don't celebrate it," he said.He himself has been celebrating it for the past 15 years.
This year, Eldeco's puja will also have mayor Dinesh Sharma as a guest. "Only a day is left for the main puja which is on Sunday-Monday and we have to make prasad and seating arrangements for 500 people," said an organizing member. Another such celebration will be held at a bigger pool of Sun temple in LDA Colony, Kanpur Road. The 15-year-old pool witnesses over 1,000 people every year, most of who belong to the Maithil community. Organisers Chaturbhuj Mishra and Arun Kumar Thakur said, "When we began the puja at our mandir-ghat, we were only three families. The number has shot up to a thousand individuals."
"Tradition says we ought to go to the river bank but performing it with fewer people pleases me more,"said Neelu Jha Pathak.
Devotees took bath and ate gud-kheer for nahayi-khayi on Friday. While some went to the banks for a dip, others chose to remain home and take a shower before the main puja which falls on Sunday-Monday.