Visakhapatnam: Cheti Chand celebrated with fervour

Visakhapatnam: After two years of 'indoor' celebrations, the Sindhis in Visakhapatnam came together to celebrate 'Cheti Chand', birth anniversary of Jhulelal, God of the seas, at Sindhu Bhavan here on Saturday. The celebrations also marked the community's New Year that witnessed the participation of the Sindhis in a series of activities, rejoicing with their near and dear ones.

Over 1,000 Sindhis visited the bhavan to offer prayers to Jhulelal and take part in the programmes organised by the Sindhi Panchayat. While rituals, celestial bath, prayers, bhajans and 'nagar keerthan' formed a part of the day-long activities that began from 5:30 am the bhavan reverberated with music as the Sindhis joined the dance floor in the evening.

Representing Jhulelal, the community performed puja to 'bhairano' (a conical-shaped flour-based mould speckled with cloves, cardamoms, edible silver foil, sindoor, flowers and topped with a sugar candy). Attending as a special guest, IG-cum-Principal Security Commissioner of Railway Protection Force, East Coast Railway, Raja Ram addressed the gathering. Parmanand Warthwani and his troupe enthralled the audience with an impressive cultural show that catered to all age groups. The festivities concluded with a grand procession of the 'bhairano' and its immersion in sea to feed the fish. President of Sindhi Panchayat Deepak Menda, secretary Kishore Gaja, president of the ladies' wing Sheela Lalchand mentioned that the celebrations this year came as a big relief as they were confined to virtual platforms for the past two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.