Tamannaah Bhatia’s Chhathi Maiya Song Gets Chhath Traditions Right and Wrong

Tamannaah Bhatia’s Chhathi Maiya song from The Vvaan brings Chhath Puja into the spotlight, but people familiar with the festival say the video blends authentic traditions with Bollywood-style presentation.

Chhath Puja is a four-day festival centred on fasting, discipline, devotion and prayers to the Sun. On the final days, devotees gather near rivers, ponds or other water bodies to offer arghya to the setting and rising Sun. The song recreates this atmosphere through ghats, soops, offerings and devotees standing near the water.

However, some details differ from traditional practices. The bamboo soop is shown being carried throughout the sequence, while traditionally it is often handed to devotees as they enter the water. The women are also dressed predominantly in red sarees, giving the sequence a highly coordinated cinematic appearance. Devotees commonly wear sarees with a seedha pallu covering the head.

The offerings shown in the soop also miss gagar nimbu, or pomelo, considered an important Chhath offering in Bihar and eastern India. The peeled coconut shown in the song also differs from the traditionally offered coconut, which is generally kept with its husk intact.

Despite these liberties, the song captures Chhath’s devotional mood and includes several recognisable elements of the festival. Its chorus also echoes the emotional quality of traditional Chhath geet.

Overall, Chhathi Maiya works more as a Bollywood interpretation of Chhath than a completely accurate recreation.