Chatta Chauth today is Ganesh Chaturthi. In Shivpuran, Chaturthi of Krishna Paksha of Bhadrapada month has been described as the incarnation date of Mangalmurti Shri Ganesh. Not the new generation, but people in the age group of fifty-sixty years will definitely remember that till four decades ago, Ganesh Chaturthi was celebrated under the name of ‘Chatta Chauth’. It is not known when and how the folk tradition of Chatta Chauth got lost in the glare of modernity. Chatta Chauth was also called Chauth (Chauth) Chandni.”
Chatta Chauth 2023
I hit the ball and after turning it, the ball fell into the ground, give me the ball and go, then don’t let me play….” Such folk quatrains were recited on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi along with playing Chatta.
There was a golden tradition of celebrating the incarnation day of Lord Ganesha, the God of knowledge, with joy and with the sacred spirit of ‘Guru Sakshat Parabrahma’. Apart from ‘Guru Pujan’, books were also worshiped in schools. At that time, most of the children were admitted to school on the day of Chatta Chauth. After offering food and clothes to the teachers, touching their feet and taking blessings, the children entered the school of values along with education. Children used to play wooden sticks and sing folk quatrains. Children got to eat jaggery.
It was heard in folklore that at the age of five, Shri Ramlala was sent to school for the first time on the day of Ganesh Chaturthi. As soon as child Ramji became dignified, perhaps under the influence of this feeling, people would have been sending him to school for the first time on the day of Ganesh Chaturthi. These have become things of the past, on which the layer of dust of neglect is becoming thick.
