PATNA: Mauritius, the country with 70% of its population from Indian origin, has proposed to invite ten Bihari women to celebrate Chhath Puja, the most sacred and popular festival of Bihar, on the foreign shore.
Sources
attributed the move to the fact that all the Hindu festivals except
Chhath are celebrated in the island nation. "A major constituent of the
Mauritian population is the people with origins in Bihar as their
ancestors were shipped to Mauritius centuries ago. But the younger
generation of them is somewhat detached not only from their roots but
also from the rituals attached to their roots," Bihar tourism minister
Sunil Kumar 'Pintu' said, explaining the reason behind the Mauritian
government's move.
Pintu was in Port Louis in
October to attend the 'Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas' function when the
Chhath invite for the Bihari women was extended to him during a meeting
with Mauritian President Rajkeswur Purryag and Prime Minister
Navinchandra Ramgoolam. Pintu was told elderly people of Indian origin
in Mauritius wanted to celebrate Chhath but they were not aware of the
rituals.
On his return, Pintu discussed the invite with chief minister Nitish Kumar
who has given his go-ahead to the proposal. "But he is a tad sceptical
about the move getting materialized as we all know that the entire
family has to assist the women perform Chhath," Pintu said and added the
CM expressed doubts if women would agree to celebrate their most
important festival away from their homes.
In view of this, the
state tourism department has now proposed to allow the husband or
another family member to accompany the women. While the travelling
expenses would be borne by the Bihar government, the Mauritian government would make arrangements for their stay.
"We will insert advertisements in the media, inviting willing people to
make their expression of interest for the purpose," Pintu said and
added the nitty-gritty would be finalized after a proposed daylong visit
of President Purryag to Bihar next month.
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