Cheti Chand
Cheti Chand - Sindhi New Year Day
The most significant festival of sindhi community is the Cheti Chandu, also spelled as Chetri Chandu, being celebrated as the “Sindhi New Year Day” irrespective of geographical boundaries throughout the world.
The usual tradition is that on this day Sindhis bring out procession of water God Lord Jhulelal, In the form of Bahrano Sahib, which goes to nearby river bank where sesa is distributed among the devotees after offering “Akho” [prepared from rice & sugar] to Jal Devata. In some cities like Adipur – Gandhidham there is tradition of presenting scenes reflecting rich Sindhi heritage along with procession of Bahrana Sahib to mark the day celebrated as Jhulelal Jayanti.
In the Maharashtra either on the same day or one day earlier “Gudi Padava” and Ugadi in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, is celebrated.
During the procession of Bahrana Sahib traditional sindhi folk dance “Chhej” is performed by all age group Sindhis. In some cities of India various cultural and other programs are arranged on the day to exhibit rich cultural heritage of Sindhis
Cheti Chand - Haridwar Celebration - Video
What does Cheti Chand mean?
Cheti Chand is the full moon day of Chetru [चेट्र] month of Sindhi Tipano, this is most important Sindhi festival celebrated as Sindhi New Year / Birthday of Sindhi Deity Lord Jhulelal throughout the world specially in India by the Sindhi community. In Nagpur Maharashtra Cheti Chand is celebrated as Sindhu Mukti Divas.
Historical Backdrop
Historically Cheti Chand is the birthday of Lal Sain Amarlal, deity of Sindhis hence this is the most important day for the sindhi community and celebrated with that high spirit and emotions. In the recent times this day is being recognized as “Sindhi Day” throughout the globe.
The festival is celebrated on the full moon day of Chetra [Chaitu] of Hindu calendar. As the sindhi population is scattered throughout the globe hence Cheti Chand is a festival celebrated throughout the world.
Sindhis keep their shops and activities closed on this day and gathered at community building (Panchayati Hall) or at Jhulelal Temple, where after a session of singing deviational song, worship of Jhulelal is made and procession of Bahrano is taken out. Cities Like Ulhasnagar, Ajmer, Indore, Kolhapur, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Surat etc are famous for unique style of Cheti Chand celebration and huge gathering of sindhi people.