Chailo Sahib is a festival of fasting which falls in the month of July-August. The fasting is observed for forty where it begins with the tying of a revered thread by a priest and praying to Lord Jhulelal.They pray to Lord Jhulelal for forty days and after the fast is over they celebrate the occasion as Thanks Giving Day with festivities. The final day of the occasssion is celebrated by worshipping Bahirana Sahib followed by a procession of the same in the streets. Generally during the forty days of fasting, the morning prayers include a preparation of a dish called Akho made of rice and sugar and in the evening they visit temples and attend kirtan.The legend behind this festival there was a muslim invader Mirkshah Badshah who was a religious fanatic and he wanted all the people of Thatta to convert into Islam. Thus to escape from this tyrant the Hindus worshipped Varun Devta or the God of Water for forty days and on the last day the God answered in the form Jhulelal,the saviour. Since majority of the population of Thatta was of Sindhi Community, Chailo Sahib became a festival of the Sindhis.
During those forty days, the following rules are followed by all Sindhis :
No sleeping on bed,
but on floor
Avoiding consumption of white items like rice,
curd or milk
No fried eatables
No shaving or cutting hair
Avoiding non-vegetarian food
Wearing simple clothes
No use of soap or oil No wearing leather belts or shoes
The fast begins with the tying of a sacred thread by
the Poojari. People lead a "brahmacharya” way of life and every morning Akho ie. rice and sugar are offered during morning prayers.
During the evening, devotees attend ‘kirtan’ in the temples. One can keep a fast for the first 10 days, 21 days or 40 days according to one’s capacity.
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