Four Days on the Water: Chhath Puja in Hyderabad, November 2026
It is just past five in the evening on the third day, and the tank is ringed with people. Turmeric-yellow saris and kurtas catch the last light, brass and bamboo baskets are set down at the water's edge, and the smell of ghee, sugarcane and marigold rises off the steps as families wait for the sun to drop far enough for the argh. In 2026 the main evening offering falls on Sunday, November 15, with sunset at 5:38 PM — you will want to be standing at a water's edge well before that.
Chhath Puja, also called Surya Sashthi, is an ancient Hindu festival honouring Surya, the Sun God, and his wife Usha, known as Chhathi Maiya. It is celebrated six days after Diwali, on Kartika Shukla Shasthi, and its four-day vrat runs from shukla chaturthi to shukla saptami. Hyderabad is not one of the festival's heartland cities — the largest celebrations are in Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh — but the city's Bihari, Jharkhandi and Purvanchali communities observe it faithfully at the water, and that is precisely where you should go.
Stand at the Water for Sandhya Argh and Usha Argh
The two argh offerings are the centre of the festival and the two things a visitor can most reliably attend. On the evening of Sunday, November 15, devotees offer Sanjhiya Argha to the setting sun from a river bank or water's edge, and turmeric-coloured clothes are worn after the puja. On the morning of Monday, November 16, the Paarun Bihaniya Argha is offered at sunrise, standing in the water, with argh and prasad given to the rising Sun — and the 36-hour fast, kept without water, is finally broken with Chhath prasad.
- Arrive early. Sunrise on November 15 is 6:44 AM and sunset is 5:38 PM; the crowds at the water build in the hour before each.
- Watch for the baskets. The soop and daura of fruit, thekua and sugarcane are the visual signature of the festival — they are carried to the bank and raised toward the sun.
- Dress for the water's edge. You will be standing on steps and ghats for a long stretch; turmeric yellow is the colour of the day for those who have completed the puja.
- Keep your distance respectfully. This is a vrat, not a performance; photograph from behind the family groups and never between a devotee and the sun.
Nahay-Khay and Kharna: The Days Before the Argh
The festival does not begin at the water. On Day 1 — Friday, November 13, 2026, Nahay-Khay — devotees rise before sunrise, take a holy bath (traditionally in the Ganges, and in Hyderabad at whatever water is at hand), clean the home, and eat one specially prepared meal known as kaddu bhat. On Day 2, Saturday, November 14 — Lohanda and Kharna — the daytime is a fast; Mother Earth is worshipped in the evening and the fast is broken, after which the strict 36-hour fast without water begins.
If you are invited into a home for these days, that is the real way to see Chhath in a city far from the Ganga. The Shashti tithi itself runs from 11:24 PM on November 14 to 2:01 AM on November 16, 2026, which is why the whole cycle feels compressed into two nights and two dawns.
What to Eat, and When
Chhath food is prasad first and street food second, and it is tied to the ritual calendar rather than to a restaurant menu.
- Kaddu bhat — the single meal of Nahay-Khay on November 13, prepared at home.
- Thekua — the dense wheat-and-jaggery sweet that anchors every Chhath basket; you will see it stacked in the soop at the water.
- Sugarcane, coconut, bananas and citrus — the standing fruits of the argh offering, sold in the days before the puja at produce markets across the city.
- Chhath prasad — distributed after the morning argh on November 16, when the fast is broken.
For the shopping, head to the city's fruit and vegetable markets in the days before November 13, where sugarcane comes in by the bundle. The festival's own reference notes that dates and timings can shift with local panchang calculations and regional custom, so confirm the tithi locally before you fix your plans.
When to Go, and How to Plan Around It
Chhath Puja falls in October or mid-November on the English calendar. In 2026 the four days run Friday, November 13 to Monday, November 16, with the main Chhath Puja on Sunday, November 15. The date is decided by the Central body of Janakpurdham, Nepal, and applies worldwide, which is why the observance in Hyderabad falls on the same day as it does in Patna or in the Nepali plains.
- November 13 (Fri) — Nahay-Khay; holy bath before sunrise, home cleaned, kaddu bhat.
- November 14 (Sat) — Lohanda and Kharna; daytime fast, evening worship of Mother Earth, then the 36-hour waterless fast begins.
- November 15 (Sun) — Sandhya Argh at sunset, 5:38 PM; turmeric-coloured clothes after the puja.
- November 16 (Mon) — Usha Argh at sunrise, standing in the water, with argh and prasad to the rising Sun; prasad distributed and the fast broken.
One practical note: Chhath is a restricted holiday under the Government of India, so offices and businesses in Hyderabad remain open. It is an official holiday only in Bihar and Jharkhand. Plan your leave accordingly, and expect the water's edge to fill after working hours on the 15th.
Beyond the Ghats
The festival's largest celebrations are in Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, and it is also observed in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Mumbai and Goa. In Hyderabad the observance is community-scale rather than city-scale: you will find it wherever the city's Bihari and Purvanchali families gather at a tank, a river bank or a lake step, and the surest way in is through those communities rather than through a tourism programme. Ask at the neighbourhood puja committees and at the temples that serve migrant families from the Hindi belt; by the first week of November they will know which water bodies are being used this year.
Book your Hyderabad stay for the weekend of November 14–16, 2026, keep the evening of the 15th and the dawn of the 16th free, and spend the days before that learning the shape of the ritual — kaddu bhat, the 36-hour fast, the baskets at the water. Then find a ghat, stand back, and watch a city far from the Ganga offer its thanks to the same sun.