As soon as the Diwali diyas cool down, homes across Bihar, Jharkhand and eastern Uttar Pradesh start getting ready for the biggest festival of the year. Courtyards are washed, new chulhas are set up, and the smell of wheat, jaggery and ghee fills the air. It is time for Chhath Puja, and that means it is time for thekua.
Chhath Puja 2026 dates
Chhath is a four-day festival. In 2026 it runs from Friday 13 November to Monday 16 November.
- Day 1, Friday 13 November: Nahay Khay. The vrati (the person keeping the fast) takes a holy bath and eats one simple, sattvik meal, traditionally kaddu-bhaat: lauki with chana dal and rice.
- Day 2, Saturday 14 November: Kharna. A day-long fast ends in the evening with gur ki kheer (rasiya) and roti offered to Chhathi Maiya. After Kharna, the 36-hour nirjala fast begins, without food or even water.
- Day 3, Sunday 15 November: Sandhya Arghya. Families gather at the ghat and offer arghya to the setting sun.
- Day 4, Monday 16 November: Usha Arghya. Arghya is offered to the rising sun at dawn. The vrati then breaks the fast and the prasad is shared with everyone.
Sunset and sunrise times change from city to city, so please check your local panchang for the exact arghya timings.
What makes Chhath so special
Chhath is dedicated to Surya Dev and Chhathi Maiya. It is one of the very few festivals where the setting sun is worshipped along with the rising sun, as a thank-you for life, for the harvest and for the health of the family. There are no idols and no priest is needed. There is only water, the sun, a bamboo soop full of fruits and prasad, and a level of discipline and purity that every Bihari grows up seeing at home.
Why thekua is the heart of the prasad
Of everything placed in the soop (bananas, sugarcane, coconut, citrus and seasonal fruits), thekua is the one everybody waits for. It is made from simple ingredients: wheat flour, jaggery or sugar, ghee and a little coconut. The dough is pressed into a wooden sancha, which gives every piece its famous pattern, and then fried slowly until it is golden and crisp.
Thekua is made in a freshly cleaned kitchen, often by the vrati herself, and it keeps well for days. That is why, after the Usha Arghya, it travels: to neighbours, to relatives, to friends in other cities, and in the bags of everyone heading back to work after the festival.
Ghar se door, but not from the taste
Lakhs of families from Bihar and Jharkhand now live in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Pune and beyond. Not everyone can go home for Chhath, and not everyone has the time or the kitchen to make thekua the traditional way.
That is exactly why Shuddh Swad exists. Our story began with a packet of thekua at Chhath (read it here). If you are making thekua at home for the arghya, nothing can replace that. Our thekua is for everyone else: the student in a hostel, the family that cannot travel this year, the colleagues at office who have never tasted it, and anyone who simply misses the taste of Chhath.
Our thekua, made the traditional way
Every Shuddh Swad thekua is made in our FSSAI-licensed kitchen in Adra, West Bengal, hand-pressed in a wooden mould and fried fresh, with no preservatives. Choose your favourite:
- Traditional Thekua (Coconut Suji Magic): the classic taste of Bihar, made with suji and coconut.
- Jaggery Thekua (Coconut Jaggery Magic): sweetened with jaggery, the way many families make it for Chhath.
- Elaichi Thekua (Coconut Elaichi Magic): with the warm aroma of cardamom.
Each pouch is 250 g. If you are sharing with family and friends, pick the 3 Pack or the 5 Pack.
Order by 4 November to get it before Chhath
Delivery takes a few days depending on your city. If you want your thekua before Nahay Khay on 13 November, please place your order by Wednesday 4 November 2026. Use code IND25 at checkout for 25% off.
From all of us at Shuddh Swad: Jai Chhathi Maiya. May Surya Dev bless your family with good health and happiness. 🙏
