As dawn breaks over Mumbai’s Juhu Beach or Delhi’s Yamuna Ghat, the sight of hundreds of devotees standing waist-deep in water, hands folded in prayer to the setting sun, tells a story larger than ritual. Once considered a festival of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh, Chhath Puja is now finding its place in India’s collective consciousness.
Once modest and regional, the festival has re-emerged as a symbol of belonging and pride, carried to metros and smaller cities by generations of migrants who recreate the rituals of home. From crowded local trains carrying sugarcane stalks to makeshift ghats on city lakes, the festival has become a reminder that cultural roots, even when displaced, find ways to bloom again.
The spread of Chhath mirrors India’s migration story. Millions from Bihar and eastern UP moved to cities like Mumbai and Delhi in search of livelihoods, carrying their emotional geography with them. Chhath became the anchor that connected them back to their soil — mitti, nadi, ghar, and maa.
In Mumbai, neighbourhoods like Andheri and Chembur now host large community-organised Chhath gatherings. In Delhi, the Yamuna ghats transform into sprawling celebration zones. The sound of Bhojpuri devotional songs echoes through metros, while social media floods with images of women in vibrant sarees performing rituals with the same devotion seen along the Ganga in Patna.
Even those without Bihari roots are drawn to its visual beauty and serenity. The festival’s revival sits at the intersection of India’s growing nostalgia economy, where advertising and content are rediscovering regional stories, folk music, and traditional aesthetics.
For marketers, this nostalgia has become an emotional goldmine offering authenticity, community, and deep-rooted emotion at a time when consumers crave belonging.
Among brands leading this cultural shift is Kalyan Jewellers, which has been consciously building localised, culture-forward campaigns that reflect India’s diversity. “With over 30 outlets in Bihar, it is one of our bigger markets. Beyond this traditional heartland, in metros like Mumbai and Delhi, we tailor our strategy through campaigns that resonate with the emotional core of the festival,” says Ramesh Kalyanaraman, Executive Director, Kalyan Jewellers.
Their latest campaign captures a couple preparing for rituals together, a quiet ode to shared faith and companionship. “This approach highlights the cultural significance and shared sense of responsibility, celebrating the festival's true spirit of devotion and familial bond, irrespective of geography,” he adds.
Similarly, Parle Products has embraced Chhath as part of its larger cultural storytelling. Mayank Shah, Vice President at Parle Products, notes, “It’s heartening to see that it (Chhath) is being recognised like that. In fact, the Honourable Prime Minister is trying to make it a globally recognised event, it makes immense sense for brands to really want to resonate with the dreamers of this geography, to be part of their life during this particular festival.”
He emphasises that authenticity is key: “It has to be genuine, as being looked upon as opportunist and probably then only come out, if you really understand the essence of the festival, how it's been celebrated and how it's going to, probably leave a long message without being commercial about it.”
Parle’s festive communication, Shah says, avoids hard selling, focusing instead on cultural celebration. “We're not talking about hard selling. We're talking about how people can celebrate this festival by making it happen. That’s something that will genuinely set you apart from being perceived as opportunist,” he says.
For Parle, such regional connections align naturally with the brand’s ethos. “It fits and it is part of our strategy, unlike many other brands where you will typically see either they being very regional or purely a pan-India brand. Not just that, if you look at the tonality of the brand, it has always been helping people, being part of people's lives,” says Shah.
Chhath’s resonance has also attracted consumer durables brands like Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd, which found a way to merge emotion with innovation.
“At Crompton, we recognise that festivals like Chhath Puja hold deep emotional and cultural significance that extends well beyond their traditional regions,” says Tanmay Prusty, Chief Marketing Officer, Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd. “Our festive marketing approach is therefore rooted in understanding this emotional continuity of celebrating a ritual, powered by the reliability that our brand has stood for, generation after generation.”
Their campaign, Jahan Crompton, Wahan Bharosa, blends cultural symbolism with cutting-edge creativity. “Through our recent Chhath Puja campaign, we aimed to recreate the gratitude, togetherness and tradition that families associate with this festival. We have leveraged AI technology to create this digital film that beautifully captures the emotional essence of Chhath Puja, centred around water, devotion and family, while also showing generations of trust through, ‘Jahan Crompton, Wahan Bharosa’,” Prusty explains.
He adds, “The film reinforces the values of trust, reliability, and enduring performance that have always defined Crompton.”
The rise of Chhath as a national celebration signals a shift in how India perceives its festivals. The cultural mainstream is no longer dictated by metros alone. From Ganesh Chaturthi’s grandeur in Maharashtra to Chhath Puja’s quiet power from the heartland, the idea of a ‘national’ festival is being redefined.
The representation of such traditions in national advertising reflects India’s evolving identity, one where every region and ritual has a story worthy of the big stage. For brands, this presents not just a marketing opportunity but a moment to participate in something more meaningful, a shared act of remembrance and pride.
Ultimately, Chhath’s rise is about more than faith, it’s about emotional geography. In a country constantly on the move, festivals like Chhath become bridges between memory and modernity. And for brands, being part of that bridge is perhaps the most powerful connection of all.
