If you tried to book a Chhath train ticket home this week, you already know. Bookings for the November festival rush opened on September 13, and within minutes, seat after seat on Bihar-bound trains was showing "REGRET." On several trains, the waitlist had already crossed 100 — on some, past 200 — before most people had even finished refreshing the page. Indian Railways added dozens of special trains to handle the load. It wasn't enough. As one frustrated traveller put it online that morning, if a seat disappears within minutes of booking opening, how is anyone supposed to get home?
If that was you — if you refreshed IRCTC forty times, watched the waitlist climb, and finally accepted you're not making it back to Bihar for Chhath this year — this one's for you.
It was never really about the train
The ticket is just the mechanism. What people are actually trying to buy is a specific set of things that only happen at home: the smell of jaggery melting in a kadhai at 4 AM, your mother's hands shaping thekua the same way she has for twenty years, the sound of Chhath geet playing from someone's phone in the next room while the whole house moves around one kitchen.
None of that shows up on a railway PNR status page. And none of it disappears just because the seat did.
When you can't be there, the taste still can
We can't get you a confirmed berth. We can't fix IRCTC's servers. What we can do is make sure that even from Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, or wherever this festival finds you instead of Bihar, at least one part of home reaches you — the same thekua, made the same way, with real gud and desi ghee, no shortcuts.
It won't replace being there. Nothing will. But it means Chhath doesn't have to taste like absence.
Chhath 2026 falls on November 13–16 — order in time and it'll reach you before the festival, wherever "away from home" happens to be this year.
Related reading
- Homesick? A Taste of Bihar, Delivered
- The Voice Behind Every Thekua: Remembering Sharda Sinha
- The Physics Teacher Bihar's Thekua Built: The H.C. Verma Story
FAQs
Why are Chhath train tickets so hard to get this year?
Indian Railways opened advance bookings for Diwali/Chhath 2026 travel on September 13, and demand for Bihar-bound trains far outstripped seats — waitlists crossed 100–200 on several trains within minutes, despite dozens of added special trains.
Will I get thekua delivered before Chhath 2026?
Chhath Puja 2026 falls on November 13–16. Order early to make sure it reaches you before the festival.
Can I still celebrate Chhath away from Bihar?
Yes — many Bihari families away from home mark Chhath wherever they are, with the same prasad, songs, and rituals. Thekua made the traditional way is one of the easiest parts of home to bring with you.
Ek Bite, Ek Yaad — Bihar ka apna swaad.
