In lakhs of Bihari kitchens, Chhath doesn't begin with the first diya or the first arghya. It begins with a voice — Sharda Sinha's — playing on a phone propped against a steel dabba while jaggery melts in a kadhai and wheat flour gets kneaded into dough for thekua.
For decades, no Chhath has felt complete without her.
Who was Sharda Sinha
Born on October 1, 1952, in Hulas village, Supaul district, Sharda Sinha was the only daughter among nine children. She trained in music at Magadh Mahila College and Prayag Sangeet Samiti in Allahabad, and began building her career on Maithili folk songs — long before "Bihar Kokila" became the name most of India knew her by.
Over her career she recorded 62 Chhath songs across nine albums, turning what had been an oral, village-level tradition into something every Bihari household — whether in Patna, Delhi, Mumbai, or further abroad — could carry with them. As she once put it, her work was always meant "to save our rich culture and tradition."
The soundtrack to thekua-making itself
This is the part of her story that matters most to us: her songs aren't just played during Chhath, they're played while Chhath is prepared. From the early hours of Usha Arghya to the moment the thekua goes into hot ghee, her music has been the background of the ritual itself for two generations of Bihari families.
That's a rare kind of legacy — not just being associated with a festival, but becoming part of how it's actually made, in kitchens that have never met her and never will.
A legacy that outlived her
Sharda Sinha passed away on November 5, 2024, at the age of 72, and was laid to rest with full state honours in Patna. In 2025, she was posthumously awarded the Padma Vibhushan — India's second-highest civilian honour — a recognition of exactly what generations of Biharis already knew.
Her songs will play again this Chhath, as they have every year. In many homes, they'll be playing while the thekua is made — the same scene that's played out for decades, whether or not the person kneading the dough consciously thinks of her name while doing it.
Ek Bite, Ek Yaad
At Kasaar, we make thekua the way it's always been made — in small batches, with real gud and traditional technique, without shortcuts. We didn't know Sharda Sinha personally. But every batch we make is, in some small way, made in the same kitchens her music has filled for fifty years. That feels worth remembering, especially as another Chhath approaches.
Ek Bite, Ek Yaad — Bihar ka apna swaad.
FAQs
Who was Sharda Sinha?
Sharda Sinha (1952–2024) was a Bihari folk singer known as the "Bihar Kokila" (Nightingale of Bihar), famous for her Chhath Puja devotional songs. She was posthumously awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2025.
What is Sharda Sinha's connection to thekua?
Her Chhath songs are traditionally played in Bihari households throughout the festival's rituals — including while thekua, the festival's signature prasad, is being made.
Why is thekua eaten during Chhath Puja?
Thekua is the primary prasad (offering) of Chhath Puja, made from wheat flour, jaggery, and ghee, and offered to the Sun God during the festival's arghya rituals.
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