Chhath Puja 2026: soop, daura cost 20-25% more in Patna markets

Prices of the bamboo soop (winnowing basket) and daura (deep basket) that families need for Chhath Puja have risen by 20 to 25% this year in Patna's markets, according to a market report published on Wednesday, 11 November 2026, two days before the four-day festival begins. Shops across the city are stocked with bamboo soops, daura, baskets, brass utensils and traditional clay stoves, and traders expect sales to peak from Nahay Khay, the first day of the festival, on Friday, 13 November. Alongside bamboo, soops made of brass, and even silver and gold, are drawing buyers, according to the report.

Chhath is a four-day festival whose two main days are offerings to the setting sun (Sandhya Arghya) and the rising sun (Usha Arghya). Much of it depends on simple, traditional household objects: woven bamboo soops and daura, brass utensils and clay stoves fill Patna's markets in the days before it. Their prices and availability say something about how a heritage lifestyle carries on in a modern city market.

A rise of 20 to 25% adds up for households that buy several items, and it lands just before the festival, when demand is highest. For the traders who stock these goods, the days from Nahay Khay to the evening offering are the busiest of the season, according to the market reports.

The market also shows how the festival is changing. Brass soops and plates, which can be reused year after year, are selling alongside bamboo ones, and the report noted interest even in silver and gold soops. Bamboo remains the traditional and affordable choice, while metal versions cost several times as much. Both are on the same shop shelves in Patna this week.

Peepals calculation: At the reported price ranges, a basic set of one bamboo soop (Rs 85 to Rs 125) and one daura (Rs 175 to Rs 350) costs Rs 260 to Rs 475. If that set rose by 20 to 25% this year, the same set would have cost roughly Rs 210 to Rs 395 last year (260 ÷ 1.25 = 208; 475 ÷ 1.20 = 396). A brass soop costs about 9 to 13 times a bamboo one (800 ÷ 85 = 9.4; 1,600 ÷ 125 = 12.8). Our calculation from the reported figures.

Short-term: Families preparing for Chhath in Patna will pay more this year for the bamboo items, with the busiest buying expected on Nahay Khay, Friday, 13 November, and in the days up to the evening offering on Sunday, 15 November.

Long-term: The growing interest in reusable brass soops may slowly change what families buy, while bamboo items keep their place as the traditional and cheapest option. How these choices shift will affect the income of those who make and sell bamboo goods each season.

Who is affected: Families and vratis keeping Chhath, bamboo craft makers and small traders, utensil shops, and migrant households elsewhere who buy the same items for their own celebrations.

What to watch next: Nahay Khay on Friday, 13 November, Sandhya Arghya on Sunday, 15 November, and Usha Arghya on Monday, 16 November 2026.

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