Chaliho Sahib: The Sindhi Festival of Jhulelal

Chaliho, or Chaliho Sahib, is a 40-day period of fasting and prayer that Sindhi Hindus keep for Jhulelal, the saint they regard as a form of Varuna, the god of water. It falls in the monsoon months, usually starting in July or August, and ends with an offering carried to a river or lake. In Sindh the Chaliho festival is kept mostly at home and in neighbourhood temples, so it is a quiet devotion rather than a public fair.

For the main Jhulelal shrine itself, read our guide to the Udero Lal shrine at Matiari.

What is Chaliho?

"Chaliho" comes from the Sindhi word for forty. The story behind it is set in Thatta, where a ruler called Mirkh Shah (the spelling varies) is said to have ordered his Hindu subjects to convert. They asked for forty days to give their answer, and spent them fasting and praying on the bank of the Indus.

As Dawn's retelling puts it, a sign came from the river that a child would be born to an elderly couple in Nasarpur who would help them. That child became Udero Lal, known as Jhulelal because his cradle was said to swing on its own. Chaliho repeats those forty days each year as an act of thanks.

Sindhi Muslims honour the same figure as Shaikh Tahir or Khwaja Khizr, and both communities call him Zinda Pir, the living saint.

How Sindhi Hindus keep the forty days

Chaliho is a discipline more than a celebration. People who keep the full fast traditionally:

• sleep on the floor rather than in a bed
• avoid meat, fried food, onions and garlic, and often white foods such as milk, curd and rice
• leave hair, beards and nails uncut, and give up soap and oils
• wear simple clothes and nothing made of leather
• stay celibate and keep away from entertainment

Not everyone manages forty days. Many people keep 21, 11, 5 or 4 days, or fast only on the first and last days.

At home, families set up a Bahrano (also written Bahrana Sahib): a tray holding a lamp, rock sugar, cardamom, cloves, fruit and akho, a mix of raw rice and sugar. Behind it sits an earthen pot with a coconut, wrapped in cloth and flowers, with an image of Jhulelal. Each morning akho is offered and an aarti is sung.

How does Chaliho end?

On the 41st day the Bahrano is carried in procession, with devotional songs and dancing, to a river, lake or other open water. The akho and the offerings go into the water, and the fast is over.

When is Chaliho in 2026 and 2027?

Chaliho follows the Hindu lunar calendar, so it moves against the Gregorian one each year and starts and ends with the phases of the moon. Temples do not always agree. In 2024 one Jhulelal temple in India announced a start on 16 July and another on 31 July.

• 2026: The Chaliha Sahib Jhulelal Mandir in Ulhasnagar, one of the best-known Chaliho temples, ran it from 9 August to 19 September 2026. Other calendars gave an earlier start, around 30 July.
• 2027: No date had been published when we checked in October 2026. Expect a start in July or early August.

For the dates your local temple follows, ask its caretakers or the community panchayat a few weeks ahead.

Where is Chaliho marked in Sindh?

There is no single Chaliho venue. The fast is kept wherever Sindhi Hindu families live, and the temples below are the ones most closely tied to Jhulelal and Varuna.

• Shri Varun Dev Mandir, Manora, Karachi. A seaside temple to Varuna, now looked after by the Pakistan Hindu Council and restored by 2018. Its festivals include Cheti Chand and Chaliha Sahib. See our Manora Island guide for the ferry and the naval cantonment rules.
• Darya Lal Mandir, Karachi. Near the Custom House in Saddar, restored and reopened in 2015. Dariyalal is another name for Jhulelal.
• Odero Lal, Matiari district. About an hour's drive from Hyderabad. Its large annual fair comes at Cheti Chand in spring, not at Chaliho, but it is the heart of Jhulelal devotion in Pakistan.
• Sukkur, Rohri, Sehwan and Thatta. Dawn reported in 2020 that each has several astaans, or places of worship, of Udero Lal.

Can visitors see Chaliho?

Not much of it, and that is how it should be. There are no tickets and no published programme, and most of the observance is a private fast. An outsider might see an evening aarti at a temple or the closing procession.

The best way in is an invitation from a Hindu friend, colleague or neighbour, or a polite word with a temple's caretakers. If you want a Hindu festival that welcomes crowds, the Shivratri mela at Umerkot or Janmashtami in Pakistan suit visitors better. Our festivals of Sindh guide and experiences page cover the wider calendar.

If you are welcome at a temple or a home:

• take off your shoes, dress modestly, and cover your head if others do
• ask before photographing anyone at prayer, and do not photograph inside without permission
• bring no meat or eggs, and if you take food to a household that is fasting, ask what is suitable
• keep out of the path of the Bahrano procession
• listen rather than debate. The story behind Chaliho is about forced conversion, which is still a sensitive subject for Hindus in Sindh.

Is it safe to visit these places?

Karachi, Hyderabad and Odero Lal are visited by Pakistani travellers year round. Sukkur, Rohri and Sehwan lie north of Nawabshah, and the UK government advises against all but essential travel to that part of Sindh. Check local news and current police advice before you go. Overseas visitors should read their own government's advice first, because travelling against it can void travel insurance.

Frequently asked questions