Karwa Chauth, once a Punjabi ceremony observed by women for the long and healthy life of their husbands, is now a full-fledged festival celebrated across India, to mark the bond between a married couple. “Although I am a South Indian, I married into a North Indian family and started celebrating Karwa Chauth after watching Baghbaan. From 2003 onwards, I have been observing Karwa Chauth. Married women apply mehendi on their palms and feet and wear all suhag ki nishani like mangalsutra, maang tika, rings, necklace, bangles, etc.” says entrepreneur Ajitha Reddy.
Moni Agarwal, a jewellery designer, shares the rituals that go into the celebration. “It all begins with the Gauri Puja in the morning. The whole puja and fasting is for compatibility, and the long life and prosperity of our partners. Even though fasting gets difficult due to our hectic work schedule, both of us make time for each other and fast. My husband fasts with me and we exchange gifts after finishing the whole ritual,” she says.
Madhu Saboo adds, “There is a story behind the celebration about how a wife who broke her fast once lost her husband and after resuming the fast, she got him back.” But the customs vary across communities. “In the Marwari community, it is a simple ritual, where ladies fast the whole day by eating fruits and in the evening, they perform the puja. But in the Punjabi community, Karwa Chauth is a grand affair. A married woman takes the sargi or vermicelli pudding, prepared specially for the occasion by the mother-in-law, a day before the festival and goes to her mother’s house. In the wee hours of the morning, she eats it and the fast begins at twilight, without any food and water for the rest of the day. During the day, womenfolk decorate their hands and feet with henna and dress up like brides.
“This is the first time I will be preparing the sargi for my daughter-in-law,” says Bunty Bajaj. Entrepreneur Anu Gupta adds, “Even though it is a North Indian tradition, people in Hyderabad have embraced it. This year, my son has got engaged. So, this will be my first Karwa Chauth as a mother-in-law. To break the fast, ladies either see the reflection of their husbands in the water kept in a kalash or through a sieve, after seeing the moon.”
