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North Indian women get set for Karva Chauth

    New Delhi: Women in the Indian capital, and indeed in other parts of north India, are getting ready for "Karva Chauth", a Hindu festival in which women remain on fast for a day to ensure the well-being of their husbands. The festival will be celebrated on Sunday. The festival is observed on the Kartik Ki Chauth-on the fourth day of the new moon immediately after Dushera, or about nine days before the Hindu festival of Diwali. Karva - an earthen pot with a spout - considered a symbol of peace and prosperity, is used for the ritual and Chauth - the fourth day.

    Henna or Mehndi, considered to be auspicious for married women, is part of the Karva Chauth ritual. Women get intricate henna designs applied on their hands before they get down to the actual rituals. Women, both married and unmarried, throng at various mehandialas for applying mehandi (henna) on their hands with different designs like Rajasthani, Arabian, Golden, Silver, Marwari and Mumbai. Bangle sellers are also in great demand as bangles are a symbol of prosperity and zest for life. "There are several new designs of bangles in the market. There are new designs of bindi (a colourful sticker put on the forehead). There is a new kind of excitement among the women which has increased in the last few years," said Sudha Sharma, a local. Women thronged saree (a six yard cloth) shops to buy new ones to be worn on the occasion. Shopkeepers are overjoyed over the response they have got in a new sort of clothes. "The Parsi work in suits are in great demand and are really selling like crazy," said Anshu Kaul, a shopowner. People also buy sweets and namkeen (salty snacks) for the occasion.

    On the day of "Karva Chauth", women keep a strict fast and do not drink even a drop of water. The fast, observed from sunrise to sunset, is broken only after the moon rise. Early in the morning, before sunrise, the women bathe, wear new clothes and eat a meal enough for the day as they abstain from food and water for rest of the day. They pray to Shiva and Parvati, hoping that their own married lives will be as successful as that of the almighty couple. The festival is particularly special for newly-wed women who decks up in her bridal finery and many visit beauty saloons to look their best. Fasting has become a symbol of the sacrifice and hardship a woman is ready to bear in her love for her husband. On this occasion, women receive gifts from their husbands and relatives.
-Oct 30, 2004