I was looking through my window as the backyard of my neighbourhood seemed busier than ever yesterday.Around a dozen women dressed in their best were sitting forming a circle and holding “thaalis” in their hands.There was impatience visible in each eye as the women were making sure to have a look at the sky above in between their never ending conversations.They all were waiting for the moon to shine bright in the sky.
It was Karwa Chauth once again,the day of love and celebration.A day when every north Indian woman prays for the long life of her husband and in the bargain makes him realise her importance in his life.
Though in my community this festival is not celebrated that much but still there is something about it which has always fascinated me.So yesterday the whole day I kept on surfing the news channels in an attempt to catch up with all that they were sharing regarding the festival.And as evening drew closer I found myself waiting for the moon to appear in all its beauty,if not more but with equal impatience as the women in my neighbourhood.
Though not very aware of the rituals but what I knew was that every woman did apply mehendi on their hands this day in the name of their love.Thus the first thing I did in the morning was to visit my nearby mall and get a mehendi done by a professional beautician.Though she was too busy and I had to wait nearly an hour before my turn came but believe me friends the design which she painted on my palm was by far the best.After she intricately designed the mehendi on my palm,she asked me the initials of my man.I was all confused from M…to..S…to…D…to …R,I probably remembered all the English alphabets before I asked her to paint the letter “B” boldly on my palm.She did accordingly.
And now as I was standing near the window watching the women sometimes n at times following the intricacies of my mehendi design,suddenly a gush of wind rushed through my window into my beloved room.Everything was tossed up here and there.And my long flowing tresses almost covered up my face making vision barely possible,I ran towards my cot to catch hold of my secret diary,the pages of which were flipping over as anything almost on the verge of getting torn.But it was too precious a possession of mine to suffer so much torture.So with one hand as I tried to remove my tresses from my face,the other hand of mine barely managed to stabilise a page of the diary…but alaas my mehendi was still half dried and what I could see through my half covered face was that the letter “B” got smeared over the photograph of my man which was hidden securely in that particular page of the diary which I was protecting desperately from being blown away by the cruel wind.
Barely had I caught a glimpse of him in the snap which now bore the impression of the letter “B” partly,half of which was still left behind on my palm ,that a cry of joy could be heard in my neighbourhood.The women were literally shouting that the moon had come out,but I really didnt have to rush to the window any more>I had already seen the moon….Now it was time for those women to break their fasts and taste the first bite of food from their husbands’ hands.The whole morning I had been thinking that great are these women who fast an entire day just to pray for their husbands’ long life.On the other hand I can’t even skip one meal of the day for whatsoever reason.But suddenly I was feeling a bit uncomfortable as I realised that in all this commotion even I had forgotten to eat anything from the morning.So was I fasting?????That sounds great,congratulations to me after all!
Late in the night as the backyard had gone empty with every couple retiring to the confines of their homes,I was sitting by my windowside.Few shreds of garlands were strewn here and there with vermilion being spread over them,some half lighted diyas were still burning and the moon was shining bright in the sky…but the wind which showed me my moon had long dissappeared,it had probably one purpose and having fulfilled that it had safely returned to its den.I was wide awake,gorging on some gulaab jamuns and chocolates in the wee hours of the night.What else nobody in my household had left any food for me coz they were not even aware that I was fasting.I myself wasn’t either.So I decided to end my fast by having these edibles which are HIS favourites and was humming a beautiful song in my mind as the world was fast asleep…..
Aye chaand teri chaandni ki kasamm..mere paas bhi ek chaand hai
Tere chaand me to daag hai..mera chaand par bedaag hai
Teri dooriyon ki kasamm..mera chaand mere paas hai!
P.S-Of late I have been getting some weird mails from the ilanders asking me the name of my man and also being kind enough to suggest me names ranging from Ranbir Kapoor to Imran Khan to Yuvraaj Singh to MS Dhoni.Well my dear friends I think I have given u a clue by mentioning his initial as “B”,so all the interested people can start guessing once more who he is if they don’t have any better work to do.Regards.Deepika
Nice one.. And read first hand experience of the festival for the first time from any lady… For the controversial emails, block those IDs and forget them. Dont give them much attention… (Rahul)
nice post………..thanx 4 sharing really good post…………
that was sweet and loving blog loved reading it
Very sensational Post. I can guess your depth of feelings in any of the subjects. You have written an appropriate Post in an appropriate time. Sorry for late responding. I have no curiosity about the word “B”, I am only curious about you, my dear friend. Thanks for sharing the same.
Very sensational Post. I can guess your depth of feelings in any of the subjects. You have written an appropriate Post in an appropriate time. Sorry for late responding. I have no curiosity about the word “B”, I am only curious about you, my dear friend. Thanks for sharing the same.
Good post Deepika… Since fasting and I are in opposite direction, I dont know much about all these things.. But indeed this post was refreshing..
DP, this is good one,
beautiful post ….liked it
Hi Deepika, Good post. Its true that I can learn something and I learn things on a daily basis. I love learning. I admire those women who will spend all day working for their husbands & families, those women that spend day fasting and praying for their families, making huge sacrifices for the wellness of their families. A friend of mine said in a discussion taht if any man wants a real wife he should never hesitate but to go and find an Indian lady, according to him no other women are capable of love, sacrifice, genuiness, dedication, committment, understanding, and being a model wife as Indian women are. Mind u even among Indian women I know many SCOUNDRELS they are the exception rather than the rule. So yes I understand and accept the actions of those women. Good for them, their husbands, familes and the nation. Many women of Indian origin do the same here even tho its altered in some ways. If u know any of them convey my greetings and respect to them. Have a brilliant week.
tender and touching post …but sudden change of tone at the end? ….. hey ignore the critics & get on with your life …you are as much entitled to your privacy as anyone else… get on with your life and as the song says …when you dream,”dream out loud”…nice post:)
Deepika…….bahut sunder posting hai, sunder apnatva aur bhaavon ke saath.
so sweeeeeeeet…….how can u so so candid with ur feelings Deepika……. i like it…… its really LOVELY write up……. this Kadava chouka is popularised by Ekatha Kapoor….. but one thing is for sure, that u broke many hearts whose name does not start with “B”………..hey is it not BIG ”B” no?????????
Nice post…..bahut achcha likha hai…… aur aapney jo PS main likha hai, voh to main kahunga ki aisa puuchchney wale log pagal hai…. you can tell them “if your name is there …then i will tell you, right now no chance”…….. hahhaahah …u can do that.
Hi Deepika, Thank you. I read your post. I shall respond later. I am going to the Doctor right now and when I return will certainly write u a response. Have a brilliant week.
Kl likhi tomaake …….huuuuuu ………..gagan o maajhe ,chandre”r a kon abhisaar ……………Raat maajhare aalo aadhaare , chandra kalaa porlo jakhon tomaar oee ujjal mukhe ……………Rangeen swapne bibhor tumi , taana chokher kaajol khaani , aalor chhatai bhorlo sukhe………..Anto heen jaatra taar , aamar Deepi ke dekhe holem aami nirbikaar .
Karwa chauth is really a very beautiful festival and I wish we bengalis too celebrated it on a large scale.I fell in love with this festival after the movie DDLJ.
and dear chocs n gulaab jamuns at 12 in the nite….chalo maan gaye tumhe.
Hi dear as always .. bhalo likhecho… Jano aajkei tomar.. Preethi Dir post tao porlaam… tai bolchi baaje kothaye kaan diyo na… just love your uniqueness ok… bhqlo theko.. shob shomoy
Good one as always ……. thnx for the share
Kitne lucky hai na yeah log jinke liye koi ye vrath raktha hai, kitna special feel karthe honge na…:-))
lagtha hai ab mujhe b ek northie ladki doondna padega joh mere liye vrath rakhe:D
yahan toh sirf pur******* hai vrath rakhne waala hehe….
its wonderful that koi pura din fasting rakhtha hai aur vo bhi apni husband ke liye it sounds good lekin mein aisi kaam toh bilkul nahi kar sakthi because mein fasting nahi kar sakthi…..but really karwa-chauth is really an interesting occassion and may be when i will be 20 or 24 mein bhi fasting karungi if possible.and your post is really very good..it reminded me one of my favourite movie ishq -vishq.
hello deepika ji, very beautiful post,chand se bhi khubsurat aapne likha hai—————–may GOD bless u ——–take care————–thanx ———————-tejinder
hello deepika ji,very beautiful post,chand se bhi khubsurat aapne likha hai———may
nice…………
I saw da same view here in hyd actlly,it was lukin as if sum1 stud infrnt of me n narratin….wndrful yaar……..$
wonderful write-up on Karwa-Chauth…… here in goa i”ve never seen any women doing this Karwa-chauth fast…….. saw onli in movies n TV serials…. but this post is superbb…….. i was really imagining the characters from this post……. jus like the way you write dear…
waah deepika ji… u have written wonderfully !!!!!!!!!!!
Hamara bharath mahan……isnt it so.so well written.u have brought out d nuances so beautifully.
U know Deepi, my heart was smiling while reading ur post. Its such a nice post. I am sure ur palm must be looking awesome. The sight of the moon was really very nice on that day. I would tell u in deatail how I got to look at the moon on that day and how it has become one of the most memorable days of my life. Deepi, don”t get tensed and avoid those mails. ok na. After all its ur personal life and very few people have right to ask bout ur HIM……..not all Ilanders.
aapki lekhan kala adBhut hai…
these age-old customs…some of them are really great in terms of deepening certain relationships………nothing more beautiful than the spirit behind this karva chauth……it has more meaning though if both partners feel the same way for each other…….
wow …………surely more better work would be to read ur delighted posts……………………well for me it never matters wtever the initial or name is till u r happy thinking of him…….and writing such butiful posts…………….too good…..god bless u