Timeless Tales: Romance in moonlight, the essence of Karwachauth

The very fact that a woman can fast from sunrise to moonrise and pray for her husband’s long life and good health makes her stronger and dearer. I often hear murmurs about why men should not fast for their wives. Today’s world is about equal rights for women. But when it comes to Karwachauth, why should we want to share the pampering? If the husband fasts too, who will spoil the wife with care? Women get to dress up and feel like brides again—do we really want to share that with the men?

Tradition has also ensured that fasting women are not overburdened. Readymade foods like mathi, pheni and mithai are prepared so they need not cook on that day, allowing the whole family to enjoy the festive spread.

Mothers-in-law pamper the younger women. Waking up before dawn for sargi is an exciting prelude to the day-long fast. The day is spent in prayer, bonding with friends and family, applying henna, dressing up like brides and adorning jewellery that usually lies locked away. The maang-tikka, payal, bichhua, earrings, rings, bangles—all come out. Glass bangles, delicate and colourful, are worn with passion. It is a day when women, young and old, can relive their wedding day.

When I see women with salt-and-pepper hair, wrinkled hands and unsteady gaits, their faces still radiant with sindoor, bindis and bangles, it is heartwarming. And when their equally aged husbands join in the ritual, offering them that first sip of water in the moonlight after chand-puja, it becomes the sweetest of couple goals.

The folk song of Karwachauth narrates the story of Veerawati, who broke her fast under a misconception, causing her husband to fall unconscious, his body pierced with pins and needles. She spent an entire year removing them, one by one.

When she stepped out to buy a karwa, her maid removed the last needle, and the husband awoke, mistaking the maid for the one who had tended him. Veerawati sang: “The maid became the queen; the queen became the maid …” Realising the truth, the husband returned to her. The legend, like many, is quirky. But what matters is the essence of the festival—the flow of love, devotion, festivity and romance.

My father once gave the best explanation of the “pins and needles”. He said sharp words exchanged between a couple pierce like pins. Removing them is the act of making up, apologising, and giving more love and care.

The bond of marriage is sacrosanct. Just nourish it, and cherish it.