Karva Chauth

Karva Chauth is a very important festival for  married women in North India.  It is celebrated in the month of Kartik (October/November). It is celebrated after Dussehra & before Diwali. Chauth is the 4^thday after a new moon and karva refers to a pot.  In fact , karva chauth kab hai (when is karva chauth)is frequent question. This year it falls on the 20th of October.

Why is Karva Chauth Celebrated?

It is an age old custom where married women fast and pray for the longevity of their husbands.The fast is undertaken from sunrise to moonrise.It is traditionally observed by certain communities in North India. It is celebrated across  Rajasthan,Punjab ,UttarPradesh and Gujarat. However,it is a manifestation of love & sacrifice by the woman

What happens in the celebrations

Activities before sunrise

Women wake up early in the morning and have fruits, sweets and milk prior to sunrise.During the day, many of them do not take any food or water. They essentially fast .

Karva Chauth Puja

Around evening time, women get dressed in their bridal finery. They wear bright coloured traditional clothes, such as  saris, salwar suits or lehengas.

They get together with their relatives and friends & typically congregate together in a garden to do the puja.Sometimes, a priest is brought in for a story telling session. Mythological stories that talk about the virtues of women and their prayers for their husbands are often spoken about.Aarti  is performed and special songs are sung in celebration. There is a great sense of bonding & community participation. Special Sweets are passed between them.

Moon Worship

After the puja in the evening ,women stand in gardens, terraces and any open space to sight the moon.The first sighting of the moon is very special .They worship the rising moon. The moon is first seen through a sieve or a veil. The moon is worshiped and offerings are made.  Subsequently, they pray to their husbands and receive his blessings.The husband then offers the the first morsel of food to his wife who is fasting for his health, prosperity and happiness.

Karva Chauth Shopping

Many women are busy shopping for a week before the Karva Chauth Puja. Let us explore the Karva Chauth shopping .

 Preparation for Karva Chauth

Women prepare themselves by buying cosmetics, jewellery, new garments and puja thalis(plates).They get their henna/mehendi (hand paint) done in a local market. Shopping for bridal finery and festive clothes is an important part of the event.

As a matter of fact,it is customary to find shopping markets crowded jus before Karva chauth.

In fact, when you visit the Lajpat Nagar shopping Market, the GK M Block Market shopping Market or the Karol Bagh shopping market you will find women thronging the market and shopping for lenehga (long traditional skirst)cholis,(blouses), salwar suits and sarees.Similarly, Johari Bazar  and Bapu Bazar markets in Jaipur and Santacruz & Bandra in Mumbai are all abuzz with activities related to Karva chauth. Shop In santacruz Market and in Bandra in Mumbai

SHARARA

Shops such as Nargis in Lajpat Nagar, Frontier Raas in South Extension Market and RCKC in Karol Bagh are popular places to shop. The jewellery lane in Lajpat Nagar is crowded as women like to buy bangles and bindis before karva chauth.

Many women visit spas and beauty parlours before Karva Chauth.

 A. Karva Chauth Shopping: Puja Essentials

The thalli or the tray is an essential item for the puja. In addition, there is  karva, the pot, the lamps and the sieve. These make the essential Karva Chauth puja essentials.

Best places to buy Karva Chauth Puja essentials are,

Kinari Bazar in Chandni Chowk and Lajpat Nagar Market

Johari Bazar and Bapu Bazar in Jaipur

B. Karva Chauth Picture- Traditional Wear

LEHENGA

LONG DRESS

Firstly, women wear an ornate sari or a heavily worked salwar kameez on Karva Chauth.  In fact,some of them dress up in their bridal finery for the puja. Some women, buy new clothes for the  Karva Chauth picture.In addition, expensive saris that have a lot of embroidery and Zardozi work are purchased. Similarly, salwar kameez with heavy sequins work is purchasedTypically ,the mother in law gifts new dresses to her daughters in law.

DESIGNER SAREE

Best places to buy saris in Delhi are:

South Extension Market and Karol Bagh Market

Johari Bazar & Bapu Bazar in Jaipur & Santa Cruz Market & Palladium Mall  in Mumbai

PLAZZO WITH TANK TOPS

Salwar Kameez Lane in Lajpat Nagar Market-Raw Silk,  Monolisa

Ready to wear suits can be purchased in Nargis

SHORT KURTI SALWAR SUITS

As a matter of fact, young women who prefer to move away from traditional salwar kameez and saris would be interested to buy modern stylish kurtis or salwar kameez sets.

FUSION WEAR

C. Karva Chauth Shopping: The Bangles

In addition, glass bangles or any other kind of bangle/bangles is an absolute must buy for Karva Chauth

Some of the best places to buy bangles in Delhi are:

Hanuman Mandir

Jewellery lane in Lajpat Nagar

Kinari Bazar

In Jaipur – Joahri Bazar & Bapu Bazar Market

D. Bindi

In addition to the bangles is the bindi. Bindi is the red mark that women apply of their forehead.

Jewellery lane in Lajpat Nagar is a good place to pick an assortment of bindis. In other words, one can opt for the bindi stickers or the real Kumkum that is applied on the forehead.

Check Linking road Market in Mumbai & Bapu Bazar in Jaipur

E. Mehendi

You can probably  visit any shopping Market in Delhi and you will find mehendi artists busy applying mehendi on the hands of women both young & old.Mehendi is henna powder that is made into a paste and applied on the hands in an intricate patterns.

Mehendi

Women apply mehendi /henna  in their hands. Henna is a powder made from the plant Lawsonia inermis.

The henna powder is typically mixed with water and made into a paste. Further, this is applied with the help of a plastic syringe or a piping nozzle on the hands.Intricate designs are created on the palms. It is washed away after a couple of hours. Although it appears orange in colour after washing off the hands, it slowly turns to a deep red colour to display the designs.Further, Mehendi artists can also be found near the jewellery lane in Lajpat Nagar and in the GK M Block Market.

F. Sweets

Food- And Finally, only vegetarian food is consumed in Karva Chauth. Malpua, Sweet Mathri, kheer, badam puri, phirni and atte ka halwa  are all consumed as a part of the celebrations.

 In other words ,like all other Indian festivals, Karva chauth has become a popular festival  and women are prepared to spend large sums of money on this day.Young women are busy posting their Karva Chauth picture with their beloved on Instagram.

 As a matter of fact, all the items for Karva Chauth shopping  are available online. Hence, check out Amazon and Flipkart.