Today, while reading the news of Karva Chauth, I walked down memory lane and recalled my first Karva Chauth, and felt like sharing a glimpse of those beautiful moments with you all. I have been seeing the festival of Karva Chauth being celebrated in every family since childhood.
My mother and aunts used to keep fast for their husbands, but in the first year of marriage, when the wife’s first Karva Chauth occurred in Noida, she told me a day before that she was going to keep nirjala (without water) fast tomorrow. At first, I refused, but when has an Indian wife agreed so easily? I realized that if someone should remain hungry for me the whole day, and I eat my sumptuous meal, that’s not right on human grounds, so I decided to keep the fast.
While I was in a hurry-scurry for the office, I did not tell my wife about observing fast and deliberately hid the lunchbox in the fridge because I didn’t want any discourse early in the morning on a festival day. When I returned in the evening after fasting the whole day, I saw my wife sitting upset. When asked the reason for sadness, she revealed that we were new in the apartment and had not made friends with anyone yet. In such a situation, the problem was with whom should she exchange her Karva in the evening during the Karva Chauth puja. For the unversed, let me tell you that changing Karva is a part of the Karva Chauth puja. In this, before seeing the moon in the night, women exchange karvas with each other. One woman joins her right foot with the left foot of the other woman and then both change over the Karva.
Now coming back to our problem, we were stuck there because we did not know any women in the society, so I started thinking of the solution. Looking at my wife, I felt that she had full hope that I would solve her problem in a jiffy, because seeing her sad, I had said, “This is a small problem, I will solve it in 15 minutes.” But the matter turned upside down. When I called a couple of friends, I came to know that this festival is not celebrated at their place. In such a situation their wives cannot help us in any way. Then what, since there was no option, I decided that I would take this up myself. As soon as I told my wife that the Karva could be changed with me, she said angrily that it can be changed only with someone who is fasting, it was then that I revealed to her about keeping fast.
Finally, I revealed the secret that lunch is in the vegetable bucket of the fridge. Well, one thing I came to know that day is that actually not eating anything for the whole day and staying without drinking water is not an easy job, boss! However, that day, amidst the constant hunger, I thought about eating something during the day, thinking that my wife would not know, but conscience is what keeps you on the right path at times like this. So I actually didn’t eat anything in the office the whole day. Now it was about 8 o’clock, the moon was about to rise, the wife sat down to do puja and I sat along with her. Participated in Karva Chauth puja for the first time and then completed the ritual of exchanging Karva with her 7 times. Then when my wife went to the terrace and saw my face with the moon through a sieve, I really felt that I was the hero of this film.
After offering Arghya to the moon, as soon as I offered my wife a sip of water, her eyes filled with tears and she immediately hugged me and said ‘I love you’. Since then our Karva Chauth fast has been a ritual. Every year when this festival comes, no matter how much arguments, anger, sulking, and coaxing between husband and wife is throughout the year, this Karva Chauth fast always gives wives the upper hand. I don’t know whether it adds years to anyone’s life or not, but respect for the wife definitely increases. Wishing an everlasting bond of love and faith to all those who are observing this fast.
